Update 12 March 2010: I have just updated this post on the BA strikes announcement today for those looking for advice.
If you have any questions please scroll down this page and leave them in the comments section.
Yesterday it was confirmed that British Airways cabin crew are to stage a 12-day strike over the Christmas period. It is reported that over 1 million passengers will be affected over what is probably one of the busiest times of the year.
The BA strikes will take place from 22 December 2009 to 2 January 2010. If you have been affected by the strikes then please leave your questions and I will endeavour to help get them answered. I will update this post later today with more information.
British Airways strike updates
17 December
Good news that for now the BA 12-day strikes have been cancelled. I suspect we’ll find out over the coming weeks when (if) the strikes will go ahead next month. Reports suggest that the unions will go back to a ballot with their members and then announce further strikes. Watch this space.
16 December
Customers who are booked to travel between 22 December 2009 and 2 January 2010 and for 48 hours on either side of those dates who would like to take their flight at a different time can change to another BA flight departing in the next twelve months at no charge.
15 December
British Airways have advised passengers to check their contact details through ‘my booking’ as BA will be informing affected customers directly if they have your e-mail address or by SMS text if they have your mobile phone number.
I will keep updating this post as I have more information. You can also read comments left by readers and other passengers in the comments section.
Related posts
- British Airways strikes advice and updates
- British Airways cabin crew strike information
- 140,000 BA Passengers affected by Strikes
- Bank holiday airport strikes could affect 400,000 passengers
- BAA Strike Advice Updates for Travel Consumers
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Ben | 15 December, 2009 at 11:44 am
When will BA announce which services will still run and which services will be cancelled?
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 11:49 am
@ Ben
Yes, I understand that this information will be announced any time now. I will update this post as I receive more information. If a flight is cancelled then under EU regulations I think that they have to refund the flight in full, but will clarify everything soon.
Ben | 15 December, 2009 at 11:51 am
In the past have the tended to cancel long or short haul flights? I’m flying to Edinburgh on the 30th Dec for NYE. Or rather; I hope to be flying to Edinburgh on the 30th Dec!
Nick | 15 December, 2009 at 12:05 pm
UPDATE : BA will announce first policy at 10am GMT. 16 December. When I receive (normally within 30 minutes) I will post.
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 12:12 pm
@ Ben
Honestly? I have no idea. I guess it will depend on many factors. Will try and keep this post up to date with information updates from British Airways.
@ Nick
Thank you, appreciate you keeping people up to date.
Sappho | 15 December, 2009 at 12:28 pm
I think it is disgusting they are choosing to do this. At a risk of stating the obvious, surely if this goes ahead, BA will collapse and all cabin crew will lose their jobs anyway?? My sister is a doctor and getting the last flight into London on Christmas Eve at 9pm and leaving again on Boxing Day. With all the rest of our family living in New Zealand, we will both be spending christmas alone if this goes ahead.
Just heard on radio that BA are saying not to rush to cancel / rebook flights just yet… (hopeful?). I honestly think the best we can do is shout as loud as we can from the bottom and hopefully it will reach the top! thanks for keeping us posted Darren.
Laura | 15 December, 2009 at 12:28 pm
Will we receive a refund if the flight is cancelled??
Jackie | 15 December, 2009 at 12:32 pm
People tell us to book a flight with BA because we will be treated better than a low cost airline. What a joke that is. Our Christmas is RUINED if these strikes go ahead.
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 12:32 pm
@ Sappho
I hope that it doesn’t go ahead. From past experiences of airline/airport strikes, common sense has prevailed. If it does go ahead then I fear the worst for BA. Will try and keep you all informed. Nick is a travel agent so hopefully he’ll get to know the updates quicker than I will!
@ Laura
My understanding is that EU regulations say that they have to refund the flight in full. Maybe Nick or someone could confirm that? If the flight is delayed then well that’s where I think it becomes messy.
Alex Hillridge | 15 December, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Does anyone know when we will find out if our flight will be cancelled or delayed? Our family are supposed to be flying out on 23 December
Nick | 15 December, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Refund if fail to supply, but they may offer refunds before. But remember this is second time that BA staff have done this at Xmas, last time strikes where cancelled..so why the advice is to holding because BA will work to deal with this.
RobB | 15 December, 2009 at 1:18 pm
We have family coming to us from Australia. It would ruin our Christmas if they cannot make it. We have been looking forward to this all year.
Ruth Dobson | 15 December, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Is it true that BA cabin crew receive a lot more money than other airlines? I have read figures quoted £30k compared to Virgin who are on £17k. I do not think that the strikes will happen.
David Z | 15 December, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Generally speaking, an airline will either reaccomodate or refund when things like this occur. In the numerous dealings we’ve had with other airlines experiencing strikes, they’ve notified us ahead of time and advised how to reaccomodate or refund affected passengers.
Thankfully, none of them went bankrupt because of a strike. So far.
Mark | 15 December, 2009 at 3:49 pm
The BA cabin staff are being selfish and stupid, whining about not having time to serve customers, as if a) other airlines don’t do a better job with fewer people and b) one ever got good service on BA recently anyway.
It takes only 5 weeks to train to be a BA cabin crew member, so it is not as if they are doing a special or highly skilled job. They should be happy with what is actually a very good salary together with perks that some people could only dream of and accept that times are changing just like the rest of us.
There – I had to say all that somewhere!
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Please let’s not get into cabin crew bashing. The post was published to help passengers affected by the potential BA strikes.
Let’s keep this post helpful for those people in need of assistance. Thanks.
Susan Crosswell | 15 December, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I know we will get our money back if they cancel the flight but the waiting to see which flights are cancelled is making us extremely nervous about our plans for Christmas and the New Year.
Dave | 15 December, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Just incredible. We have spent the last two years saving up for a holiday in New Zealand with relatives. We are all praying that this strike does not take place as we are due to fly out on the 27th December.
Lou | 15 December, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Hi thank goodness for this site. If our flight is delayed will we be entitled to compensation?
Thomas Power | 15 December, 2009 at 5:37 pm
The spectacular scale and scope of the threatened action is presumably designed as sabre rattling which is unlikely to ultimately translate to stoppages.
The unions are holding their trump card (the strike ballot), the management are holding theirs (overwhelming public sympathy). If action goes ahead, it’s mutually assured destruction. The stakes are (hopefully) too high for either side to stomach action.
My gut feeling would be that this will drag to the weekend before an agreement is announced. Saturday?
For anyone waiting on news, unless you have a viable alternative travel plan available, I’d say there’s no point cancelling. There’s no spare capacity on carriers at this time of year so re-booking is not likely to be an option. You will get a refund but you won’t be able to find a seat at anything like the same price.
For most, it’s a case of sit tight and hope. There are lots of fingers crossed out here for you.
Becky | 15 December, 2009 at 5:39 pm
OMG!!!!!!! I have just heard this dreadful news. Do you really think that the strikes will go ahead??
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Sorry folks. I am on the bus home using the mobile. Will respond as soon as I get in. Keep leaving your questions and either myself or someone else will be able to assist.
Rahy | 15 December, 2009 at 5:45 pm
How can these people strike at Christmas??? Im disgusted and I will NEVER be booking with British Airways again.
Hannah | 15 December, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I am devastated. On the 22 December I am supposed to be visiting family in the US. I do not know what to do. If I book a flight it is going to cost me a fortune.
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 7:03 pm
@ Lou
If the flight is cancelled then you will receive a refund or you should be able to re-book for another period at no extra cost to you.
@ Thomas
Thanks for your support/advice.
@ Becky
Who knows what will happen but I do not think we’ll see them striking for the full 12 days throughout Christmas and the New Year. Even a one-day strike during the Christmas and New Year period is a disaster though, so let’s hope it is sorted quickly
@ Hannah
As Thomas has said I would not cancel or book another flight yet. See what happens tomorrow morning when more information is going to be released. There’s no doubt that airlines will zump up their prices.
Martin Rothwell | 15 December, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Disgusting behaviour and they should be ashamed to be called “British” airways. All very well BA saying they will refund or transfer flights if they are cancelled, but that does not help anyone (and we have many clients in this situation) who have booked hotels for the xmas period, which will be enforcing strict cancellation policies so even if you get your money back from BA, the hotel or accommodation provider (and maybe hire car companies or excursion providers) may not be so willing to offer a refund if the booking is cancelled because BA cancelled your flight.
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 9:12 pm
@ Martin
Good point about the accommodation, car hire etc.
@ All
Have you booked accommodation along with your BA flight? Would love to hear from people who are affected not just with their flight but also accommodation etc. Drop me a comment here or contact me via the site. Thanks.
Vivienne | 15 December, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I’ve booked my mother-in-law on BA on the 21st, returning on 2nd January. She has a flight on another airline which is supposed to connect with the BA flight, so if the BA flight is cancelled on the 21st she will be stranded away from home if she risks taking the first leg on the other airline and on the way home if there is no BA flight then we will lose the money for the connecting flight on the other airline.
Darren Cronian | 15 December, 2009 at 10:35 pm
@ Vivienne
Hi, let’s hope common sense prevails and the strikes are called off. I am hoping we’ll have some updates tomorrow morning, so keep a look out for any updates either in the comments here or within the post above.
Colin Westwater | 16 December, 2009 at 7:58 am
Myself and my new wife are supposed to be flying Glasgow->Heathrow->Paris on the 23rd back the 27th for a mini honeymoon. We are hoping common sense prevails. We have non refundable hotels booked in France via Lastminute.com so we will lose out on over £400 if we can’t go. I have travel insurance and need to call them to check if they will cover me.
This could be the death of BA. Management and the Union need to take a deep breath and realise what this will do to BA. Common sense please!!!
Luca | 16 December, 2009 at 9:39 am
Myself, my girl and a dozen of friends booked a Rome-London-NY ticket on March to get a good price, and a couple of weeks ago we booked also two apartments, some Broadway tickets, etc. I think we could lode up to 500€ each, let alone the disappointment…
I was warned about the strike from an uncle in England, here in Italy the news had a very little coverage, maybe without him I could have been still unaware of the whole situation
Nick | 16 December, 2009 at 10:58 am
BA are looking at getting the action stopped via the courts as part of the reason for this action was already agreed upon and is subject to court review already. (Therefore if the courts find this a substantial reason the strike would be illegal and cancelled)
BA UPDATE:
Customers who are booked to travel between 22 December 2009 and 2 January 2010 and for 48 hours on either side of those dates who would like to take their flight at a different time can change to another BA flight departing in the next twelve months at no charge.
If a customer’s flight is actually cancelled because of industrial action, we will offer them the option to refund their ticket, rebook on to a different flight or reroute their journey on another BA flight or other carriers (subject to availability and agreement).
Nick | 16 December, 2009 at 11:13 am
In case any one is wondering what the strike is about here is British Airways chairmans message.
You will note BA crew are the highest paid (Virgin 14,800 to BA’s 26,000 – lowest pay scale) Are getting their normal pay raises
The BA crew at other airports already work this way. There is no compulsory job losses.
Darren Cronian | 16 December, 2009 at 12:34 pm
@ Colin
I agree let’s have some common sense.
@ Luca
You would have thought that they would be coverage of this outside of the UK, afterall it isn’t just going to affect UK passengers, it’ll be anyone flying on a BA flight. That’s of course if the strike goes ahead.
@ Nick
Thank you for the update.
Sappho | 16 December, 2009 at 1:02 pm
BA bosses and Unite are heading back into talks this afternoon…. keep your fingers crossed!
Thomas Power | 16 December, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Just had this in:
BA has unofficially informed us that should the strike go ahead, they will be working on a 5 day notice on a rolling basis i.e. on the 17th December we will be advised of any flight cancellations for the 22nd December
Although we are still waiting for confirmation, there is also a possibility that Gatwick will not be affected as the Unite union members mainly operate out of Heathrow.
George | 16 December, 2009 at 1:16 pm
My question is this: If my flight on the 22nd is canceled will BA pay the damages I will face in the form of having to book an extremely expensive last minute ticket on an alternative airline? I would not only expect a full refund but also any difference in cost between my BA ticket and the one I may have to book when I do eventually find out if my flight is canceled.
Geoff | 16 December, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Geoff
We have the same problem. Accommodation booked. We lose deposit and 1st night stay, totalling over £300. So it is okay BA confirming that they will refund. I want compensation for the loss. We could not pay on credit card as the accommodation provider didn’t provide this method of payment.
Insurance company are not helpful at all.
Heather & Rob | 16 December, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Gutted absolutely gutted. We like many of BA’s customers pray that common sense will win in the end. Otherwise our honeymoon will be cancelled and ruined.
Anna | 16 December, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Dear BA,
If I agree to travel without any inflight meals can my flight still go ahead? Please? I want to be home for Christmas!
Darren Cronian | 16 December, 2009 at 8:49 pm
@ George / Geoff
BA are advising that if you are flying 48 hours either side of the strikes dates that you contact them to make different arrangements. If you haven’t it might be a good idea to contact them and see if they can assist you.
@ Heather / Rob
Its sad to read stories like yours, I really hope that it works out for you. I guess we will find out anytime now if the first strike is set to go ahead considering its next week. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
David Z | 17 December, 2009 at 7:14 am
My question is this: If my flight on the 22nd is canceled will BA pay the damages I will face in the form of having to book an extremely expensive last minute ticket on an alternative airline? I would not only expect a full refund but also any difference in cost between my BA ticket and the one I may have to book when I do eventually find out if my flight is canceled.
Only BA can really answer that question. Some airlines do while others don’t, but there’s no “universal law” or standard saying all airlines should do that for any or specific scenario. In our travel agency’s experience, many don’t. It really depends if they choose to or can afford to pay for the difference.
Thomas Power | 17 December, 2009 at 9:42 am
Re: BA paying for difference in ticket prices, I think it’s safe to say that this is wildly, wildly unlikely except for possibly super premium passengers.
Imagine the cost implications, imagine the difficulty auditing such a scheme. Just impossible. There is no legal obligation on BA to do this and so they won’t. To be fair, they couldn’t, it would drive them under in short order.
BA management will continue to play the ‘voice of reason’ role and paint the strikers as unreasonable and unseasonable killjoys. They then have to sit back and hope that (if the strikes do proceed) the backlash is largely directed against the union/cabin crew rather than against the management/BA brand generally.
Given the general tone of the press and the tone of conversations I think that the management are playing it quite smart – not much evidence of sympathy for the strikers in any quarter.
Nick | 17 December, 2009 at 10:06 am
We should hear from the High Court today re. British Airways legal challenge… so fingers crossed they win.
If not the following applies
This strike does not affect any British Airways partner’s service (such as London City airport, excluding flights to New York). To find out if your on a flight operated by another airline check BA’s website time table. These flights normally have 4 digit flight numbers. e.g. BA6222 as opposed to 3 or less digit BA123 (sometimes computers place a 0 before a 3 digit flight number showing BA0123). But this is not a 100% guide so check.
British Airways will put on a limited service (watch on BA manage my booking page on website.)
Refund of tickets will be announced
Important: Right Now go to http://www.britishairways.com and visit manage my booking. Make sure that both e-mail and mobile telephone numbers are in the contact details. British Airways will use this to automatically update passengers. (This is the fastest way to find out what happening to your flight).
Thomas Power | 17 December, 2009 at 10:16 am
UPDATE
British Airways (BA) have advised that The High Court Judge has stated there will be no ruling until today, so both BA and UNITE can continue discussions to resolve planned industrial action.
BA have also advised the following booking change options available to customers holding a booking and ticket to travel on a British Airways mainline flight between 20 December 2009 and 4 January 2010.
BA subsidiaries Cityflyer/OpenSkies, franchise partners Sunair & Comair and code share partners will continue to operate as normal.
***This is a good point. Some of you may be holding what appears to be a BA ticket, bought through BA but which in fact has you travelling on a plane operated by a partner airline (codeshare).
Therefore it is worth checking that the plane you are travelling on is actually OPERATED by BA and not one of the OneWorld gang. As long as it’s not a BA plane, any strike would not affect you.***
REBOOKING CONDITIONS
Rebooking must be onto an alternative British Airways service scheduled to operate outside the period of disruption. If travel is completed within twelve months from the original flight, if the same booking class is not available, the next lowest class may be booked within the same cabin. This will be at no additional cost to the customer, and if required, the validity of the ticket may be extended.
If rebooking outside twelve months from the original flight, the customer will have to pay any difference in fare.
The return flight, if applicable, can be rebooked at the same time subject to the same conditions
The option outlined above to rebook is the only option available to customers at this stage.
BA are not allowing us to re-ticket on other airlines at present.
No refunds are allowed unless permitted under the fare rules.
Colin Westwater | 17 December, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Well the strike has been declared illegal…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8418805.stm
So what does this mean now???
Nick | 17 December, 2009 at 3:56 pm
UPDATE
A strike by British Airways cabin crew planned for Christmas has been declared illegal in a High Court ruling. The court agreed with BA that the cabin crew’s union, Unite, had not correctly balloted its members on the strike action. BA complained that staff in the process of leaving the company had been balloted, breaching industrial relations law.
The 12-day strike was due to begin on 22 December.
It is not clear if Unite will try to appeal the decision.
Sappho | 17 December, 2009 at 4:01 pm
STRIKE IS OFF!!!!! HOORAH!!!! just heard on radio….!!!!
Sappho | 17 December, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I was so excited I forgot to include the link….. http://www.britishairways.com/travel/strike-ballot/public/en_gb
Darren Cronian | 17 December, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Thanks for the updates everyone. Glad it is good news, at least for now over the Christmas and New Year period.
@ Colin
I don’t think Unite can appeal, well that’s what I heard on the radio. So, I guess they will have to ballot their members again and we’ll see if it is the same result. The BBC have said any future strikes are unlikely to happen until towards the end of January.
Watch this space though.
Vi | 18 December, 2009 at 2:39 am
it is relief for people. This strike would ruined so many holidays during xmas/nye.
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51 responses to “BA strike advice and information”