SAS Strike June 2022?

[dreamercruise]

24 minutes ago, lionheart said:

I’m shocked what a small amount of flight options I have  open to me 

 

SAS really had market cornered 

 

not sure what to do 

travel agent told me to hang tight as the prices go up 

I looked back at your posts. Looks like you booked air through RCL. Isn’t it RCL’s responsibility to make sure you have a flight to get to the ship? If so, then I think your TA is right about hanging tight.  I assume that RCL will find you the flight and that you are not responsible for any price increase/difference.  Is my assumption correct?  If so, do nothing for another week before going the route of refundable tickets.  July 30 is still 3 weeks away.  Hope the strike will be over before then.

 

[lionheart]

2 minutes ago, dreamercruise said:

I looked back at your posts. Looks like you booked air through RCL. Isn’t it RCL’s responsibility to make sure you have a flight to get to the ship? If so, then I think your TA is right about hanging tight.  I assume that RCL will find you the flight and that you are not responsible for any price increase/difference.  Is my assumption correct?  If so, do nothing for another week before going the route of refundable tickets.  July 30 is still 3 weeks away.  Hope the strike will be over before then.

 

Rcl will find me a flight the issue is I have to pay the difference for a much worse flight and all the flights are double the cost 

[dreamercruise]

1 hour ago, lionheart said:

Rcl will find me a flight the issue is I have to pay the difference for a much worse flight and all the flights are double the cost 

Oh. Not good. Then, what is the benefit of getting air from RCL?  Anyway, in this case, I would book a refundable ticket as a backup (not giving you advice though).  Reason is that when SAS does cancel your flight, you have only 48 hrs notice. By then, there will be close to no flight choices.  You can wait a week to see how things develop with the strike before buying a refundable, backup ticket.

In terms of high cost and lousy flight schedule, I would take it.  It is better than not being able to cruise at all. Look at it this way. The good flight that you have now may not meant to be. Focus on having a good time. Life is short.

[hallasm]

7 hours ago, dreamercruise said:

Do you think SAS will be around next year?  Or any SAS flight to/from US after consolidation?

I’m pretty sure that SAS has a future.  
Unfortunately, there are some employment conditions for flight personnel that the SAS management wants to bring to an end. The strike is not a question of wages but of management rights.
A large part of SAS is owned by the Danish and Swedish states - and SAS is especially important for Denmark and Copenhagen.  
With the current Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I believe the strike will come to an end.  Negotiations are still open.

[lionheart]

4 hours ago, hallasm said:

I’m pretty sure that SAS has a future.  
Unfortunately, there are some employment conditions for flight personnel that the SAS management wants to bring to an end. The strike is not a question of wages but of management rights.
A large part of SAS is owned by the Danish and Swedish states - and SAS is especially important for Denmark and Copenhagen.  
With the current Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I believe the strike will come to an end.  Negotiations are still open.

I would think Denmark would help more

[Desdichado62]

5 hours ago, hallasm said:

I’m pretty sure that SAS has a future.  
Unfortunately, there are some employment conditions for flight personnel that the SAS management wants to bring to an end. The strike is not a question of wages but of management rights.
A large part of SAS is owned by the Danish and Swedish states - and SAS is especially important for Denmark and Copenhagen.  
With the current Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, I believe the strike will come to an end.  Negotiations are still open.

 SAS is effectively a Danish airline now. The Swedish state sold their shares maybe 1-2 months ago and the Danish state increased it's ownership share.

[hallasm]

27 minutes ago, Desdichado62 said:

SAS is effectively a Danish airline now. The Swedish state sold their shares maybe 1-2 months ago and the Danish state increased it's ownership share.

Not entirely correct.  The Swedish state still owns 21.8% of SAS, however the government of Sweden has announced it will not give any fresh capital to SAS and this is seen as a step towards the Swedish government’s exit from ownership of SAS, which the Norwegian government completed several years ago.

 

At the end of May 2022, both governments of Denmark and Sweden held 21.8% ownership of SAS.

Sweden will most likely not be a long-term owner of SAS, while Denmark is expected to increase share in SAS.

[lionheart]

Bankruptcy ruling should be good news and allow for restructuring 

 

hopefully this will assist with the strike 

[ASealander]

SAS protected my flight originally scheduled for tomorrow. I’m getting in about 4 hours later than I would have, but not bad considering the prices out there. Thought I’d share for those that have followed the thread and feel worried.

[dreamercruise]

27 minutes ago, ASealander said:

SAS protected my flight originally scheduled for tomorrow. I’m getting in about 4 hours later than I would have, but not bad considering the prices out there. Thought I’d share for those that have followed the thread and feel worried.

What do you mean by protected?  How?  My Monday flight has still not cancelled.  The warning changed from free rebooking availed to high cancellation risk.

[ASealander]

41 minutes ago, dreamercruise said:

What do you mean by protected?  How?  My Monday flight has still not cancelled.  The warning changed from free rebooking availed to high cancellation risk.

Got my notice this morning that the flight was cancelled. Logged into my bookings and the new flight on another Star Alliance company was already there.

[ontheweb]

9 minutes ago, ASealander said:

Got my notice this morning that the flight was cancelled. Logged into my bookings and the new flight on another Star Alliance company was already there.

That is great. Enjoy your trip, hopefully now worry free.

[dreamercruise]

SAS finally cancelled my flight this morning.  This afternoon, they emailed me to notify me about a new itinerary with the new outboard flight changed from July 11 to July 12. What bothers me is not that I would have missed my cruise, but that I know very well the July 12 flight will be cancelled tomorrow.  The pilot strike is still on, and it is not about to end anytime soon.  What idiots would put their customers through so much pain and stress with multiple cancellations?

If you try to book a RT flight to Oslo now, you will find that there are no available flights for booking till this Saturday. I bet the non-availability will extend to Saturday if you book tomorrow.

[dreamercruise]

On 7/9/2022 at 7:07 PM, ASealander said:

Got my notice this morning that the flight was cancelled. Logged into my bookings and the new flight on another Star Alliance company was already there.

Good for you.  As long as the new flight is not SAS, you are safe.

[hal2008]

We know about the strike situation for nearly 4 weeks now. 

Refundable Backup plan (air canada or other star alliance partner) was easy at that time

(Good travel insurance will pay for the difference in cost of alternative transport if flight is cancelled by the carrier especially when you have missed connection for cruise option)

[hallasm]

The SAS conflict has been going on since July 4th.  Earlier today, the Danish Pilots' Association confirmed that the airline and the pilots will return to the negotiating tomorrow Wednesday.  Announcements are positive.
 As soon as the parties reach an agreement, SAS can quickly become fully operational.
 Update when news.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, hallasm said:

The SAS conflict has been going on since July 4th.  Earlier today, the Danish Pilots' Association confirmed that the airline and the pilots will return to the negotiating tomorrow Wednesday.  Announcements are positive.
 As soon as the parties reach an agreement, SAS can quickly become fully operational.
 Update when news.

For all those affected, let us hope for the best. 

[CruiserBruce]

14 hours ago, hallasm said:

The SAS conflict has been going on since July 4th.  Earlier today, the Danish Pilots' Association confirmed that the airline and the pilots will return to the negotiating tomorrow Wednesday.  Announcements are positive.
 As soon as the parties reach an agreement, SAS can quickly become fully operational.
 Update when news.

Well...maybe. Are the planes where they need to be? Are the crews where they need to be? In the US,  we have lots of experience with resumption of service after major weather disruptions...it takes days for a 24-48 hour partial disruption in just a region. A full stop lasting days, all over the SAS system? Not so easy.

[hallasm]

4 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

In the US,  we have lots of experience with resumption of service after major weather disruptions...it takes days for a 24-48 hour partial disruption in just a region

You might be right but weather disruption is different - by now all SAS planes are at their home base - so are the pilots. Should not be that difficult to resume operation. Time will show.

My comments are based on statements from Danish aviation analysts.

[CruiserBruce]

42 minutes ago, hallasm said:

You might be right but weather disruption is different - by now all SAS planes are at their home base - so are the pilots. Should not be that difficult to resume operation. Time will show.

My comments are based on statements from Danish aviation analysts.

But, to give an example...CPH to SFO, and back. That flight might depart tomorrow at 9am local time, arrive at SFO at, just say, noon SFO time. Normally,  that plane would turnaround and fly back about 2 hours later, with a crew that flew in yesterday and had a little over 24 hours off. But if this is the first flight after the strike, there isn't a fresh crew at SFO ready to take the plane back. Legally,  there isn't an obvious way for the plane to return that day. And the union isn't going to allow a crew to deadhead for 10 or 12 hours and fly the return flight.  And you don't want those pilots to deadhead that situation...its not safe.

 

Maybe there is another solution...flying a crew in the day before on another airline. That's a lot of crews jumping around ahead of schedule to get everything lined up, and a delay in the actual resumption of SAS flights

[AdventureKenandCar]

As I write this, I am in the airport in Istanbul. My July 10 flights were completely cancelled:

“Dear Traveler,

We are sorry to inform you that your booking (redacted) has been canceled.

Unfortunately, we are unable to find a suitable alternative for you. During the summer season there are limited seats available on the market. This means that we are not able to find a new seat within the same time frame as your current booking.

We truly apologize for the inconvenience this will cause you.

Please read more on:https://flysas.com

Would you prefer to cancel your trip and apply for a refund of your ticket, you can do this via "My bookings"https://flysas.com/managemybooking

If you have made your booking through SAS and want to change your trip to a later occasion, you can contact Customer Service after the strike has ended.

If you have made your booking through a travel agency, please contact them for further assistance.

Please inform anyone else traveling with you.Please do not travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed reservation.

Best regards,
SAS”

The only reasonable flight from Stockholm to Chicago was 2 days later through Istanbul with a 7 1/2 hour layover. 
I don’t have the mental bandwidth to figure out who and how I’m going to be compensated, but I saved EVERY receipt from this bit of unfortunateness. I’m going to pursue

1. SAS will pay for my flights, hotels, meals through the EU rules

2. Travel insurance will compensate my “up to” amount 

3. The credit card I used to make my original SAS purchase will compensate (a long shot)

4. Some combination of the above. 
 

Does anyone have further suggestions?

[hallasm]

8 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

But, to give an example...CPH to SFO, and back.

It might take one more day to resume transatlantic and Asia operations. 

[hallasm]

5 hours ago, AdventureKenandCar said:

Does anyone have further suggestions?

You need to provide more details - I assume your ARN - CPH - ORD is cancelled and you are flying home via IST. Flights, dates, who cancelled, when and who booked new itinerary…
 

[hal2008]

14 hours ago, AdventureKenandCar said:

As I write this, I am in the airport in Istanbul. My July 10 flights were completely cancelled:

“Dear Traveler,

We are sorry to inform you that your booking (redacted) has been canceled.

Unfortunately, we are unable to find a suitable alternative for you. During the summer season there are limited seats available on the market. This means that we are not able to find a new seat within the same time frame as your current booking.

We truly apologize for the inconvenience this will cause you.

Please read more on:https://flysas.com

Would you prefer to cancel your trip and apply for a refund of your ticket, you can do this via "My bookings"https://flysas.com/managemybooking

If you have made your booking through SAS and want to change your trip to a later occasion, you can contact Customer Service after the strike has ended.

If you have made your booking through a travel agency, please contact them for further assistance.

Please inform anyone else traveling with you.Please do not travel to the airport unless you have a confirmed reservation.

Best regards,
SAS”

The only reasonable flight from Stockholm to Chicago was 2 days later through Istanbul with a 7 1/2 hour layover. 
I don’t have the mental bandwidth to figure out who and how I’m going to be compensated, but I saved EVERY receipt from this bit of unfortunateness. I’m going to pursue

1. SAS will pay for my flights, hotels, meals through the EU rules

2. Travel insurance will compensate my “up to” amount 

3. The credit card I used to make my original SAS purchase will compensate (a long shot)

4. Some combination of the above. 
 

Does anyone have further suggestions?

 

You are doing everything correct by saving receipts, etc.

 

First priority is to get you back home safe (Turkish Air has been the one recommended by many along with Air Canada and LOT air) without acquiring COVID.

 

Money part can be figured out later on once you are home. It may take some time and effort but most of the financial part will be compensated somehow. (stress part is other matter).

 

Best wishes to you...

 

 

We made alternate backup arrangements as soon as first indication of this came up in mid June (had posted a heads up post here) at slightly higher cost as I was not sure how EU rules will apply for strike, or canceled slots by airport or ease of acquiring EU money from troubled airline).  

Edited July 13, 2022 by hal2008

[CruiserBruce]

9 hours ago, hallasm said:

It might take one more day to resume transatlantic and Asia operations. 

Flew into Copenhagen today. Saw 2 SAS planes. One at a gate, one parted way out on the edge of the airport. Wonder where the other planes are? Airport was pretty busy...took almost an hour to get my checked bag. Immigration took a very short time...maybe minutes in line.