Topic: Strike! BA announces dates...

British Airways cabin crew will strike for a total of seven days starting from March 20th.

Unite, the union representing the 12,000 strong cabin crew, released the dates today after talks broke down with the airline on 2 days ago.

BA have released the following information for passengers:

"All of our flights are continuing to operate as normal.

If a strike does go ahead, we are intending to operate a range of flights.

Not all our flights will be cancelled.

We are currently finalising our flight schedules for the strike period and have temporarily stopped selling seats on all flights operating on the strike dates.

We will finalise these schedules in the next few days."

To keep up to date click here.

I USED to always try and arrange my own flights rather than pay the premium for packages... more and more I've come around to the idea it's safer to have the protection a package affords...

I guess the real question here is

"Is UNITE doing the right thing by standing up for the individual workers that don't have a voice"

OR

"Are UNITE mistaken for thinking this is the 1970s and they are killing off British Airways as the competition skip with glee?"

We had a narrow escape just before Christmas, the day after the last proposed BA staff strike we had to fly back from Singapore. Luckily for us that one was cancelled.

Lufthansa, with whom I have my next booked flights, are proposing strikes so it is not just BA and as you say if we had booked the package with the cruise line then that would have been their obligation to fly us.

I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed the excitement of not knowing and the possible rearrangement did not bother me too much, after all I was in Singapore, 28'C and the weather in Britain was -6'C when we arrived back. ......Neil

QUOTE:

I have to admit, though, that I enjoyed the excitement of not knowing and the possible rearrangement did not bother me too much, after all I was in Singapore, 28'C and the weather in Britain was -6'C when we arrived back. ......Neil

It's not so bad THAT way around ... but when you're just on your way... yuk...

Once got stranded in Barbados (back in the old aitrours days) when the flight went tech - 17 hours delay.. .or course we just sunbathed in our undies but the poor folks back in manchester were not so fortunate.

QUOTE:

I guess the real question here is

"Is UNITE doing the right thing by standing up for the individual workers that don't have a voice"

OR

"Are UNITE mistaken for thinking this is the 1970s and they are killing off British Airways as the competition skip with glee?"

Hi Grant.
I guess the real question here is.

"Is Ba trying to take away workers Contract of Employment/T+C
with bully boy tactics".

OR

"Is BA trying to destroy Unite with a view to bringing in new workers with the the least protection + poor T + Cs.(East Europeans) same as Ryanair".

Theres always 2 sides to a story.
JC

QUOTE:

Theres always 2 sides to a story.
JC

There certainly are and let's hope both sides realise we are in such a recession that even a company as big as BA may not survive without re structuring.

QUOTE:

I guess the real question here is ...

"Are UNITE mistaken for thinking this is the 1970s
and they are killing off British Airways as the competition skip with glee?"

I'll go for the latter option, shown above!
.

I don't want to get into the issue of whether the strikers are in the right or wrong, but this does make me nervous. We have a package booked with Royal Caribbean - to fly out to San Juan, Puerto Rico with BA the day before our cruise. We are doing a transatlantic and the next stop is 7 days later in the Canary Islands - so no chance of catching up with the ship at the next port! I wonder what RCI would do in this situation if BA are on strike that day (1 May) - would they try to get us on alternative flights? As some have said, wouldn't bother me if it was at the end of a cruise - or even if it was Caribbean where you might miss a day or two at most. But miss a transatlantic and you may as well go home

QUOTE:

I don't want to get into the issue of whether the strikers are in the right or wrong, but this does make me nervous. We have a package booked with Royal Caribbean - to fly out to San Juan, Puerto Rico with BA the day before our cruise. We are doing a transatlantic and the next stop is 7 days later in the Canary Islands - so no chance of catching up with the ship at the next port! I wonder what RCI would do in this situation if BA are on strike that day (1 May) - would they try to get us on alternative flights? As some have said, wouldn't bother me if it was at the end of a cruise - or even if it was Caribbean where you might miss a day or two at most. But miss a transatlantic and you may as well go home

Are you sure that RCI have booked you with BA, they usually use an American Carrier for their flights? Did your travel agent arrange the flights not direct with RCI? When we have gone with them it was with Continental via Nerwark for San Juan.