Possible Strike at Barcelona Airport
Aug 14, 2018, 3:18 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 7
Possible Strike at Barcelona Airport
Hi all, I'm flying on AY from BCN on Aug 18th to connect on AY101 to Hong Kong. Just read the following news about a possible strike by AY BCN based crew in that day:The Spanish trade union USO announced on Thursday, August 9, that its Finnair cabin crew members at El-Prat Airport in Barcelona will launch a series of 24-hour strikes beginning Saturday, August 18, if their demands are not met. Additional strikes will be held on August 19, 25, and September 1-2. Talks between union leaders and Finnair are scheduled to take place on Friday, August 10, in Barcelona. According to media reports, if the strikes go ahead, 18 flights and around 3000 passengers will be affected.
Haven't heard anything from AY so don't know of the strike is still on. But anyways, if my flight is cancelled, would AY get me to HEL first on other carriers to connect to AY101 or AY99, or is it likely that they will put me on a flight to HKG instead(connection at other EU hubs)?
I've done some research, if they still want to put me in HEL, most likely it will be AY99 for connection as it departs at 11:45pm, but that would put me in HKG 7hrs later. I understand that EU261 does not generally cover strikes, what's my option if it really Happens? I'm flying J class and I'm a OW Ruby member, does it help in this vase?
Thanks for your advice in advance.
Context
According to the USO, 50 workers will participate in the strikes. The union is demanding better working conditions and salary raises.Advice
Potentially affected travelers are advised to monitor the situation and to contact Finnair for additional information.Haven't heard anything from AY so don't know of the strike is still on. But anyways, if my flight is cancelled, would AY get me to HEL first on other carriers to connect to AY101 or AY99, or is it likely that they will put me on a flight to HKG instead(connection at other EU hubs)?
I've done some research, if they still want to put me in HEL, most likely it will be AY99 for connection as it departs at 11:45pm, but that would put me in HKG 7hrs later. I understand that EU261 does not generally cover strikes, what's my option if it really Happens? I'm flying J class and I'm a OW Ruby member, does it help in this vase?
Thanks for your advice in advance.
Aug 14, 2018, 7:22 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,745
The BCN route is operated with outsourced Spanish crew. There exists the possibility that AY will fly normally, using their own, HEL-based crew instead of the outsourced one. Whether they will actually do this, we do not know. Calling AY now would most likely not help – the call center will only see the flight as not-cancelled and there's nothing more they can do at this time.
Which of the BCN-HEL flights will you be on on 18AUG? It is unlikely that AY will fly into BCN and have the plane either stranded, or fly it home empty, so if I were you, I would monitor the incoming aircraft HEL-BCN, and if it gets cancelled, call AY immediately to suggest a reroute. They might not be aware of BCN-HEL being cxl at that time, but in this case you need to push.
The reroute could be anything – BCN-XXX-HEL-HKG, BCN-LHR-HKG etc. J will certainly help, OWR probably not that much.
Which of the BCN-HEL flights will you be on on 18AUG? It is unlikely that AY will fly into BCN and have the plane either stranded, or fly it home empty, so if I were you, I would monitor the incoming aircraft HEL-BCN, and if it gets cancelled, call AY immediately to suggest a reroute. They might not be aware of BCN-HEL being cxl at that time, but in this case you need to push.
The reroute could be anything – BCN-XXX-HEL-HKG, BCN-LHR-HKG etc. J will certainly help, OWR probably not that much.
Aug 14, 2018, 8:14 pm
#3
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: C2
Programs: AY ex-Lumo, TK Elite, BT VIP, ITA Executive
Posts: 1,157
I've done some research, if they still want to put me in HEL, most likely it will be AY99 for connection as it departs at 11:45pm, but that would put me in HKG 7hrs later. I understand that EU261 does not generally cover strikes, what's my option if it really Happens? I'm flying J class and I'm a OW Ruby member, does it help in this vase?
Aug 14, 2018, 11:26 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 7
The BCN route is operated with outsourced Spanish crew. There exists the possibility that AY will fly normally, using their own, HEL-based crew instead of the outsourced one. Whether they will actually do this, we do not know. Calling AY now would most likely not help – the call center will only see the flight as not-cancelled and there's nothing more they can do at this time.
Which of the BCN-HEL flights will you be on on 18AUG? It is unlikely that AY will fly into BCN and have the plane either stranded, or fly it home empty, so if I were you, I would monitor the incoming aircraft HEL-BCN, and if it gets cancelled, call AY immediately to suggest a reroute. They might not be aware of BCN-HEL being cxl at that time, but in this case you need to push.
The reroute could be anything – BCN-XXX-HEL-HKG, BCN-LHR-HKG etc. J will certainly help, OWR probably not that much.
Which of the BCN-HEL flights will you be on on 18AUG? It is unlikely that AY will fly into BCN and have the plane either stranded, or fly it home empty, so if I were you, I would monitor the incoming aircraft HEL-BCN, and if it gets cancelled, call AY immediately to suggest a reroute. They might not be aware of BCN-HEL being cxl at that time, but in this case you need to push.
The reroute could be anything – BCN-XXX-HEL-HKG, BCN-LHR-HKG etc. J will certainly help, OWR probably not that much.
I'm on AY1654. There's three flights that day, I'm on the 10:15 one. The incoming aircraft will be AY1655 the previous night, I'll be monitoring the flight.
Aug 15, 2018, 11:44 am
#5
Join Date: May 2014
Location: HEL
Programs: AY+Plat, ALL Plat, Scandic L2
Posts: 3,620
The BCN route is operated with outsourced Spanish crew. There exists the possibility that AY will fly normally, using their own, HEL-based crew instead of the outsourced one. Whether they will actually do this, we do not know. Calling AY now would most likely not help – the call center will only see the flight as not-cancelled and there's nothing more they can do at this time.
Call center will help if there is an official waver, even if the flight is not cancelled. But otherwise, it's indeed most certainly useless to call.
Aug 16, 2018, 3:58 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 7
With the help from Google Translate, I read that the cabin crew based in Barcelona has not reached an agreement with the outsourced company and will go on strike as planned....
I haven't heard anything from Finnair yet, I can still check in online for the flight. So don't know if the flight will be cancelled or not....
I haven't heard anything from Finnair yet, I can still check in online for the flight. So don't know if the flight will be cancelled or not....
Last edited by wangwb3; Aug 16, 2018 at 9:47 pm
Aug 17, 2018, 9:16 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: FRA / HEL
Programs: AY+ Platsku, IC Plat. Amb., HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, etc.
Posts: 75
Flights for this weekend have now been cancelled: https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/flightinfo
Originally Posted by Finnair
Adecco, whose cabin crew operates Finnair's Barcelona route, has received a strike notice for the last two weekends of August and for the first weekend of September. Unfortunately, Finnair will need to cancel the following flights:
Saturday 18.8
Sunday 19.8.
If your flight is cancelled:
Saturday 18.8
- Barcelona-Helsinki AY 1652
- Barcelona-Helsinki AY 1656
Sunday 19.8.
- Helsinki-Barcelona AY 1651
- Helsinki-Barcelona AY 1655
If your flight is cancelled:
- We inform customers of flight cancellations and delays by sending them text messages. We ask you to kindly check from Manage booking that we have your current contact information, so that the text messages can reach you.
- We offer a new routing to all customers whose flights are cancelled, and you will see the rerouting in Manage booking or mobile app.
- If the new routing suits you, please arrive to the airport according to your new reservation.
- If you wish to change the routing, please contact Finnair customer service by phone, chat, @finnairhelps on Twitter or Facebook.
- If you have bought your ticket directly from Finnair, you can apply for a refund of a cancelled flight and bought ancillary services here.
Aug 17, 2018, 9:38 am
#8
Join Date: May 2012
Location: GVA (HEL)
Programs: AY Plat (OWE)
Posts: 536
Flights for this weekend have now been cancelled: https://www.finnair.com/fi/gb/flightinfo
Aug 17, 2018, 10:33 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: FRA / HEL
Programs: AY+ Platsku, IC Plat. Amb., HHonors Gold, SPG Gold, etc.
Posts: 75
Correct! Thanks for the clarification.
Looks like BCN-HEL AY1654 on Saturday and HEL-BCN AY1653 on Sunday will operate normally. As well as normal HEL-BCN flights on Saturday (AY1651, AY1653) and BCN-HEL flights on Sunday (AY1654, AY1652).
Looks like BCN-HEL AY1654 on Saturday and HEL-BCN AY1653 on Sunday will operate normally. As well as normal HEL-BCN flights on Saturday (AY1651, AY1653) and BCN-HEL flights on Sunday (AY1654, AY1652).
Aug 27, 2018, 9:00 am
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 7
That’s right, I was quite lucky to be on the only flight that’s not cancelled that day. But the flight was operated with minimum service, so no drinks or meals,not even in J class....
Aug 27, 2018, 9:31 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Platinum, TK Elite, BT VIP, AA, BA, SK, DL, NT, WB + hotels
Posts: 8,745
If you were in J, you could write a conscise email to AY explaining that while you were happy that your flight operated, you were disappointed in the inflight service. I'm sure they'll offer some kind of compensation as a hot meal and drinks are part of your ticket.