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.
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.
LHR/LGW pilots (BALPA) industrial action 9 Sep, 10 Sep, and 27 Sep
#1276
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: A hop, skip and jump away from MAN.
Programs: BAEC Gold, ex-VS Gold, ex-UA Gold, Premier Inn Platinum-Iridium
Posts: 1,114
I think that in and of itself speaks volumes about what this is about, I'm afraid.
#1277
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
Just looking at routes where the downroute destination is served by Mainline and Cityflyer (e.g. AMS, EDI, GLA, etc.) the Mainline flights are "J9 Y9" only, with everything else closed while the Cityflyer operated flights are still on standard farebuckets and availability.
I think that in and of itself speaks volumes about what this is about, I'm afraid.
I think that in and of itself speaks volumes about what this is about, I'm afraid.
#1278
Join Date: Aug 2018
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 152
Just looking at routes where the downroute destination is served by Mainline and Cityflyer (e.g. AMS, EDI, GLA, etc.) the Mainline flights are "J9 Y9" only, with everything else closed while the Cityflyer operated flights are still on standard farebuckets and availability.
I think that in and of itself speaks volumes about what this is about, I'm afraid.
I think that in and of itself speaks volumes about what this is about, I'm afraid.
#1279
Join Date: Oct 2008
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 887
It means that at the moment BA are only selling tickets on these routes in the J & Y fare buckets for flights ex LHR or LGW (mainline) while they are selling all fare buckets for flights ex LCY (Cityflyer).
#1280
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
#1282
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
#1283
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Cork, Ireland
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK Elite, HH Diamond
Posts: 259
FR went with 2 x 48 hr strike (same union) so I'm guessing it'll be 2 x 48 hour strikes again, longer they leave the 2nd strike the more room to play for BA so they'd want them fairly close together but it does mean less negotiation time so can't call that one
#1284
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,345
I think the Ryanair ones are about 10 to 11 days apart, do you consider that close together?
#1285
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Edinburgh
Programs: BA Gold. Flying Blue, Radisson, Accor
Posts: 289
The BA website is still selling cheap tickets to Edinburgh on the 11 Sep and on any date before or after so looks like an IT glitch which has been happening all day with BA.
#1286
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 8
#1288
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold, IHG Platinum, Hilton Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle.
Posts: 1,448
I have this view as I have less concern about the strike impacting business trips, including my own, than I did about it impacting family holidays, including my own.
That said I know a lot of people's business trips are important to them and people also outside of school holidays, also that uncertainty is not nice.
There really is no good way for this to pan out that suits everyone and their timelines/plans.
#1289
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Cork, Ireland
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK Elite, HH Diamond
Posts: 259
no that's pretty far apart. Plus BALPA could be using FR strikes to test a strategy and see what works, we might not get any announcements until the second set of FR strikes are over. FR have already promised 0 cancelations, given enough time BA would be able to still re route high value passengers via AA, IB and QR, plus set some flights off early on important routes (say extra flights to JFK, LAX, HKG etc).