63: Captain Gary Russell – Pilot shortage, MH370, Airports, Climate Change, Unions

TWO NOBODYS

Captain Gary Russell, an Air Canada Pilot with over 25 years of flying experiences chats about the current labour issues within the airline industry, the mystery of MH370, what’s going on airports, the airline’s response to climate change, and the labour/union movement.

Twitter: @garybrussell

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Captain Gary Russell is a Boeing 737 pilot based in Vancouver, and is a former union executive for the Air Canada Pilots Association. Prior to his appointment as the Association’s Chairman, he served two terms as a national board member and has been actively involved in the Association over the past decade, including as a local pilot representative, magazine editor, trustee and Chair of the External Affairs Committee.

Like many pilots in Canada, Captain Russell began his flying career as a flight instructor and later a pilot in Northern Canada and overseas before being hired by Air Canada in 2007.

As Chairman, Captain Russell presided over board meetings and acted as the pilots' principal representative to Air Canada on employment matters, including negotiation and administration of their collective agreement and was the official spokesperson for ACPA.

The Air Canada Pilots Association (ACPA) currently represents approximately 4,200 commercial pilots, with 600 previously furloughed during the COVID crisis all of whom have now returned to active status. These highly skilled professional pilots fly passengers and cargo across Canada and around the world on Air Canada and Air Canada rouge.

Gary resides on a farm in Comox, BC with his wife, Chantal, and son, Ben.