Pilots go on strike! Not again... [Nov 2016 edition]
Nov 23, 2016, 11:56 am
#107
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Ord
Posts: 92
My wife's flight was cancelled. She had flight from ORD to MUC today on UA and second leg from MUC on LH tomorrow. United representatives vere more than useless. Even though I saw couple options onnline (on Lot, TK and Austrian) they said that can not do anything and refunded fare...but who is going to refund missing wedding and time and money for preparation.
Lufthansa...no more. Ever.
Lufthansa...no more. Ever.
Nov 23, 2016, 12:12 pm
#108
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: CLE
Programs: UA MileagePlus Premier Platinum
Posts: 1,360
My wife's flight was cancelled. She had flight from ORD to MUC today on UA and second leg from MUC on LH tomorrow. United representatives vere more than useless. Even though I saw couple options onnline (on Lot, TK and Austrian) they said that can not do anything and refunded fare...but who is going to refund missing wedding and time and money for preparation.
Lufthansa...no more. Ever.
Lufthansa...no more. Ever.
Nov 23, 2016, 1:19 pm
#109
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Ord
Posts: 92
Paid ticket...3 different reps gave me 4 different stores why they can't do anything....they are all true, maybe...but lack of willingness to help...that was really bad. Reasons:
1. No availability (definitely not true, I found at least 2 different options in economy...but more expensive than my original fare)
2. We need 24 hours to confirm flight with carrer other than United
3. Already issued refund
4. Because cancellation is LH fault, United doesn't have obligations to do anything more.
And on a top of everything, when I asked to talk with supervisor, they put me on hold, and after 30 minutes rep just hung up.
1. No availability (definitely not true, I found at least 2 different options in economy...but more expensive than my original fare)
2. We need 24 hours to confirm flight with carrer other than United
3. Already issued refund
4. Because cancellation is LH fault, United doesn't have obligations to do anything more.
And on a top of everything, when I asked to talk with supervisor, they put me on hold, and after 30 minutes rep just hung up.
Last edited by Tedimed; Nov 23, 2016 at 1:24 pm
Nov 23, 2016, 1:46 pm
#111
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
Well, that theory seemed to hold right up until about 9 hrs prior to departure when I discovered they canceled 419. No notice was given by phone or email nor re-booking offered on the website. I found out by checking LH website flight status which showed canceled, then viewed the booking which showed everything fine, then visited the check-in section where I got the cancel message with instructions to go to the airport - yeah right. Fortunately I had OS ticket stock. Originally booked OS outbound, but they removed the connecting flight to Rome a couple of months ago and changed the flights to LH. I called the OS call center and they rebooked me on AF and I was able to OLCI w/AF select seats and print BP -all in about 5 minutes. Whew..
I'm in the IAF AF Lounge having some decent champagne and now have a solo lie flat instead of an LH double. Not a bad outcome considering the situation.
I don't have any status with AF, so used an old Delta FF number (0 miles in the account) for the flight credit. Does anyone know if it is possible to get MP credit after completing the flight or is that too complicated given the OS/LH/AF mixture?
V/r,
-Cyborg
I'm in the IAF AF Lounge having some decent champagne and now have a solo lie flat instead of an LH double. Not a bad outcome considering the situation.
I don't have any status with AF, so used an old Delta FF number (0 miles in the account) for the flight credit. Does anyone know if it is possible to get MP credit after completing the flight or is that too complicated given the OS/LH/AF mixture?
V/r,
-Cyborg
As Oliver mentioned above, a friend was moved from a award ticket on LH to a revenue class on Air India. Try all options.
Nov 23, 2016, 2:43 pm
#113
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYZ
Programs: BA Gold/Marriott Gold/HH Diamond/IC Plat Amba
Posts: 5,992
Just when I thought that 2017 would be a good year to come back to Lufthansa this starts up again. Just arrived back in YYZ from MUC using BA and landed to see the LH 744 parked at the old infield terminal for the next few days I guess now. I like using Lufthansa and had 2 really nice short flights using them MUC-BUD this week but now I realize why I gave up on SEN in 2014 when this stuff first started iirc.
Nov 23, 2016, 7:34 pm
#115
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 368
Will they re-book me on a different airline if I call them in advance? (In anticipation that the strike may get extended till Monday)
Nov 23, 2016, 8:48 pm
#116
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: GRR, USA
Posts: 3,298
I'm flying this weekend. I hope the pilots do not extend the strike further. But considering the backlog, what repercussion this can have on upcoming scheduled flights?
Will they re-book me on a different airline if I call them in advance? (In anticipation that the strike may get extended till Monday)
Will they re-book me on a different airline if I call them in advance? (In anticipation that the strike may get extended till Monday)
Nov 24, 2016, 2:08 am
#117
Join Date: Jan 2012
Programs: TK*S
Posts: 64
Good luck to those affected by the strike! With Thanksgiving in the US, the timing is quite unfortunate.
The strikes are the reasons I stopped flying LH, after barely missing 3 strikes and going all-in through the one from last November. I was flying alone for business and was pretty miserable then I saw families with small kids and realized I was getting off easy.
From my experience:
1. LH won't rebook you on a different flight unless the strike is announced for that day ( (CET timezone). This means paying close attention to the end of the day for any news.
2. If you manage to get to the call-center (very tricky) ask for a backing reservation for a different airline even if your flight hasn't been officially cancelled. That is, the operator makes a booking on a different metal that gets confirmed if the current flight is cancelled.
This saved me last year as my LH FRA-LHR got officially cancelled while I was on-route to FRA and the booking for BA kicked-in.
3. If you can afford it/are in a rush/find a reasonable priced flight on a different airline (unlikely but still) get the ticket. It's extra money for sure but in case of a strike, you can get to your destination. There's a high-risk LH won't reimburse you but again, this is about you not them.
Safe travels!
The strikes are the reasons I stopped flying LH, after barely missing 3 strikes and going all-in through the one from last November. I was flying alone for business and was pretty miserable then I saw families with small kids and realized I was getting off easy.
From my experience:
1. LH won't rebook you on a different flight unless the strike is announced for that day ( (CET timezone). This means paying close attention to the end of the day for any news.
2. If you manage to get to the call-center (very tricky) ask for a backing reservation for a different airline even if your flight hasn't been officially cancelled. That is, the operator makes a booking on a different metal that gets confirmed if the current flight is cancelled.
This saved me last year as my LH FRA-LHR got officially cancelled while I was on-route to FRA and the booking for BA kicked-in.
3. If you can afford it/are in a rush/find a reasonable priced flight on a different airline (unlikely but still) get the ticket. It's extra money for sure but in case of a strike, you can get to your destination. There's a high-risk LH won't reimburse you but again, this is about you not them.
Safe travels!
Nov 24, 2016, 3:32 am
#120
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,417
Any news/guesses regarding whether the strike will continue on Saturday?