Most Canadians say AC flight attendants deserve full ground pay: Poll

A new Angus Reid poll finds Air Canada’s reputation is suffering during a battle between the company and unionized flight attendants.

The flight attendants issued a Saturday strike warning amid a labour dispute that revolves around whether in-flight service crews should be compensated for work they do before their flights push back from the gate.

Air Canada is offering flight attendants half of their hourly rates to do this work; the union is demanding their full hourly amount.

A new survey finds three-in-five, or 59%, say Air Canada providing full hourly wages for all aspects of the flight attendants’ work is most important to them, while 41% say keeping airfares low should be the priority.

However, more frequent fliers — those who fly three times or more in the last year — are evenly