As Roseanne Roseannadanna used to say “It just goes to show, it’s always SOMETHING.”
Many travelers – and travel agents – found out late last week that Lufthansa pilots had a four day strike planned for Feb 22-25, which made for a wild and worrisome weekend.
As it turned out, the pilots did strike, but Lufthansa reached a settlement on the first date for a temporary strike suspension until March 8. That still means a lot of flights were canceled Monday and the airline has said the reduced schedule will continue through Tuesday. (Passengers rebooked on other airlines should stay on their newly booked flights.) Lufthansa expects to be back to normal by Wednesday.
With luck, the airline and pilots will work out a permanent agreement so we don’t start this all over again on March 8.
In the meantime, “Unite” the cabin crew union for British Airways, who had a strike stopped by injunction in December, has voted for a strike again with a majority in favor of “industrial action.” No strike date announced.
British Airways has sent a letter to travel agents informing us they hope to work this out and will communicate promptly with any updates. If there is a strike, clients will be able “to rebook, free of charge and subject to availability, onto other British Airways flights outside of the strike period for up to 355 days from the original date of travel.” But there will be NO pre-emptive refunds, i.e. refunds will only apply if the flights are actually canceled.
So what’s a traveler to do?
First, despite all the saber-rattling, most strike talk ends up being just that, talk. Even the Lufthansa strike was abbreviated. Both unions and airlines like to play a chicken game, but a strike is so costly that neither side really has the appetite for a long walkout.
On the other hand, some airlines do seem to have regular issues with their employees, and “work-to-rule” can be nearly as disruptive to travel plants as a strike. (“Work-to-rule” which can go by other names, is when employees do things exactly by the book, resulting in flight and baggage days.) So asking your travel agent or “Googling” a bit to see about past labor issues is not a bad preventive action if you are worried.
Another issue is time of travel. A strike during a slow travel period might not be that disruptive in the long run, as other airlines will probably have enough capacity to absorb extra passengers. And travelers who do have to change plans may get “apology” travel vouchers.
But holiday time is a different story. If flights are full, then no amount of good will will open up extra seats. Which means that a two-day strike could result in a significant delay since even the carrier involved may not have capacity to rebook their own passengers.
Which brings up the final thought. If any travel is absolutely critically date sensitive, for a cruise, a wedding or some other milestone event, build some “give” into your schedule in case of a problem. No U.S. carrier has gone on strike this year, but several thousand flights have been canceled due to freak weather. Not to mention the usual flights canceled because of mechanical reasons.
Plus of course, especially in Europe, there is always the possibility of some sort of strike for train, bus or other workers on the ground upon arrival. But that’s another post.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
