Another month another strike! (30 May 2014) (16 & 18 June called off)
May 7, 2014, 12:20 am
#1
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Another month another strike! (30 May 2014) (16 & 18 June called off)
Well just as things were going a bit quiet it seems the strikers are threatening to party again !
Aer Lingus passengers face a new strike threat this summer after a union representing 1,100 cabin crew warned that industrial action is likely in a row over rosters.
Crews based in Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports are expected to back industrial action in a ballot later this week, which would pose a new crisis for the airline heading into the busy summer period – possibly as early as later this month.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/fury-over-new-strike-threat-at-aer-lingus-30250650.html
Aer Lingus passengers face a new strike threat this summer after a union representing 1,100 cabin crew warned that industrial action is likely in a row over rosters.
Crews based in Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports are expected to back industrial action in a ballot later this week, which would pose a new crisis for the airline heading into the busy summer period – possibly as early as later this month.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/fury-over-new-strike-threat-at-aer-lingus-30250650.html
May 9, 2014, 10:32 am
#2
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MEMBERS OF THE Impact trade union at Aer Lingus have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.
Staff say that they will strike if the airline doesnt implement a new roster for short-haul services.
97 per cent of staff who were balloted voted in favour of the action.
Staff say that they will strike if the airline doesnt implement a new roster for short-haul services.
97 per cent of staff who were balloted voted in favour of the action.
May 13, 2014, 10:31 am
#3
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Originally Posted by The Irish Times
Cabin crew at Aer Lingus are to stage a 24- hour strike on Friday May 30th.
The stoppage forms part of a dispute over rostering at the airline.
The action on the Friday of the June Bank holiday weekend will begin at midnight.
Cabin crew will place pickets at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports for the duration of the stoppage, Impact trade union said in a statement.
The stoppage forms part of a dispute over rostering at the airline.
The action on the Friday of the June Bank holiday weekend will begin at midnight.
Cabin crew will place pickets at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports for the duration of the stoppage, Impact trade union said in a statement.
May 13, 2014, 11:19 am
#4
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I'm flying that day for a weeks holiday, what's the likely scenario assuming it goes ahead?
1) Flight cancelled, no alternatives will be provided by Aer Lingus. Effectively holiday is abandoned.
2) Go to the airport and see what alternative flights Aer Lingus will provide on other carriers that day.
3) Contact Aer Lingus, and find out if they can fly me out on Saturday.
Thanks in advance,
LK.
1) Flight cancelled, no alternatives will be provided by Aer Lingus. Effectively holiday is abandoned.
2) Go to the airport and see what alternative flights Aer Lingus will provide on other carriers that day.
3) Contact Aer Lingus, and find out if they can fly me out on Saturday.
Thanks in advance,
LK.
May 13, 2014, 11:29 am
#5
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Most Aer Lingus strikes get called off or postponed.
A strike planned for St. Patrick's week didn't actually go ahead, but was still unresolved so close to the chosen date that Aer Lingus began making contingency plans (see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/aer-l...icks-week.html)
At this stage, I would advise doing nothing - unless you have a simple, easy, and obvious alternate solution (i.e. making a refundable mileage redemption on another carrier, if such a simple standby is available to you).
Should the strike look likely to go ahead, Aer Lingus will contact you (or your travel agent if not booked via Aer Lingus, or you will be able to contact your travel agent once the rebooking notices are published) and offer you alternate dates and/or the ability to cancel your flights without penalty. Of course, there is no guarantee you will be able to get a replacement flight on the same day.
It looks like the staff are really anxious to get out there and strike, so I think it's more likely than would usually be the case that this strike will go ahead.
You can go online yourself and change your booking at any time - you will, of course, have to pay a fee and any fare difference to move the date at this stage. If you wait, and if the strike goes ahead, then you will of course be able to change more easily and/or without penalty, but of course, by then the options on nearby dates will have dried up.
As I presume you are in the US, there is also the possibility that your flight may be retimed so that it will actually operate - see the St. patrick's thread above, (some of) the US flights were re-timed so that they could operate. I don't think it was planned that any US flights were to be cancelled. Of course, this time may be different.
A strike planned for St. Patrick's week didn't actually go ahead, but was still unresolved so close to the chosen date that Aer Lingus began making contingency plans (see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/aer-l...icks-week.html)
At this stage, I would advise doing nothing - unless you have a simple, easy, and obvious alternate solution (i.e. making a refundable mileage redemption on another carrier, if such a simple standby is available to you).
Should the strike look likely to go ahead, Aer Lingus will contact you (or your travel agent if not booked via Aer Lingus, or you will be able to contact your travel agent once the rebooking notices are published) and offer you alternate dates and/or the ability to cancel your flights without penalty. Of course, there is no guarantee you will be able to get a replacement flight on the same day.
It looks like the staff are really anxious to get out there and strike, so I think it's more likely than would usually be the case that this strike will go ahead.
You can go online yourself and change your booking at any time - you will, of course, have to pay a fee and any fare difference to move the date at this stage. If you wait, and if the strike goes ahead, then you will of course be able to change more easily and/or without penalty, but of course, by then the options on nearby dates will have dried up.
As I presume you are in the US, there is also the possibility that your flight may be retimed so that it will actually operate - see the St. patrick's thread above, (some of) the US flights were re-timed so that they could operate. I don't think it was planned that any US flights were to be cancelled. Of course, this time may be different.
Last edited by irishguy28; May 13, 2014 at 11:34 am
May 14, 2014, 3:30 am
#7
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http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2014...lingus-strike/
"A spokesperson said that Aer Lingus Regional services would not be interrupted by the stoppage."
"A spokesperson said that Aer Lingus Regional services would not be interrupted by the stoppage."
May 15, 2014, 8:06 am
#9
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Thanks irishguy28 for the reply. I'm actually based in Dub, and traveling to Faro. I'm personally not too fused about the unpredictability of what could happen, except that I'm traveling with 4 very small children with my wife.
Leaving Aer Lingus to come up with alternative arrangements is a concern...
1) We can't fly earlier, so would we get a flight offered 24 hours later, 48 hours later, etc?
2) Will they ensure we'll be kept together with the kids in a group prior to ticketing?
3) Will the flight options be dried up by the time the strike is confirmed?
I presume Aer Lingus can't book more flights the next day to compensate for the strike?
I'm starting to think the best option is to book one way refundable tickets right now, the next day, so I know there's a plan B.
- If the strike goes ahead, I'll refuse the rescheduling and refund the first leg of the tickets. Fly out using the new tickets the next day.
- If the strike doesn't go ahead, then I'll cancel the refundable tickets. Is there any obvious flaws with this idea, that I'm missing?
Thanks,
LK.
Leaving Aer Lingus to come up with alternative arrangements is a concern...
1) We can't fly earlier, so would we get a flight offered 24 hours later, 48 hours later, etc?
2) Will they ensure we'll be kept together with the kids in a group prior to ticketing?
3) Will the flight options be dried up by the time the strike is confirmed?
I presume Aer Lingus can't book more flights the next day to compensate for the strike?
I'm starting to think the best option is to book one way refundable tickets right now, the next day, so I know there's a plan B.
- If the strike goes ahead, I'll refuse the rescheduling and refund the first leg of the tickets. Fly out using the new tickets the next day.
- If the strike doesn't go ahead, then I'll cancel the refundable tickets. Is there any obvious flaws with this idea, that I'm missing?
Thanks,
LK.
May 15, 2014, 9:23 am
#10
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1) You would probably have to negotiate with Aer Lingus to come to the best arrangement for you. (You can already change your flights on the website though that will cost money, and who knows if the strike will actually go ahead, or if the the strike isn't extended [meaning you could end up moving to another day which will also be subject to strike action] so for now it's probably just best to sit tight and see what happens). Getting to Faro on other scheduled services is probably not so straightforward, so you'll probably be stuck with seeing what Aer Lingus can offer you, should your flight indeed not operate.
2) There is no reason to suspect that your group (I assume all 6 of you are on the one booking) would be broken up. They clearly won't ever allow small children to fly unaccompanied, anyway! That said, having 6 of you may make rebooking a little bit more complicated.
3) Faro is a popular summer destination, so yes, it's very likely that flights on the surrounding dates will already be fairly busy.
You asked about Aer Lingus "booking" more flights the next day - I presume you mean operating more flights. Yes, I would expect Aer Lingus to lay on as much capacity on the subsequent days to clear the backlog, whether by upgauging aircraft or flying any otherwise available aircraft, but it's not as if they have loads of planes idle, and extra staff that they can call in to operate them, so any extra flights are probably going to be few in number, and probably not to your destination, as such measures would probably be deployed on the busiest routes on the network/the routes with the largest number of stranded passengers.
I don't see any flaw in your plan, but bear in mind that buying fully-refundable tickets for 2 adults and 4 children today for flights to FAO in 2 weeks' time is likely going to be extremely expensive...only you can decide if the eventuality of having to buy, and use, such expensive tickets is worthwhile (assuming the tickets you currently hold are much cheaper).
Do you have travel insurance? I'm wondering if this could be pressed into service if, as events develop (and last time, EI started publishing the list of cancellations about 10 days ahead of the strike, so by early next week there should be developments). If it becomes apparent that you can't travel as planned, and your rebooking options with EI look poor, your insurance may be able to come into play and get you to FAO on your chosen dates some other (more expensive?) way...
2) There is no reason to suspect that your group (I assume all 6 of you are on the one booking) would be broken up. They clearly won't ever allow small children to fly unaccompanied, anyway! That said, having 6 of you may make rebooking a little bit more complicated.
3) Faro is a popular summer destination, so yes, it's very likely that flights on the surrounding dates will already be fairly busy.
You asked about Aer Lingus "booking" more flights the next day - I presume you mean operating more flights. Yes, I would expect Aer Lingus to lay on as much capacity on the subsequent days to clear the backlog, whether by upgauging aircraft or flying any otherwise available aircraft, but it's not as if they have loads of planes idle, and extra staff that they can call in to operate them, so any extra flights are probably going to be few in number, and probably not to your destination, as such measures would probably be deployed on the busiest routes on the network/the routes with the largest number of stranded passengers.
I don't see any flaw in your plan, but bear in mind that buying fully-refundable tickets for 2 adults and 4 children today for flights to FAO in 2 weeks' time is likely going to be extremely expensive...only you can decide if the eventuality of having to buy, and use, such expensive tickets is worthwhile (assuming the tickets you currently hold are much cheaper).
Do you have travel insurance? I'm wondering if this could be pressed into service if, as events develop (and last time, EI started publishing the list of cancellations about 10 days ahead of the strike, so by early next week there should be developments). If it becomes apparent that you can't travel as planned, and your rebooking options with EI look poor, your insurance may be able to come into play and get you to FAO on your chosen dates some other (more expensive?) way...
May 15, 2014, 9:26 am
#11
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Originally Posted by Aer Lingus
Dear Customers,
Aer Lingus, on 13 May, received notification from IMPACT, the trade union representing the majority of our Cabin Crew, that it intends to engage in strike action for a 24 hour period commencing at 00:01 on Friday 30th May.
We continue to engage in discussions with the trade union on the issues in dispute.
We wish to assure our customers that we will do all in our power to prevent any disruption to their travel plans. We sincerely apologise to customers for the uncertainty this threatened industrial action causes.
Aer Lingus Regional services are not affected in any way by this dispute. The full Aer Lingus Regional schedule will operate on 30th May. Services to and from Belfast are also entirely unaffected and will operate in full.
Our operations team will now commence a planning process aimed at minimising the effects on our flight schedule. We will inform customers via this website and all other available channels of communication of further developments in the coming days.
Aer Lingus Customer Service
Aer Lingus, on 13 May, received notification from IMPACT, the trade union representing the majority of our Cabin Crew, that it intends to engage in strike action for a 24 hour period commencing at 00:01 on Friday 30th May.
We continue to engage in discussions with the trade union on the issues in dispute.
We wish to assure our customers that we will do all in our power to prevent any disruption to their travel plans. We sincerely apologise to customers for the uncertainty this threatened industrial action causes.
Aer Lingus Regional services are not affected in any way by this dispute. The full Aer Lingus Regional schedule will operate on 30th May. Services to and from Belfast are also entirely unaffected and will operate in full.
Our operations team will now commence a planning process aimed at minimising the effects on our flight schedule. We will inform customers via this website and all other available channels of communication of further developments in the coming days.
Aer Lingus Customer Service
May 15, 2014, 9:31 am
#12
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They are no longer selling seats on DUB-FAO for 30 May (and, I suspect, the same holds true for many other routes) so I would expect this is a candidate for cancellation in the next few days...
The prices being charged on the surrounding dates suggest these flights are already quite busy, too.
The prices being charged on the surrounding dates suggest these flights are already quite busy, too.
May 17, 2014, 2:58 am
#14
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Details on flights operating and rebooking/refund arrangements can be found here: http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinfor...oninformation/
May 17, 2014, 3:38 am
#15
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An email from EI this morning :
Dear Customer,
Important Information for Aer Lingus Customers about threat of strike on Friday May 30th 2014
You may have read or heard recent coverage in the media about the threat of strike action from IMPACT, one of our cabin crew unions.
We are taking the opportunity to update you on this matter so you are fully informed.
Key Information for you
Industrial Action has been called by IMPACT, one of the cabin crew unions, for Friday May 30th 2014, affecting flights to and from Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports.
Aer Lingus flights to and from Belfast City will operate normally.
Aer Lingus Regional flights will operate normally.
Plans are being put in place to increase capacity on Thursday 29th May and Saturday 31st May 2014 to minimise inconvenience.
Your options/next steps
If you have booked to travel on 30th May please be advised of the options available to you.
Check aerlingus.com to view which flights will operate on May 30th 2014.
If your flight is not operating the options available to you are as follows:
a. Move your flight to another day free of charge - choose a date between 20th May and 9th June 2014.
b. Request a full refund.
You can make these changes in the Manage Booking section on www.aerlingus.com.
We apologise to our customers for the uncertainty and inconvenience this unnecessary industrial action by IMPACT has caused. We will do everything possible to minimise the disruption and we hope we will have the opportunity to serve you again soon.
Sincerely,
Aer Lingus
Dear Customer,
Important Information for Aer Lingus Customers about threat of strike on Friday May 30th 2014
You may have read or heard recent coverage in the media about the threat of strike action from IMPACT, one of our cabin crew unions.
We are taking the opportunity to update you on this matter so you are fully informed.
Key Information for you
Industrial Action has been called by IMPACT, one of the cabin crew unions, for Friday May 30th 2014, affecting flights to and from Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports.
Aer Lingus flights to and from Belfast City will operate normally.
Aer Lingus Regional flights will operate normally.
Plans are being put in place to increase capacity on Thursday 29th May and Saturday 31st May 2014 to minimise inconvenience.
Your options/next steps
If you have booked to travel on 30th May please be advised of the options available to you.
Check aerlingus.com to view which flights will operate on May 30th 2014.
If your flight is not operating the options available to you are as follows:
a. Move your flight to another day free of charge - choose a date between 20th May and 9th June 2014.
b. Request a full refund.
You can make these changes in the Manage Booking section on www.aerlingus.com.
We apologise to our customers for the uncertainty and inconvenience this unnecessary industrial action by IMPACT has caused. We will do everything possible to minimise the disruption and we hope we will have the opportunity to serve you again soon.
Sincerely,
Aer Lingus