BKP

That's an almost Woo Hoo from us. They haven't released the schedule for our flight yet -- it is in the second half of the strike. But, our run IS flying for the first half. Hopefully that's a good sign. I don't know why they would cancel a run if they hadn't previously done so. Fingers crossed!

amandagall5

I was planning to fly from Dallas to Heathrow May 22 and returning June 5th. I have flown BA in the past using this route and for myself have always had good service, but now I can't decide what to do. I need to make up my mind very soon though. Do you think this will be resolved before then or should I go with another airline?

melissa19

Our return flights (CDG-LHR, LHR-PHL) are mid-strike (3/24) and still show "possible disruption." But they are cancelled during the first part of the strike. If we find ourselves in Paris with the flights cancelled.... obviously I would call BA, but what are our other options to get home? Will BA handle whatever rebooking is necessary, or is it up to me to figure it out?

I think we can get there without problems, it's just the return... ugh.

BKP

amandagall5 -- without my crystal ball I can't be 100% but I think most people assume this will be resolved by your travel dates. This affects me directly, but honestly, it wouldn't prevent me from flying on BA again. I usually choose my carrier based on price.

melissa19 if you go to the BA website it will show that your options are a refund or a rebook on another BA flight. I don't believe they will book you onto another carrier. I wouldn't rely on them to take care of anything for you -- they are dealing with thousands and thousands of disrupted customers. I'd do a bit of research myself and then call them to discuss the situation.

Good luck to both of you.

crsnyder4

3/24 isnt actually a declared strike date. However flights can still be impacted from the weekend strike. I checked your routes on this link:

http://www.britishairways.com/rtad/t...ent=lhn_arrdep

And those routes on Tuesday 3/23 are mostly planned to run so I would think the same would go for 3/24. I'd check again tomorrow as 3/24 should show up then.

melissa19

Thank you! Will do.... don't know why I didn't think to check the day before. This strike is hurting my brain!

Good luck to all...

mollyc

We have a flight to Heathrow on Friday (3/19, arriving 3/20) that does not appear to be cancelled. But, our connection from Heathrow to Brussels on Saturday (3/20) is cancelled. We're happy to take the train to Brussels, but I'm wondering about two things:

1. Does anyone know if they British Airways refunds a portion of the ticket when you are able to take a part of your flight, but not the other part?
2. What happens with our return flight from Brussels? Don't you need to take the first leg of a flight to be able to use the return ticket? Anyone run into this issue?

Thanks for any advice!

crsnyder4

molly, definitely call British Airways - from the US its 1-800-AIRWAYS. Option 5, then Option 3. If they try to reroute your call to an outside agency hang up and keep calling until they put you through. I would ask them as they can probably rebook you on another flight as well as answer your other questions. I'd think you'd get a refund on the LHR to Brussels flight if they can't rebook you on another airline.

Kommers

I am currently in Madrdid scheduled to depart to Atlanta on March 21 from Lisbon. I hoped that my flight home stayed intact, but last Monday, while already in Spain, I received much dreaded email from BA that my Lisbon-London flight is cancelled. They said that I have to call BA either by US, UK or Portugese number to discuss my options. Guess what? I could not reach any of them - all busy. Now, with phone roaming charges my bill would be probably comparable to the fare for my ticket. I finally installed Skype on hotel PC and spent 2 hours in a row tring to get to US office of BA - all in vain. BA should be ashamed of itself for not being ready to handle high call volume.
Finally, I came up with the idea. I figured out they can handle this from any of their worldwide offices, not just from US or UK. So, I found their number in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and called. Amazingly, that number didnt get any load at all, as my call was immediately answered, and the person on the other end spoke very good English. she rebooked me to flight from Lisbon to London on TP (portugese airline) so if nothing else happens, I will be able to catch my Atlanta flight without a problem

BKP

Kommers -- very resourceful of you. We haven't had any problems calling BA but we've probably just been lucky.

I really hope that you've been enjoying your holiday and that this strike hasn't been too stressful!

CarolA

Patience is going to be a virtue here.

Anytime you have airline disuptions due to weather or strikes etc...it's a nightmare. I don't like it and I agree it's horrid service, but there you have it!

Good Luck everyone.

Remember that when you do get a BA agent or you are dealing with one at the airport. They are EMPLOYEES! They did NOT cancel your flight to spite you. SCREAMING, CURSING etc will NOT help your situation and probably make it worse.

Just an example... A few years ago I was in the Atlanta airport trying to get to Florida. There was a HUGE storm outside, you could see the lightening hitting the ground! I was in line to rebook. Guy in front of me was on the same flight. He had proceeded to curse out EVERYONE around him as if WE controlled the weather. He gets to the agent and SCREAMS at her about how the airline is RUINING his vacation, he will never fly Delta again, agent is an IDIOT, how much money he spends annually on Delta and so on. Just being a JERK.

Our plane was going to be delayed several more hours due to the fact it had to land and refuel someplace else in the country. Jerk was told "sorry sir, you have to wait on your plane we can't move you" Meantime I was at the agent at the next desk. Smiled and nicely asked her if she could assist me. I was on the next flight which was sitting at the gate waiting on the weather clearance with a First Class upgrade!

Christina_BA

Hey there,

Just an FYI that BA have posted a message from Willie Walsh apologising for the disruption some of you may face over the strike period and explaining contingency plans during this period. Thank you all for your support!

Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/FlyBriti.../0/SxEAutRdhHU

TDudette

Goodbye Unite?

Cholmondley_Warner

Unite bankroll the government here. Don't expect too much.

Kommers

I just got back to Atlanta, having survived BA strike. BA has cancelled all flights from Lisbon to London on Sunday, so TAP Portugal made good money, I think, hauling BA customers to London. My TAP flight was completely full and I was just lucky I rebooked my Lisbon-London leg using Russian BA office instead of the recommended US-UK.

After that flight, we were transferred to terminal 5 in Heathrow, where we handed a copy of BA management letter about our London-Atlanta flight that explained that we will be getting "simplified" meal service during the flight. Indeed, we received only one meal during this 9-hour flight and it was a cold chicken salad, nothing hot except cofee and tea was served.Personally, I didn't care much as long I was able to reach my destionaion without major delays. The letter also mentioned that even some BA pilots will be used as flight attendants, so we may see some guys in pilot uniforms serving drinks. This was funny . In our case, cabin crew consisted of regular attendants, but they didn't wear BA uniforms which made me think they were not regular BA flight attendants.

TDudette

Anyone trying to get back today on BA 67? That would have been our flight.

TDudette

Hey Kommers, Glad you got back OK. Was that a curried chicken salad with spinach? It was the snack on Wednesay 3/17's flight from Heathrow to Philly! Hope it aged well.

melissa19

Still looking good for our return flights on 3/24!

Christina_BA

Hi,

The latest confirmed flying schedules have just been updated on BA.com.
Arrivals and departures is accurate up to and including 30th March, to check if your flight is affected.

I hope this helps with your travel plans.

Christina

BKP

Christina_BA -- thank you for keeping us up to date.

Oh, and by the way WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Our flight is not cancelled!

We've been watching this, on pins and needles for weeks now. I am so grateful for all of the CC that are choosing to work at this time! Thank you!!