Aviation Analyst Says AC’s Flight Attendant Deal Could Have Major Ripple Effect

According to aviation analyst Alex Macheras, Air Canada’s recent labour agreement with its flight attendants has the potential to reset expectations across North America’s airlines. 

The resolution saw Canada’s flag carrier agree to what Macheras calls “a fundamental shift in crew compensation: boarding pay.” Now that Canada’s largest airline has agreed to it, he says the implications may spread far beyond Canadian borders.

Under the new AC deal, flight attendants will now receive boarding pay for the first time. This represents a structural shift in how time is valued, and how airlines may be required to define duty time going forward.

Writing for Aviation Analyst, Macheras says the current flight attendant pay model is an anachronism that dates back to early aviation, when cabin crew worked smaller aircraft with shorter turnaround times, fewer passengers, and simpler service expectations.

“In 2025, that model no longer fits reality,” he writes. “Aircraft are larger, turnarounds are longer, and the complexity of the boarding process has grown significantly. Boarding now involves dealing with larger hand luggage allowances, managing carry-on disputes in the absence of consistent gate-check policies, helping disabled passengers to their seats, and handling the demands of a mixed travel demographic that includes business travellers, families, and connecting passengers with multiple issues.”

While the pay model was similar across North American airlines, Macheras says the disconnect between duties and pay has become increasingly hard to defend.

“Air Canada’s agreement is therefore a milestone. It is the first major North American airline to formally acknowledge boarding and other ground duties as paid work within the core cabin crew contract. This sets a precedent that other unions across the continent are likely to seize on, particularly at a time when cost of living pressures remain high and job expectations are expanding.”

Air Canada may be the first major North American airline to compensate flight attendants for what their unions have referred to as ‘unpaid work.’ But Macheras says AC won’t be the last.

“Now that Air Canada has broken from precedent, it is difficult to see how other major carriers will avoid this issue in future rounds of bargaining,” he said.