rangerss75

Your personal experience has given you an insight into their situation. I have many American friends here and it takes many of them the whole of the time they are here to begin to adjust to life in Paris. It isn't as simple as someone who has never done it will claim. It's life-changing. And when you sell your house/appartment an hour's drive from CDG airport in Paris, you will just have the money to buy a garage (or perhaps rent one room) in the London area. A young, single FA can do it (and I think they will, but how many of them do you see on UA?!) but for a family it isn't an option.

The UA FA and RCC staff I have spoken to here (I have no connection with the company - I'm just a passenger like most people on this board) say that for the past five years the company has done nothing to market the airline locally. I know there's the bankruptcy business, but UA acts here (is it the same elsewhere in the world? I really don't know) as if they can survive on transporting Americans over here and back and doesn't need to attract French based (other than American expat) clients.

They may be right. I have to say it isn't easy to buy a ticket. I have six domestic US flights next week and the week after, and with all UA websites (other than the US) down for two weeks over New Year and beyond, the US website unable to accept business from someone without a US credit card, about six fruitless, frustrating and time-wasting calls to call-centres in India and Poland, I just gave up trying to book them. I spent hours (and I mean hours) trying to give UA my business, but ended up by going to one of their American competitors instead. A few clicks on a customer-friendly (and working) website and it was done. I've done myself out of E+ seating and RCC access into the bargain, but I had no choice (plus you can imagine how pissed I got in the end - determined to fly anyone but UA).

So UA isn't too keen on France as a market, and prefers US labour models? (I often wonder if every US company would act like Enron if they thought they could get away with it). OK, that's fine by me. Let them say they don't want our business. OK again. Other airlines (including other American airlines) will take it instead. But I think I'm glad that we have laws which stop them just walking out of their employees lives when they've had enough.

Morrissey

Perhaps this is one of the downsides of having a united (pardon the pun) Europe?

rangerss75

The fact that the European Economic Area is a single market means that it is now easy for those who FA's who want to (and can afford to) to move to LHR or FRA. They can do so without any government interference. But if any of the local staff are of American nationality (though I think very few are) they will have to apply for work permits and permission to live in the new country. But I imagine these people might be offered jobs back in the US and would likely be happy with that possibility.

cesco.g

One of the reasons to keep your travel agent. I have no problems with a booking fee in this instance.

DogHead

What a fantastic idea. Especially in Europe. For exactly the same (and few other) reason I was looking for travel agent in UK with good links to UA. I looked and looked and even posted a question about it on UA forum. Guess what... no luck.
Years ago UA used to work with many TA's in UK. True that nowadays their number is smaller, but even then you shoiuld be able to find at least one in almost 60m country with LHR as a UA european hub.
No way... TA's I spoke to said that years ago UA was completely different airline, one they could work with. Now there's no UA station as such no reps taking care of business, customer centre moved to India and Poland. It's not just a question of reduced sales commissions, because all airines reduced them.
It's a question of ability to contact and co-operate. Apparently in case of UA it doesn't exist.
Eventually I found TA with good contact to UA. But not here. I've found it in USA.
World is really becoming smaller...

rangerss75

Exactly what I have found. No TA's want to issue UA tickets in France either. As I said, UA make it very difficult for you to buy a ticket. So there's little local business (I happened to fly them before I moved here, but am doing so less and less), so there are fewer passengers, so they cut costs by closing the station for operational staff. Which is where we began.

I don't actually think it bothers them, or perhaps even the majority here. No-one offered much sympathy to those non-US posters who said they couldn't access their website for two weeks. If the US site is down for five minutes, there's a thread a mile long. (Well I'm exaggerating, I know - it'd be the longest thread on the board if people really did post every time it was down ).

But it's a question UA needs to ask as it comes out of bankruptcy. Are we an airline which basically takes American customers to places they want to go (or some of those places) or do we want to market ourselves as a worldwide airline and attract large numbers of local customers in those places? Of course there's big competition from the local carriers. But aren't competition and innovation supposed to be what American companies do best?

flyinbob

Again, the question. Anyone have any info on timing of this action? Some of us planning trips in the next few weeks...

Mike Jacoubowsky

Realistically, it probably doesn't matter. If it's just the 258 CDG-based FAs that go out on strike, it will hardly be a blip on the radar. Most likely the rationale for striking would be for internal support (in France). UA can easily cover their massive 2-flights/day operations at CDG with flight crews from the US. Or so I would think...

flyinbob

My concern is about any rolling impact. Will GAs work? Will fuelers fuel the planes? Will caterers cater? Will ground personnel service the planes? Will ATC people turn away flight? Can everyone in France follow the FAs lead and not even look at a UA plane?