Jul 20, 2019, 3:27 am
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
Aug 22, 2019, 4:20 pm
#1307
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 101
On the dates that BA are only showing the fully flexible buckets, I've noticed on the routes I looked at AY are showing all the fare buckets at 0 except Y, with no first club, wt+ availability and AA are not showing as codesharing at all. So seems more than an IT glitch is partner airlines are not showing flights.
Aug 22, 2019, 4:33 pm
#1308
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
On the dates that BA are only showing the fully flexible buckets, I've noticed on the routes I looked at AY are showing all the fare buckets at 0 except Y, with no first club, wt+ availability and AA are not showing as codesharing at all. So seems more than an IT glitch is partner airlines are not showing flights.
Rather than speculation lets wait for the facts
Aug 22, 2019, 4:40 pm
#1310
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
Aug 22, 2019, 8:27 pm
#1312
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 101
On expertflyer codeshares AY is showing all buckets at 0 (not just the BA 4 buckets) with only Y available, not reflecting BA'a inventory as normal
IB and AA are not showing as codeshare and on the route. Not 0 in buckets, just route on those days not showing
Aug 22, 2019, 9:12 pm
#1313
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: UK/Australia
Programs: BAEC Silver, UA2MM, QF Platinum, VA Platinum., Volare Executive Club
Posts: 2,512
I'm looking at LHR-OTP (I'm booked for 22/9), and EF is showing only J and Y availability for the entire week 10/9 -16/9.
Don't know what to make of that....
Don't know what to make of that....
Aug 22, 2019, 10:48 pm
#1315
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,526
If the "zero'ed out except full fare" is a preemptive strike reaction from BA, then I think it may be a paradoxical one. From what I understand, a month to 2 weeks before a flight is the period when most people buy their tickets so the airline may be depriving itself of enormous revenue by effectively not selling any flights for 7 + 3 days in roughly that period, which may not end up being strike days.
BA may have "heard" that BALPA had planned to announce a strike on those days, but the union has certainly no incentive to make the airline's planning any easier than legal commitments compel. Even if that was the intention, they could well change their plan at the last minute, ie not announce a strike date for those days as the 14 days deadline comes and do it instead on some other dates when BA have been selling lots of tickets. That way, they could easily cost BA money twice, once by indeed striking on days when BA did not expect, and a second time, without asking their members to take a single day off strike but letting BA lose millions of revenue of its own will by trying to outsmart the strikers. That would just be quite bizarre and I would have thought that BA's best tactics would paradoxically be to do nothing (but start approaching potential charter airlines on principle) until actual strike days are announced.
BA may have "heard" that BALPA had planned to announce a strike on those days, but the union has certainly no incentive to make the airline's planning any easier than legal commitments compel. Even if that was the intention, they could well change their plan at the last minute, ie not announce a strike date for those days as the 14 days deadline comes and do it instead on some other dates when BA have been selling lots of tickets. That way, they could easily cost BA money twice, once by indeed striking on days when BA did not expect, and a second time, without asking their members to take a single day off strike but letting BA lose millions of revenue of its own will by trying to outsmart the strikers. That would just be quite bizarre and I would have thought that BA's best tactics would paradoxically be to do nothing (but start approaching potential charter airlines on principle) until actual strike days are announced.
Aug 22, 2019, 11:07 pm
#1316
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
If the "zero'ed out except full fare" is a preemptive strike reaction from BA, then I think it may be a paradoxical one. From what I understand, a month to 2 weeks before a flight is the period when most people buy their tickets so the airline may be depriving itself of enormous revenue by effectively not selling any flights for 7 + 3 days in roughly that period, which may not end up being strike days.
Aug 22, 2019, 11:26 pm
#1318
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 750
Aug 23, 2019, 12:44 am
#1320
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire
Posts: 1,242
I have a domestic flight on the 11th Sept back on the 13th Sept and what else is interesting that on both flight the CE cabin made it the biggest possible size. So its not just J and Y only available but the cabin sizing looks wrong. We are talking on the 13th 17:50 LBA-LHR 10 rows of CE. Also expertflyer doesn't even shows any other fare bucket just J and Y.
Plus BA.com is really playing up...
I think an another IT issue is on the horizon...
Plus BA.com is really playing up...
I think an another IT issue is on the horizon...