HAM-LHR-JFK BA/VS first leg cancelled in advance - who/what to ask for
 

I have an interline BA/VS ticket HAM-LHR-JFK, with the VS leg in PE. Bought directly from VS.

i just got an email (14 days and 7 hours before my flight) from BA that they are cancelling the BA leg due to industrial action. There is now no way I can get to LHR in time that day, so I will need to fly out the day before. Not the end of the world, as long as I don't have to pay the UK APD for a layover greater than 24 hours.

But, I don't want to be rebooked on BA if they are going to have striking pilots.

Since I bought the ticket, do I call VS and ask to be rebooked HAM-AMS-LHR on KL? Or do I have to call BA and hope they can put me on a flight the day before?

Before someone asks, this is the first leg of an open jaw that comes back to London in January, so no I don't have trip insurance. Eurowings can get me to London for well under 100 Euros even with a checked bag, but buying it and noshowing whatever BA rebooks me on would risk my VS ticket being cancelled.

You need to call VS because you booked with them but before you do reasearch several alternative routings so you can ask for alternatives.

Om no corcumstances should you miss any of the legs of your flight unless you ahve been rebooked.

And why don't you have travel insurance??????

I don't have travel insurance because my flights are backward - my leg to Europe is the back half of an ultra cheap J AF CDG-JFK-CDG I found in the Mileage Run forum, started July 4, and then HAM-LHR-JFK is the first leg of a double open-jaw returning BOS-LHR in January. I will probably snag a one way ticket back in January when I can slum it on a flight award on either VS/AA.

Meanwhile, I plan on asking for KL HAM-AMS-LHR on the afternoon of the 7th as I have no faith that the afternoon BA either will actually operate or has any seats left.

Ideally they'd let me fly HAM-AMS-DTW on the 7th with the DL 350 and and the JV and call it even. Or worst case make me fly DTW-JFK on the 8th to line up the destination. (I have an award flight JFK-RDU that evening, but I can cancel for free as a Platinum)

Less ideal is HAM-CDG-JFK, as I have heard horrible things about AF PE on the 380. But that would still beat LHR.

Why don't you simply call VS and at least hear what your options are before confirming anything.

And, as above, going to the US without travel insurance - well that's your risk.

I did call VS. They hadn't sorted out their policy on this and told me to call back later on Saturday.

And I live in the US, not in Europe. Insurance that sends me back in a middle seat in coach, that is not insurance to me. I prefer to self insure when the trips are smaller amounts of money or award trips, and after 30 years fully understand the risks and benefits.

It's illegal for staff from other airlines, the airport and even non pilot BA employees to 'act in sympathy' or 'secondary action' in Industrial relaions parlance with the pilots. They won't be legally immunised and can be sacked for breach of contract

I really don't see LHR being 'messed up'.

I think you are misunderstanding why Heathrow will be messed up.
There will thousands of BA passengers who turn up to the airport because BA are trying to run some flights with the pilots that still report for work, and whatever wet leases they can put together.
There will also be thousands that have flown one leg of a connecting itinerary but the second flight doesn't go.
So it will be a zoo

I perfectly understand the situation thank you very much

T5 as BA's main terminal may have issues but the operations of the airport as a whole won't be affected. Flight ops with out BA will likely be much smoother!

BA have been cancelling flights on the 8th exactly to prevent issues with connections on the 9th and have been rebooking those passengers on to other airlines / routes. If people turn up expecting something then more fool them. There has been enough publicity about the strike so people can't pleed ignorance.

Why would VS be affected or DL or AA or UA or <insert names of any other airline other than BA here> be affected??

True, Virgin do not use T5, and there will likely be less stacking and waiting for departure, but given Virgin uses T3 and there is a non trivial BA presence there - plus everyone being rebooked on the other Oneworld airlines that also use T3 will be told to head there at somepoint (and will expect it to be better than T5 so are likely to move sooner rather than later) I very doubt that T3 will be as serene as usual.

These aren't cancellations being announced on the day, or even a day before. I highly doubt people whose BA flights are cancelled now are going to turn up at Terminal 3 in two weeks time and just mill around all day to block up the terminal.

The terminal might be a big busier than usual assuming that most of the airlines still operating have full load factors, but it's not like Heathrow can't handle busy travel days.

It'll probably be a bit busier than it would usually be in September, but I'd be surprised if there was anything more than busy security/check-in areas.

After all of that... BA sent me a note saying oh sorry, we didn't actually cancel your flight, carry on...

So now it's back on schedule, and assuming no delays 3.5 hours is sufficient time to get transferred from T5 to T3. If there is a delay on BA's part that causes me to miss the 137, I'm probably toast because now the remaining VS flights that day are all going to be full up, but then I get to spend an extra couple of days in London with perhaps some EU261 compensation to cover some hotel expenses.