Air Canada has begun enacting its contingency plans for travellers ahead of a possible strike.

The Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents around 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants, issued a 72-hour notice of its intent to strike just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday. Half an hour later, Air Canada issued a notice that it also plans to lock out the flight attendants.

Air Canada's latest offer included a 38 per cent increase in total compensation over four years that it says would "have made our flight attendants the best compensated in Canada." It also included "provisions for ground pay and other work-life balance, career and pension improvements," according to a news release.

The airline has requested government-directed arbitration, but remains ava

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