BA Air Strike

[Ricky Chan]

I decided I don't want to be nervous for the next month about whether our June 6 flight from Vancouver to Paris might be canceled. I was able to rebook on Air Berlin at a pretty good price (under $1000 one way for 2 seats).

 

It cost me $70 per ticket to cancel but I get my points and taxes back.

 

Reviews on Air Berlin are mixed but as long as we get there I'll be happy.

 

My TA told me it will cost me a lot to cancel the tickets. Will wait and see what BA will do in the next few days before making a decision.

 

Ricky

[eetonaee]

Good luck. What part of Vancouver are you in? I live in North Van and work in Delta.

 

just leaving shortly to go to the Canucks game.

[H2Otstr]

My TA told me it will cost me a lot to cancel the tickets. Will wait and see what BA will do in the next few days before making a decision.

 

Ricky

 

Don't do it - you will lose all your $$$. I misread on the BA website that we could cancel, so I booked another flight, then went to cancel my BA flight and the message said that I would get back $246 from the $1700 that I paid.

 

Then I had to go back and cancel my second flight that I had just booked. Thankfully they had a 24 hr cancellation policy, I only lost $14 service fee. I had also canceled my hotels, etc. and had to go back and reinstate those. I did book an extra room in Barcelona, which I don't think I am getting reinbursed for.

 

What a mess !!! I don't like feeling like I am living on the edge of not knowing what is going on - I like to be in control.

[Globaliser]

One thing I don't understand is why there were so many crew actually showed up for work while the strike vote result showed over 80% in favourite of strike announced by union boss.

 

It seems contradiction to me. :mad: :mad:

One of the most interesting questions that I have about this whole sorry scenario is how many cabin crew are positively voting to strike and then actually turning up for work.

 

However, even if you leave aside that particularly extreme bit of lunacy, you have to remember that not every cabin crew member is a member of the union, and not every member of the union voted.

 

This time round, only 71% of union members voted, and of those, 81% voted to strike. This means that only 57.5% of union members positively voted to strike. There is very little support for the strike at Gatwick, where union members have been happily working for a couple of years now under arrangements that are very similar to whose which the company wishes to bring in at Heathrow. That tells you a lot about where the resistance is coming from.

 

I don't know what proportion of cabin crew are now members of the union, but it is a figure that has been dropping rapidly since December.

 

The other thing that keeps the flights in the air is the large number of people from other work groups within the company who have volunteered to work as cabin crew during strikes, and who have now been trained to do that. So there will be pilots and ground staff working in the cabins on flights that are operating during the strike.

[quanmama]

Don't do it - you will lose all your $$$. I misread on the BA website that we could cancel, so I booked another flight, then went to cancel my BA flight and the message said that I would get back $246 from the $1700 that I paid.

 

Then I had to go back and cancel my second flight that I had just booked. Thankfully they had a 24 hr cancellation policy, I only lost $14 service fee. I had also canceled my hotels, etc. and had to go back and reinstate those. I did book an extra room in Barcelona, which I don't think I am getting reinbursed for.

 

What a mess !!! I don't like feeling like I am living on the edge of not knowing what is going on - I like to be in control.

 

I assume you bought the lowest fare when you booked on BA.com? I was wondering yesterday about the statement "the original fare applies" and wanted to know how much we would be entitled to. the amount is ridiculous! I guess that is what it is when it comes to the lowest fare category. I am keeping my fingers crossed on our June 3 flight.

[Globaliser]

I was wondering yesterday about the statement "the original fare applies" and wanted to know how much we would be entitled to. the amount is ridiculous! I guess that is what it is when it comes to the lowest fare category.

If you booked a non-refundable fare, then it is non-refundable and it should be no surprise that you will get very little, if anything back if you choose to cancel at this stage when the original fare conditions still apply.

 

If your flight is cancelled and you become entitled to a full refund, and that is the option that you then choose, a full refund is exactly what you will then get.

[quanmama]

If you booked a non-refundable fare, then it is non-refundable and it should be no surprise that you will get very little, if anything back if you choose to cancel at this stage when the original fare conditions still apply.

 

If your flight is cancelled and you become entitled to a full refund, and that is the option that you then choose, a full refund is exactly what you will then get.

 

Thank you and I understand what you are saying. We are not planning to cancel our flights and are hoping our flights would go on as scheduled. We just wanted to know whether we get anything back at all in the case that we do have to cancel. Originally we thought we would get full refund but apparently that is not the case. I am not worried since we have very good travel insurance coverage and I have verified with them on our coverage.

[ashelsi]

The best advice I can give anyone who may have thier flight canceled is to do research and know of options you can ask the agent about when trying to rebook.

 

Know the flights on other airlines that are flying to your destination the same day as you. I would especially check American since they are a code share with BA and Iberia since BA signed a merger deal with them recently.

 

Secondly learn about the flights to alternative airports. For example I have a connecting flight from Heathrow to Venice. There is only one BA flight to Venice each day but there are 8 to Milan and 6 to Rome. I would have a much better shot at getting into one of those cities and then trains leave from both of them to Venice at least once hour.

 

The more prepared you are the better off you will be. If they tell you they can't get you on a flight for a few days then pull out your research and start asking about the alternate flights you found.

 

Good Luck to everyone and I hope you all get to your destinations!

[Tillylovesseabourn]

The best advice I can give anyone who may have thier flight canceled is to do research and know of options you can ask the agent about when trying to rebook.Secondly learn about the flights to alternative airports. For example I have a connecting flight from Heathrow to Venice. There is only one BA flight to Venice each day but there are 8 to Milan and 6 to Rome. I would have a much better shot at getting into one of those cities and then trains leave from both of them to Venice at least once hour.

 

 

 

 

There are 4 BA flights to Venice each day, one from Heathrow and 3 from LONDON GATWICK, BA will transfer you free of charge onto a LGW FLIGHT, which is unaffected by the strikes.

 

Note; This applies to all of the passengers from the US also. It is as a gesture of goodwill.

[ashelsi]

The best advice I can give anyone who may have thier flight canceled is to do research and know of options you can ask the agent about when trying to rebook.Secondly learn about the flights to alternative airports. For example I have a connecting flight from Heathrow to Venice. There is only one BA flight to Venice each day but there are 8 to Milan and 6 to Rome. I would have a much better shot at getting into one of those cities and then trains leave from both of them to Venice at least once hour.

 

 

 

 

There are 4 BA flights to Venice each day, one from Heathrow and 3 from LONDON GATWICK, BA will transfer you free of charge onto a LGW FLIGHT, which is unaffected by the strikes.

 

Note; This applies to all of the passengers from the US also. It is as a gesture of goodwill.

 

That is good to know. Adds to the options. If they can't get you out of Heathrow Gatwick is also an option. Thanks

[Globaliser]

Longhaul schedules for 18-23 May have now been confirmed. Go straight to the Arrivals and Departures page to see whether your flight will be operating or has been cancelled.

 

Shorthaul schedules will be announced tomorrow (Friday).

We just wanted to know whether we get anything back at all in the case that we do have to cancel. Originally we thought we would get full refund but apparently that is not the case.

You won't get a full refund now, because cancellation of your booking is not being offered as an option. And (if the current policy is maintained throughout the strike period, as it was during the last) cancellation will not be an option unless your actual flights are cancelled. So if you want to cancel your booking now, you will not get a full refund because your tickets are non-refundable.

 

But if cancellation of your booking becomes an option because your flight is cancelled, and at that stage you decide to cancel your entire booking, then you will get a full refund.

[quanmama]

Longhaul schedules for 18-23 May have now been confirmed. Go straight to the Arrivals and Departures page to see whether your flight will be operating or has been cancelled.

 

Shorthaul schedules will be announced tomorrow (Friday).You won't get a full refund now, because cancellation of your booking is not being offered as an option. And (if the current policy is maintained throughout the strike period, as it was during the last) cancellation will not be an option unless your actual flights are cancelled. So if you want to cancel your booking now, you will not get a full refund because your tickets are non-refundable.

 

But if cancellation of your booking becomes an option because your flight is cancelled, and at that stage you decide to cancel your entire booking, then you will get a full refund.

 

Thank you again Globalizser. Your explanation helps us to understand better. I just checked the flight status from May 18 thru May 23 for the same flight route and time and they will all be operating. Hopefully that would be the pattern for our flight. We will be flying out from SFO to LHR then connecting to BCN.

 

Question--in the case if our flights get canceled, is the chance of getting full refund high? Do you know what happened during the last strike?

[quanmama]

I found the information on cancellation compensation on BA's website. Keeping our fingers crossed that our flights won't get canceled!

[Globaliser]

We will be flying out from SFO to LHR then connecting to BCN.

You might want to have another look at LHR-BCN tomorrow after BA announces the shorthaul schedule for the first set of strike days. I suspect we will see a number of cancellations there.

Question--in the case if our flights get canceled, is the chance of getting full refund high?

I can only say it again: If your flight is cancelled and you then choose to cancel your entire booking, you will get a full refund.

[H2Otstr]

Our flight was canceled this morning and we got a full refund. The only problem is that a new flight cost more than double the old flight.

[quanmama]

Our flight was canceled this morning and we got a full refund. The only problem is that a new flight cost more than double the old flight.

 

Yikes! Which airline will you be flying? Sorry to hear about the cost.

[H2Otstr]

Yikes! Which airline will you be flying? Sorry to hear about the cost.

 

We are now flying US Airways. :(

[Globaliser]

Our flight was canceled this morning and we got a full refund. The only problem is that a new flight cost more than double the old flight.

Sorry to hear that.

 

Was BA not able to book you onto any alternative airline? If you could book space on US Airways so easily, I would be surprised if BA didn't at least try to get you space on some other airline even if there was no alternative BA route that would work.

What are my rebooking options now?

 

If your flight is cancelled you will be able to:

• rebook onto another British Airways flight on the same route within 355 days of the original date of travel at no extra charge, subject to availability

OR

• rebook onto another British Airways flight to/from the nearest alternative airport (for example, if booked to/from Boston you could rebook to/from Philadelphia or New York) at no extra charge, subject to availability

OR

• Rebook onto an agreed alternative airline, subject to availability

OR

• cancel your booking and obtain a refund to the original form of payment.

[H2Otstr]

Sorry to hear that.

 

Was BA not able to book you onto any alternative airline? If you could book space on US Airways so easily, I would be surprised if BA didn't at least try to get you space on some other airline even if there was no alternative BA route that would work.

 

I did not try. My timing is critical since I am going on a cruise.

[diane.in.ny]

Friend of mine had a mileage seat on a BA flight out of Toronto that was canceled.

 

Now, of course, she'll have to pay for a ticket on another airline. Like others, not a happy camper.

[NorbertsNiece]

Friend of mine had a mileage seat on a BA flight out of Toronto that was canceled.

 

Now, of course, she'll have to pay for a ticket on another airline. Like others, not a happy camper.

 

That's also my concern regarding air miles.....sigh.

[Globaliser]

Shorthaul schedules for the first strike period are now confirmed.

 

Perhaps most importantly for cruise passengers, 4 out of 7 Heathrow to Barcelona flights are operating every day, and all of the Heathrow to Venice flights are operating.

I did not try. My timing is critical since I am going on a cruise.

BA might have been able to get you onto an alternative flight that got you there in time - perhaps even the exact flights that you have booked yourself on, but at no extra cost to you.

Friend of mine had a mileage seat on a BA flight out of Toronto that was canceled.

 

Now, of course, she'll have to pay for a ticket on another airline.

Again, why did she not try to get BA to rebook her onto another airline? That is one of the options that is being explicitly stated.

 

I don't understand why people are just cancelling their bookings without exploring the options with BA first.

[AZjohn]

I don't understand why people are just cancelling their bookings without exploring the options with BA first.

 

Options are good but maybe people just "don't want to play" with BA right now, and I personally don't blame them.

John

[karen456]

Hello fellow Cruisers. I'm sure there are many of us in limbo now with the announced BA strikes. We are booked on BA from Los Angeles-London Heathrow on June 8 for a cruise leaving Dover on June 9 (European/Baltic - Eurodam). Checking the BA website, we saw that the flight we had was the one being cancelled for most of the 1st strike period (May 18-23). Happily my husband was able to get through to BA this a.m. and rebooked us on the 2nd flight of the day, which is NOT being cancelled for this first strike period. We are crossing our fingers it stays that way. That flight gets into London 1 1/2 hours later than our original flight, which still will allow us to make it to the ship on time albeit with less "cushion" of time. This is very nerve-wracking. First the volcano, now this....!

[NorbertsNiece]

Hello fellow Cruisers. I'm sure there are many of us in limbo now with the announced BA strikes. We are booked on BA from Los Angeles-London Heathrow on June 8 for a cruise leaving Dover on June 9 (European/Baltic - Eurodam). Checking the BA website, we saw that the flight we had was the one being cancelled for most of the 1st strike period (May 18-23). Happily my husband was able to get through to BA this a.m. and rebooked us on the 2nd flight of the day, which is NOT being cancelled for this first strike period. We are crossing our fingers it stays that way. That flight gets into London 1 1/2 hours later than our original flight, which still will allow us to make it to the ship on time albeit with less "cushion" of time. This is very nerve-wracking. First the volcano, now this....!

 

Hi. Could you not have changed it to fly in the day before? Do hope it all works out for you.