Due to a strike of AZ personnel at MXP starting February 19 my flight to EWR got cancelled in advance. AZ wanted to book me through JFK and then on CX to HKG which would have meant that I'd have lost one night of my stay in HKG (and no miles for the NYC-HKG leg, which would've sucked!). The other alternative (leaving on 18) wasn't possible either because of an important meeting of one of my co-travellers. Only by talking to AZ staff at ZRH directly, I was able to get rebooked through AMS by KL/NW. Staff at ZRH was friendly and very helpful, admitting my difficult situation. Here's an overview of the pros (+) and cons (-) of my experiences:

• + AZ reservations US called me Friday night and told me my flight was cancelled
• + AZ reservations US gave me two valid options for my itinerary, but both weren't really possible for me
• + AZ operations staff in ZRH dealt with my difficult itinerary with perfection and was very friendly and helpful
• - AZ reservations US rebooked me through JFK instead of EWR without even asking me
• - AZ would have refused to pay me a hotel in NYC if I'd had to leave a day earlier
• - AZ claimed, that by rerouting me, my first leg has to be on AZ metal
• - Expedia tried to help me, too, but obviously was told by AZ that only AZ can reroute/rebook me

So all in all, AZ really cared and in case of AZ operations staff at ZRH: they should receive a special thank you!^

Michael