Hi all-- <BR> <BR>Just read a post saying that the pilots of Iberia Air have announced when they;ll go on strike. Anyone heard anything about this? Should I be concerned (as I have 3 upcoming Iberia flights) or will this blow over...thanks...dee.

Hi there! This is the latest info, I hope it helps you. Iberia plans to cancel at least 28% of its domestic & international flights starting on Tuesday, June 19th, if its pilots & union do not agree on demands for the new contract. The strike dates are: July 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, and August 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th, 31st. I would advise you contact Iberia Airlines at (800) 772-4642. Best of luck to you

Nikki, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the update. It looks like I barely squeek by (my flight dates are June 29, July 8, August 2 and August 19) <BR>I will call to doublecheck, though. <BR> <BR>dee.

<BR>Iberia pilots' strike grounds hundreds of flights <BR>June 19, 2001 Posted: 11:46 AM EDT (1546 GMT) <BR> <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <BR> <BR>MADRID, Spain (Reuters) -- A strike by pilots at Iberia grounded nearly 30 percent of the Spanish airline's scheduled flights on Tuesday in the first of a series of planned stoppages throughout the busy summer tourist season. <BR> <BR>An Iberia spokeswoman said 287 of a total 1,007 flights scheduled for Tuesday had been canceled but remaining operations were running normally. <BR> <BR>Service to European destinations were hardest hit, with 37 percent of flights canceled. <BR> <BR>Tuesday's stoppage was the first in a series of 10 one-day strikes in the peak summer season called by Iberia's powerful pilots union. It is pushing the recently privatized airline for pay rises which the company estimates at 20 percent. <BR> <BR>The latest in a series of protests by the union has raised the prospect of disruption in airports in Spain, the world's number two tourist destination which received 48 million international visitors last year. <BR> <BR>Widespread labor problems <BR>Other airlines in Europe have also been hit by industrial action recently. <BR> <BR>Technicians at Olympic Airways of Greece called a surprise 24-hour strike on Tuesday, severely affecting flights just a day after four bidders for the ailing state company submitted improved offers. <BR> <BR>Pilots at Germany's Lufthansa went on strike three times in May to push for higher pay. The action was ended by an agreement amounting to a nearly 30 percent salary hike in 2001. <BR> <BR>Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato told reporters that although the government would not get involved in a dispute at a private company, he disapproved of "using consumers as hostages," however justified the dispute might be. <BR> <BR>Copyright 2001 Reuters. All rights reserved. <BR> <BR>

thanks for the head's up. i have a flight from granada to barcelona on july 18 (one of the listed strike days) and from barcelona to munich on july 22 (not yet an announced strike day). <BR> <BR>i called british airways (who i booked the flights with--for the air europass deal) and they said i should call iberia to confirm my flights. iberia "says" they don't know of any strikes scheduled for july. but if any of our iberia flights are cancelled, i will be "protected" by british airways. (in other words, they said ba should be able to book me on another flight, in the event that our flight is canceled; does anyone have any idea what other carrier they could book us on from granada to barcelona or from barcelona to munich?) they also told me to call iberia 72 hours in advance to re-confirm our flights. <BR> <BR>is there anything else i can do now besides just cross my fingers and hope it's not too horrendous? should i plan to be at the airport even earlier than 2 hours before check-in? for granada to barcelona, i'm not too concerned because we'll be in vacation mode and will choose not to stress over a lost day or so. however, we will be flying from barcelona to munich on the evening of july 22 for a july 23 morning meeting. as a last, desperate resort, we could try to re-book the bcn-muc flight for a day earlier, with a big fat fee. i'd rather not do this (especially not now, since july 22 is not a scheduled strike day as of yet--i don't want to re-book to another day just to find that the re-booking is on a strike day!), but do you think i should re-book, just to be safe? if so, should i wait until a date closer to our flight? <BR> <BR>overall, i would just like advice on how many precautions i can (and should) take. <BR> <BR>ooo... these strikes are so pesky!! <BR> <BR>thanks very much for any input!

Nikki - Thanks so much for the strike dates and info.

A good web site to check to keep track of situations like this is www.airwise.com then under the "News" section click on "Top Stories" or "Airline News".

Doug, thanks for this post. I check it each day for any changes. Also called Iberia' number for additional info. Alas, I am scheduled July 3, 17.

The latest I got from Air News is that Tuesday Flights July 3,17,24 would be canceled and August flights Aug 6,13,20,27 would be canceled. But one article says that flights going to Madrid canceled one of those periods, and going to JFK canceled the other. So, who knows. Iberia on the phone did not seem concerned about the July flights. Must keep calling and checking Air News dailly. Newspaper don't seem to give info. I wrote the NY Times about this. We'll see. Any other info from FODOR or others appreciated.

I just called Iberia and they said all the strikes are on Tuesdays. <BR>Does this mean it won't change? <BR>They didn't seem concerned about the autumn season. They said that in the event of a disruption the traveller is given the option of travelling one day earlier or later and if that's not convenient they move you to another airline. <BR>This seems awfully thoughtful and service-oriented for an airline with their reputation for rude and miserable service. Are they chanigng or is it just talk followed by disappointment? I wish I knew so I could make my plans with a clear mind. <BR>

Iberia management and the pilots seemed to have hardened their positions following the second day of the planned strikes. <BR>However, it is costing the airline a lot of revenue thru lost business during this peak travel time of the year. My guess is that there will be some agreement by the end of the summer scheduled strike days. <BR>Iberia has announced on their website drastically reduced fares from the US to Spain for the fall travel season.

I figured out how to get to those fares but can't figure out how to arrive in Madrid and fly out of Malaga back to Miami. Their web site does not give the option of flying out of a different city than arriving. Even for regular fares. <BR>Does anyone know how to do it? <BR>I eMailed them from their web site and of course no response. <BR>

Where is everyone finding their information on the strike days? Also, any thoughts on how regular the flights on the non-strike days are likely to be? Thanks.