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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 Sep 6, 2019, 3:55 pm
  #1666  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
Originally Posted by tuonopepper
Seems like escalation is on the agenda, not resolution....
Originally Posted by Can I help you
I doubt it, it’s all bluff as with the last two disputes we were told we would lose staff travel for ever but it was returned as part of the settlement agreement.
Ah I see they've taken it away so they have to negotiate to bring it back, 1 to BA I think.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 2:40 am
  #1667  
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 35
But they will have friends and family who will be able to assist on their staff travel for other airlines. No big deal. I believe AA assisted some cabin crew on their last strike 9 years ago. BA using their bullying tactics as usual.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 2:52 am
  #1668  
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We all know ways at getting around this and it’s just bullying, when you look at the bigger picture it is really insignificant.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:15 am
  #1669  
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: BAEC Gold
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Originally Posted by delores
BA using their bullying tactics as usual.
Why is it that when a union tightens the screws it's described as good negotiating tactics, but when an employer does the same it's bullying?
Agent69 is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:28 am
  #1670  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,197
Because the employer has the power. It's all about context.
lhrpete, EDIflyer, delores and 1 others like this.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:31 am
  #1671  
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Originally Posted by RG1X
Because the employer has the power. It's all about context.
Have they? I'd say it's the opposite in this case. I doubt the pilots will miss 3-4 days pay a month too much. BA will certainly miss the £40m a day the strike reportedly costs them.
nancypants likes this.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:36 am
  #1672  
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And the stupid thing about removing staff travel from strikers is that BA are going to great lengths to hide the identity of hopefully the very few pilots that come in to work (that won’t work anyway), well they will obviously be the ones who have staff travel!
The whole removal of staff travel is a joke.
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Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:43 am
  #1673  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Programs: BA GGL (for now) and Lifetime Gold, Marriott fan thanks to Bonvoy Moments
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So what happens if BA have cancelled (pretty much) all their flights and then a load of pilots turn up for work???

(beyond Alex Cruz having a complete meltdown)
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lorcancoyle is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:48 am
  #1674  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 1,197
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
Have they? I'd say it's the opposite in this case. I doubt the pilots will miss 3-4 days pay a month too much. BA will certainly miss the £40m a day the strike reportedly costs them.
If it was all down to the costs then it likely would have been dealt with already. If you believe the numbers anyway.
nancypants likes this.
RG1X is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:50 am
  #1675  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London
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Posts: 5,115
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
Have they? I'd say it's the opposite in this case. I doubt the pilots will miss 3-4 days pay a month too much. BA will certainly miss the £40m a day the strike reportedly costs them.
I presume pilots would only lose pay if they were rostered for the day and didn’t show up - so maybe the average loss for pilots would only be 1 day for each 3-4 days of strikes?
lorcancoyle is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:50 am
  #1676  
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Originally Posted by RG1X
If it was all down to the costs then it likely would have been dealt with already. If you believe the numbers anyway.
My take is that BA don't want to be seen to moving an inch with the pilots. If they do, then the other employees will (rightfully) start demanding the same.
delores, KeaneJohn, gorps1 and 1 others like this.
DYKWIA is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:53 am
  #1677  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: NT Australia
Programs: QF WP
Posts: 4,160
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
My take is that BA don't want to be seen to moving an inch with the pilots. If they do, then the other employees will (rightfully) start demanding the same.
indeed, if cruz et al had all got the same 11.5% raise as everyone else we perhaps wouldn’t be having this conversation

suppose the line has to be drawn somewhere 😉
delores likes this.
nancypants is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 3:54 am
  #1678  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
 
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Originally Posted by lorcancoyle
So what happens if BA have cancelled (pretty much) all their flights and then a load of pilots turn up for work???

(beyond Alex Cruz having a complete meltdown)
They have to pay them!
Tobias-UK is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 4:25 am
  #1679  
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: London
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Posts: 5,115
Originally Posted by Tobias-UK


They have to pay them!
Think that would be pretty hilarious - BALPA call off the first 2 strike days tomorrow as a gesture of goodwill with no preconditions. Pilots get paid, keep staff travel but BA have had all the costs of cancellations, leasing cover etc.

(PR could backfire horrendously for BALPA though)
lorcancoyle is offline  
Old Sep 7, 2019, 5:23 am
  #1680  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,061
Originally Posted by Can I help you
And the stupid thing about removing staff travel from strikers is that BA are going to great lengths to hide the identity of hopefully the very few pilots that come in to work (that won’t work anyway), well they will obviously be the ones who have staff travel!
The whole removal of staff travel is a joke.
Fewer than half of pilots will be rostered to work on any given two-day period. Anyone who wants to strike but isn't rostered won't be recorded as striking, therefore won't lose ST benefits. Anyone who does work can fit smoothly into this group with no one any the wiser.
Confus is offline  


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