Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Miles&Points > Airlines and Mileage Programs > Air France, KLM, and Other Partners | Flying Blue > Air France Frequence Plus
Reload this Page >

AF strike June 23rd -> June 26th suspended, except for one union: SPAF

AF strike June 23rd -> June 26th suspended, except for one union: SPAF

Old Apr 18, 2018, 1:12 am
  #106  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Hong Kong, France
Programs: FB , BA Gold
Posts: 15,532
Originally Posted by kvncrw
Greetings. Any idea how your friend communicated with AF? Phone, SMS, social media, etc.? Merci
Regular AF phone number here:
+852 2501 9433, 7 days a week, from Monday to Friday 08:00 to 19:00, Saturday to Sunday 09:00 to 18:00.
They have increased staffing to the call center/reservation and some staff work overtime.

Last edited by brunos; Apr 18, 2018 at 1:23 am
brunos is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 1:58 am
  #107  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SJJ/AMS
Posts: 4,645
Warsaw-Paris-Buenos Aires – got rebooked on Alitalia, which is not really what I wanted because of the long layover in Rome (nowadays Alitalia only operate 1 daily flight from Warsaw to Fiumicino...), but at least it was all easy-peasy and I can see the reservation on the Alitalia app as well.

G
AlicorporateUK is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 2:45 am
  #108  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Accor 25+ Badge
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Paris, France
Programs: AF/KL Flying Blue Platinum for life/Club2000 Ultimate, Accor ALL Diamond
Posts: 21,890
Originally Posted by Itzitzitz
I was booked on a paid La Premiere ticket from SFO to CDG to BUD April 18. Got a call yesterday from the AF desk in SFO thathat the flight was going to be cancelled. I was told that I would be booked onto Lufthansa First on the same day (April 18) from SFO-FRA-BUD. I asked them to give me a longer layover in FRA so that I could enjoy the FCT so they reissued me a ticket. When I looked at the ticket I saw they had put me into business class (despite my original fare being a paid F ticket).

I called them today and fought on the phone with AF for almost 2 hours that I should be put on an F fare and not J, and if they were going to put me into J they would have to give me a refund. I spoke to 3 different people who tried to tell e that either business was the same as first or that Lufthansa didn’t have a first class cabin on their A380 that goes from SFO to FRA. Total bull. I’ve flown both business and first with Lufthansa and had to tell them that there was indeed a difference between the two and that Lufthansa definitely has a first cabin. Eventually they looked it up and caved and changed my ticket to F with Lufthansa.

Worst part is that I was looking forward to this La Premiere trip for months and its left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. I have never flown with AF before. I am flying the return leg in La Premiere with them and it appears to be a non-strike day, but its unfortunately the A380 which I am told is an inferior F cabin.

Anyone else have similar experiences with this strike?
If you are based in the US, you obviously talked to a DL agent (DL is handling AF call centers in the US) and those guys are totally incompetent about AFKL products. So I'm not surprised they don't even know there is a difference between P and J
Goldorak is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 3:19 am
  #109  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,610
Delta agent may be unknowledgable about different between F and J, but by far far far I've found delta agents to be the most accomodating in reroutes and schedule change requests. They'll allow basically anything if asked nicely.

Do we have any updates on the negotiations - any local news from folks in Paris on if this matter seems to be any close to resolution at all? Surely AirFrance and SCNF don't want these strikes to keep happening as spring/summer travel increases late next month?
nomiiiii is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 5:37 am
  #110  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Four Seasons Contributor BadgeMandarin Oriental Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Originally Posted by nomiiiii
Surely AirFrance and SCNF don't want these strikes to keep happening as spring/summer travel increases late next month?
AF and SNCF don't want these strikes at all. But they are not the ones striking. Plus the government is taking a strong stance on reforms and thus the unions will have to cave in eventually. Or so it seems.
stimpy is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 8:47 am
  #111  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,660
Claim for your compensation!

Seems it may not apply to AF as these strikes are union-planned and advised in advance...but check out the last paragraph reproduced below...

Originally Posted by The Independent
As around 40,000 passengers on Air France find their flights cancelled because of strikes, a new ruling at the European Court of Justice could mean they are entitled to hundreds of euros in compensation.

<snip>

A number of cases were brought in the German courts, which asked European judges to rule.

They concluded: “The spontaneous absence of a significant part of the flight crew staff (‘wildcat strikes’) … which stems from the surprise announcement by an operating air carrier of a restructuring of the undertaking, following a call echoed not by the staff representatives of the company but spontaneously by the workers themselves who placed themselves on sick leave, is not covered by the concept of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ within the meaning of that provision.”

Bott & Co, a Cheshire law firm which specialises in flight compensation claims, said: “The ruling that staff strikes should not be classed as extraordinary circumstances is worth tens of millions of pounds in compensation a year to passengers and will be legally binding throughout Europe and will hold precedent in UK cases.”

<snip>

The court added that making a distinction between wildcat strikes and those organized by a trade union would make passenger compensation dependent on the rules in different EU countries, which could undermine air passenger rights.
Attached Images  
irishguy28 is online now  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 9:41 am
  #112  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,832
Are there any indications already about the likelihood of AF continuing their strikes in May?
San Gottardo is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 10:00 am
  #113  
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Programs: FB platinum
Posts: 369
I was supposed to fly HKG - AMS - LHR on KLM yesterday (with an overnight in AMS). Then on a separate ticket LHR - CDG with AF today (which is a strike day).
When checking-in at HKG and asking to check-through my luggage, the staff proactively offered a direct reroute HKG - AMS - CDG (all yesterday) because "with the strike, we don't know if the London - Paris flight will operate". I took the rerouting, got home earlier, and after looking today my LHR - CDG flight was indeed cancelled, so yay for HKG staff
lynxy is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 11:34 am
  #114  
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 18
Originally Posted by brunos
Regular AF phone number here:
+852 2501 9433, 7 days a week, from Monday to Friday 08:00 to 19:00, Saturday to Sunday 09:00 to 18:00.
They have increased staffing to the call center/reservation and some staff work overtime.
Thanks, brunos. AF in Canada has a toll free, but I'll try both if necessary. I'm guessing that all discourse is by phone but the AF contact page encourages facebook, etc. contacts as well during the strike, although I've read no evidence of this on the forum. All the best
kvncrw is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 1:17 pm
  #115  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum Ultimate / Accor ALL Platinum / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 11
There will be more days on strike as the pilot syndicate SNPL has officially announced that they declined the last offer from Air France head and they will make the strike stronger.
GdB_Sky is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 2:32 pm
  #116  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: San Francisco
Programs: UA MM Plat, UA 1MM, Hilton Lifetime Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Gold, CLEAR, AS MVP Gold
Posts: 3,614
Canceling my AF tickets now and re-booking with another carrier. Need MUC-NCE and NCE-CDG (or any Paris airport). Any suggested carriers from this group? Thanks in advance.
nomad420 is offline  
Old Apr 18, 2018, 3:48 pm
  #117  
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Programs: FlyingBlue Platinum Ultimate / Accor ALL Platinum / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 11
EasyJet for NCE-CDG and for MUC-NCE perhaps Lufthansa.
GdB_Sky is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2018, 1:00 am
  #118  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,361
Originally Posted by irishguy28
Seems it may not apply to AF as these strikes are union-planned and advised in advance...but check out the last paragraph reproduced below...
This is irrelevant. If a wildcat strike is not an extraordinary circumstance, a fortiori a planned one would even less so be one. The reasoning of the Court in the case makes that very clear.

I may be mistaken but, AFAIK, AF does not in any event treat strikes by its own staff as extraordinary circumstances and instead follows the same approach as French courts do for force majeure in contract law, viz. distinguishing between strikes affecting the party itself, which are not force majeure/extraordinary circumstances, and strikes by third party, which are.
NickB is offline  
Old Apr 19, 2018, 1:12 am
  #119  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,660
Originally Posted by NickB
I may be mistaken but, AFAIK, AF does not in any event treat strikes by its own staff as extraordinary circumstances
So you mean to say that AF are (quietly, perhaps) paying out EC261/2004 compensation to all that seek it as a result of strike action?
irishguy28 is online now  
Old Apr 19, 2018, 5:57 am
  #120  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,361
Originally Posted by irishguy28
So you mean to say that AF are (quietly, perhaps) paying out EC261/2004 compensation to all that seek it as a result of strike action?
I believe that indeed AF do pay compensation when asked when canx are due to strike action by AF personnel (not spontaneously of course but when claimed). In other words, they do not reject such claims by alleging ext circs. This is based on a recollection of cases where compensation was paid in such circumstances. I could not, however, provide an authoritative source for this and I do not rule out entirely that my memory could play tricks on me, hence the "I may be mistaken" caveat in the previous message...
NickB is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.