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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 22, 2019, 12:45 pm
  #1276  
 
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Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
I don't like jumping to conclusions, given BA's IT however.....
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.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 12:51 pm
  #1277  
 
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Originally Posted by mjh0
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.
What dates look suspicious to you then please?
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:35 pm
  #1278  
 
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Originally Posted by mjh0
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’m a bit of a newbie with all this. Could you please explain what that all means?
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:39 pm
  #1279  
McG
 
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Originally Posted by samfrost93


I’m a bit of a newbie with all this. Could you please explain what that all means?
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).
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:40 pm
  #1280  
 
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Originally Posted by McG
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).
For what dates please? Thanks
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:49 pm
  #1281  
McG
 
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Originally Posted by paulaf
For what dates please? Thanks
According to the original poster the 11th & 12th of September.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:52 pm
  #1282  
 
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Originally Posted by McG
According to the original poster the 11th & 12th of September.
Thanks lots of dates were being mentioned so I lost track. Is there normally a longish gap between strike dates like the Ryanair ones, clutching at straws for my flight on 18th?
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 1:56 pm
  #1283  
 
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Originally Posted by paulaf
Thanks lots of dates were being mentioned so I lost track. Is there normally a longish gap between strike dates like the Ryanair ones, clutching at straws for my flight on 18th?
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
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:05 pm
  #1284  
 
Join Date: May 2010
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Originally Posted by W213Sal

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
I think the Ryanair ones are about 10 to 11 days apart, do you consider that close together?
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:08 pm
  #1285  
 
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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.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:09 pm
  #1286  
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
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Originally Posted by martin102
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.
Sounds like it. Their website was down awhile ago. Looks like it is back up.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:14 pm
  #1287  
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Pricing is actually high from Wed 11th to Sun 15th, although the latter dates could be recovery.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:18 pm
  #1288  
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
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Originally Posted by rapidex
So BALPA calls a strike in school holidays they lose support. They wait and they lose support for prevaricating. Which is it?

BALPA is in a serious negotiation with BA, who are not playing nicely. If it becomes necessary to strike the requisit notice will be given.
I guess it's subjective based on your view point, however in my view, I'm grateful this has now passed out of the school summer holiday time line, though that does seem to be more by chance than anyone's doing.

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.
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:20 pm
  #1289  
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
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Originally Posted by paulaf
I think the Ryanair ones are about 10 to 11 days apart, do you consider that close together?
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).
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Old Aug 22, 2019, 2:21 pm
  #1290  
 
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Originally Posted by ScruttonStreet
OT, but goodness, surely no job could ever be worth that?
Work to live, don't live to work springs to mind.
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