WilcoRoger

Always implying/wishing that there will be a Finnair whose planes they can fly...

NB I think the pilots are also strongly (maybe unknowingly) playing the "Finnair won't go bust, the state will save it" card, but in the EU you can't just go and save airlines. (except in Italy, but that has shown where it leads)

tsastor

Finnair wants to start using other pilots - OK
Pilots go on strike - OK
What happens next?
Finnair sacks pilots and starts using other ones?
Other airlines take over the passengers?
When the economy picks up, pilots find other employers?
Finnair goes bankrupt and shareholders lose their investment?
Finns lose their convenient schedules?
Other Finnair employees lose their jobs?

Shinigami

My parents are meant to fly back to Helsinki from Geneva this coming Saturday the 21st... If Finnair goes on strike, what are their options?

Will they be put on a SAS or KLM flight, or will they go with BA? They're flying in Business.

TTL

I estimate that major changes are to occur very soon in Finnair. Finnish taxpayers can not be expected to support the boheme life style of Finnair pilots. The general public is so much against it - after reading a few discussion threads.

And the argumentation by the pilot union is best defined childish. They either begin flying 800 to 900 hours per year, postpone their retirement, and cut their wages for the time being - or find another job.

FinnComm and Blue1 can supply the domestic needs. Many other companies rest of the needs. As for the European traffic, getting there and back home the same day (around or a couple of hours after the midnight) I do not regard as a strong marketing argument. The days of reckless business travel may be over. Electronic ways of communication can replace much of those short trips.

The Finnair Asian (and the sole North American) connections could be transferred to Finnish Air Plc. - which perhaps could hire some the most experienced Finnair pilots but with new terms. Much of the current feeder traffic to Europe could much be taken care by FinnComm as well (flying the ATRs and Embraers) and the most profitable routes such as BRU, LHR and CDG would be left for Finnish Air Plc (flying the A320 fleet).

WilcoRoger

No idea, I have HAM-HEL on Sat, no idea how I'll do that. If AY is still on strike, I might just get a cheap oneway AB ticket and AY be damned.

AY CS director last night told that pax will be rerouted, so your parents probably will get back to HEL, though possibly not without some inconveniences (longer route, longre layover, etc)

TTL

AY phone lines are overcongested. No chance to get through. The web pages suggest of using Check My Trip.com and changes in routings would be shown there.

I would not trust to those promises. My monday morning KUO-HEL-LHR flights have been done nothing about and I expect also that nothing will happen. So I have filled in compensation claim using the AY NONSECURE web form.

The worst thing for many passengers is that travel insurance will not cover losses to industrial action strike.

miikka

Most of the travel insurances do not cover this situation. If trip was booked before the strike was announced or before the strike started and traveller has for example Amex Gold/Platinum card then they have a travel insurance, which will be still valid. But sure, most of the standard insurances (from domestic traditional insurance companies) have already made announcements that they will not cover this.


Updates collected from newspapers:
- BA has announced to fly with bigger capacity airplanes to HEL to help the situation
- Blue1 has announced extra flights to at least KUO to help the situation and if possible with extra capacity
- Finncomm has announced that they will open new routes to cover striked AY routes (HEL-OUL/RVN/KTT/KAJ/ARN/VNO) and also to have extra flights at least to VAA/KUO
- National railways will add extra capacity

hermanni

Has anybody received a call from Finnair?

I have two Finnair flights coming up: HEL-BRU on Monday afternoon and AMS-HEL Tuesday evening.

I've received no communication from Finnair or from our corporate travel agency and Checkmytrip shows no changes to routing. I haven't bothered to try to call anywhere.

At least I'm glad to see Amex travel insurance should refund my hotel charges if the trip gets cancelled, as they include industrial action in things they cover.

miikka

hermanni, since you are booked through travel agency, I would assume that you will get things going on during Monday when they are back in the office unless you want to call to their 24hr service line already now.

I remember seeing information on Finnair web site that if the passenger is booked through travel agency then the primary channel would be travel agency.

I guess Finnair is progressing slowly, today they have already quite many passengers facing cancelled flights as practically all of their long-hauls are cancelled (only exception being BKK), they are probably busy processing those now.

Richey66

so TLL-HEL route will not be stopped as it's operated by Finncomm?

TTL

I received 1 hour ago cancellations of my 6:10 flight KUO-HEL-LHR on 16 Nov. No alternative was given, just plain no go.

FinnComm seems to pick up business opportunities quickly, as can be seen from their web pages regarding the domestic hops.

FinnComm apparently operates all its scheduled routes.

hermanni

I got an SMS now, basically just telling me my flight is cancelled and asking to check Finnair web site for more info.

m2uk

My parents are due to fly CDG-HEL tomorrow (via uk) and they got told via the web to call the Finnish number (answers and sounds like someone hanging up straight away says father: probably makes some answer stats look good). Finnair web site gives list of other numbers, i.e. Finnair UK (hello: we don't work on Sundays says the answering service)...

After getting involved I see they are booked via Air France. Air France on a Sunday (gasp, I am praising AF now!) promptly answered their UK number, checked a few things, promised to call back within 15 minutes which they did and rerouted him.

Only bad thing is that they had to be proactive so a black mark to AF there. (the flight was sold as an AF number but it is op by AY).

I use Finncomm a lot internally and must say they do seem to be better than their AY counterparts for the basic stuff. Maybe Finnish labour unions are thinking they are in the 70s and aiming their weapons at feet now.

chris flyalot

Hi Guys,

I am scheduled to travel AY, tomorrow (Monday), LHR>HEL>DEL - booked in C. Any ideas or thoughts, needless to say no one has contacted me. FYI, current BA Gold

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers

TTL

I´d contact the UK call center, see below. Those in FI are now just impossible to get through. Or if not in a hurry with my travel, just would walk to the Finnair ticketing desk at T3 to ask for an interesting rerouting. That should not be a problem between LHR and DEL. Shopping at DBX? Upper deck tranquility?

http://www.finnair.com/finnaircom/wp...ystiedot/en_UK