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LHR/LGW pilots (BALPA) industrial action 9 Sep, 10 Sep, and 27 Sep

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Old Jul 20, 2019, 3:27 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
Quick answers to FAQ:

Help! What do I do now?
Most importantly, don't panic and don't do anything in haste. Read these FAQ. Read the thread, particularly the posts starting from the time that the strike dates were announced. Identify your options. Think about what works for you. Then take action. If you do anything in haste, you may have thrown away good options, or you may have thrown away money that you needn't have spent.

NOTE: Some emails have been sent out by mistake notifying the cancellation of flights on 8 September and other dates. If your booking still looks OK in MMB then you don't need to take further action. A cancelled flight should be shown in MMB with struck-through text. If your flight details are not struck through, then it probably hasn't actually been cancelled. You could check ba.com to see whether BA is still taking reservations for the flight in question. If so, then the flight has not been cancelled. You may also try checking on ExpertFlyer, if you have access, to see whether your flight appears still to be operating and whether BA is still taking reservations. However, some afternoon/evening flights on 8 September have genuinely been cancelled. See main thread for details.

Has a strike been called yet?
Yes. BALPA, the pilots' union, has voted in favour of strike action, and the Court of Appeal has rejected BA's submission to have the poll set aside, so the legal process is now over. The two parties went back into talks after the legal proceedings and those talks were expected to continue into the week of 5 August.

BALPA on 23 Aug announced strikes on Monday 9 September Tuesday 10 September and Friday 27 September.

Any further strikes normally require 2 weeks notice under UK legislation.

What flights may be affected?
LHR and LGW based flights. Not LCY or STN flights. Both cabin and flight crew are in dispute with BA, but the pilots (captains, senior first officers, first officers) are closest to strike action.

How long would a strike last?
The initial strikes are for two days the a single day, with normal working in between. Any other strikes could be of any length. It would be rare in the UK for there to be a full time strike.

What would happen to my flights if it is a strike day?
A range of options have been announced, see post 1551 below for more information: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...l#post31451055

and BA Trade Site guidance here: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...kba?faqid=7594

Rebooking is now allowed on Iberia, AA, Finnair, JAL and Qatar. Within Europe EI and Vueling are also allowed. This is for both revenue and redemption flights.

and the FAQ on BA.com here (this includes information on BA Holidays bookings which are substantially different): https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...st-information

Can I do anything with an existing booking now?
Yes. Your options are different depending on whether your flights are currently showing as cancelled or not. See the links above.

What about Heathrow staff - aren't their strikes planned there too?
Yes there is a separate dispute at the moment between Heathrow Airport (HAL) and their staff such as those who operate the security checkpoints. See the separate thread on the issue.

Am I protected by EC261 if there is a problem?
You are always covered by the Right to Care provisions of Regulation EC261. You could potentially be able to claim compensation for delays, cancellations and downgrades caused by BA staff action too, but not for HAL strikes (for cancellations only if there is flight is less than 14 day’s notice). See the main EC261 thread in the BA Forum Dashboard.
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LHR/LGW pilots (BALPA) industrial action 9 Sep, 10 Sep, and 27 Sep

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Old Aug 27, 2019, 6:50 am
  #1516  
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Join Date: May 2011
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Originally Posted by UKtravelbear


I see a Transport Select committee hearing into BAs handling of this happening and it won’t be pretty for BA. They won’t be able to hide and will have to provide answers and obfuscating and platitudes won’t be an option.
I do hope so, I think it will be a first.
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Old Aug 27, 2019, 8:51 am
  #1517  
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Simon Calder speaks in the Indy an hour ago according to their website ...

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a9080251.html

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has demanded an explanation from British Airways about its apparent non-compliance with aspects of European air passengers’ rights rules ahead of a pilots’ strike.
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Old Aug 27, 2019, 9:44 am
  #1518  
 
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Oops. lol
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Old Aug 27, 2019, 12:22 pm
  #1519  
 
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Thought at first that BALPA were being generous to BA in giving more than 14 days notice thereby allowing them to avoid paying compensation of more than £5million which is the alleged cost of their claim. But now that BA did that and created chaos and bad PR perhaps that was their intention to make BA look even worse than they are.
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Old Aug 27, 2019, 4:04 pm
  #1520  
 
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Originally Posted by killaypirate
Thought at first that BALPA were being generous to BA in giving more than 14 days notice thereby allowing them to avoid paying compensation of more than £5million which is the alleged cost of their claim. But now that BA did that and created chaos and bad PR perhaps that was their intention to make BA look even worse than they are.
I imagine BALPA realised that it could sit back and watch BA create self-inflicted harm...
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Last edited by DC Mike; Aug 27, 2019 at 4:17 pm
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Old Aug 27, 2019, 8:27 pm
  #1521  
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
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Programs: BAEC Silver, UA2MM, QF Platinum, VA Platinum., Volare Executive Club
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Originally Posted by DC Mike
I imagine BALPA realised that it could sit back and watch BA create self-inflicted harm...
If BALPA wanted to cause harm to BA, that would be very short sighted and would no doubt impact adversely on the pilots in due course. But who knows what BALPA is thinking...
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 1:59 am
  #1522  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
Originally Posted by Grace B
If BALPA wanted to cause harm to BA, that would be very short sighted and would no doubt impact adversely on the pilots in due course. But who knows what BALPA is thinking...
BALPA has no wish to harm BA which is why they gave more than the statutory minimum warning of the strike days. The fact that BA completely cocked up and went into meltdown cannot be blamed on BALPA.
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 4:44 pm
  #1523  
 
Join Date: May 2010
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Is this true?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7403743/Talks-set-resume-BA-bosses-pilots-union-BALPA-planned-strikes.html
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 4:59 pm
  #1524  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: EDI
Programs: Was BA GGL but no longer travelling
Posts: 583
It must be, it's in the sun too, and everything in the sun is true.

Last edited by HighwayToHEL; Aug 28, 2019 at 5:03 pm Reason: Incorrect linky
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 5:40 pm
  #1525  
 
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Posts: 4,160
I know it’s the mail but not sure how even they can twist it as a “union climbdown”
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Old Aug 28, 2019, 7:51 pm
  #1526  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: EDI
Programs: Was BA GGL but no longer travelling
Posts: 583
Asking BA for talks rather than the other way round?
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Old Aug 29, 2019, 1:19 am
  #1527  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 47
Originally Posted by paulaf
Is this true?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7403743/Talks-set-resume-BA-bosses-pilots-union-BALPA-planned-strikes.html
The rather cheap attack on a man on holiday discredits this article. I know it is the mail but still...
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Old Aug 29, 2019, 2:07 am
  #1528  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
Originally Posted by HighwayToHEL
It must be, it's in the sun too, and everything in the sun is true.
I don't care who asked for talks first, I'm just happy if they resume as they might achieve something.
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Old Aug 29, 2019, 3:02 am
  #1529  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 5,596
I wouldn't be at all surprised if BALPA asked BA for further talks. Having seen the self inflicted carnage BA has gone through in a misguided attempt to avoid EU261 payments, followed by the pathetic initial refusal to rebook on other airlines, I would say this is the perfect time for BALPA to contact BA and ask about further talks. BA has after all inflicted more damage upon itself than anybody expected. The time might be ripe for the board to get involved and instruct AC to make a new offer.

Failing that the strikes are still going ahead as planned.
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Old Aug 29, 2019, 3:35 am
  #1530  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
It’s the other way round... BA has asked for talks, but the BALPA committee are all on holiday and have refused. Will be interesting to see if this changes opinions around who has more support (it certainly has changed mine).
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