Strike notice at Air France
 

A strike notice has been filed by the flight personnel unions at Air France for 25-29 October 2007, inclusive.

There may be disruptions during that period if negotiations that are now underway do not reach a favorable conculsion.

Thanks you for the update. My daughter and SIL are in Nice on her honeymoon , ticketed to return Nice-CDG-LAX on Oct. 25.

Where would we look for updates/news here - or for that matter, there? Do you have any ideas on what to do, or where to look for alternatives?

Thank you.

The Air France website would be the first place to look.

When I read this title I nearly jumped out of my chair!! :-O Thankfully I'm not traveling until November 23. WHEW!! But I will keep an eye on their web page.

From Reuters:

Air France said it expects to operate 90 percent of its short and medium-haul flights and all its long-haul flights if a five day strike by cabin crew goes ahead later this week.

The notice of a strike from Thursday, October 25 to Monday, October 29, was submitted last Friday, the airline said.

The airline said in a statement that discussions with unions to try to avoid the strike had "not yet succeeded" and that it was thus forced to predict disruptions in its service.

Unions representing cabin crew at Air France have called the five day strike in a dispute with management about salary reviews and working conditions, the unions said on Monday.

Thank you kerouac! I just called AF and got the same information: the strike will not affect long haul flights, only short and medium, from October 25-29.

The representative also said that you can obtain info on your particular flight by going to the website. Click on the first tab, "Book online/flight status", go to "flight status", enter your information, and it should say if there is a schedule change.

Thanks again for all of your updates - it's been a BIG help!

My ATL-CDG flight was just cancelled.

Yes, it appears that the strike has been more successful than Air France management expected.

I read Jabez' post on Slowtrav this morning so did some checking and couldn't find our Air France ATL-CDG flight for Sunday. We had booked through Delta so changed to a Delta flight leaving earlier in the day. I don't like arriving at 5:30AM but at least we will be in Paris.

Thanks, Jabez. I hope you can make other plans. What a bummer!

keroac-
Thanks for the heads up. Were you able to rebook?

My friend at work was scheduled for a flight this evening from ATL to CDG and it was cancelled. They tried to get him on the 3:35 flight tomorrow but he was able to get on an earlier (currently uncancelled) flight today.

I just noticed an odity of concern to me. I am booked and travelling on the 9th next month BOS-CDG. If I attempt to book a seat on the Air France web site (as an experiment) the message says no flights are available. If I do the same on Expedia, I get seats. Checking back with AF with my reservaon number it shows the flight as travelling. I am wondering if AF is not booking seats on the BOS-CDG route because they anticipate having to move passengers to the week after the strike.... just worries me.... one never realy knows with AF

One never really knows with Expedia either.

Based on what happened today, Air France has now announced that it expects to maintain 70% of its flights through Monday.

Got a call from my daughter from NYC - they were re-routed from original Nice-CDG-LAX to NCE-JFK, then JFK-LAX. Oh well, at least they're in the country.

Wishing the best to all of you affected...and hoping that it doesn't last too long.

kerouac, thanks so much for all of your strike updates. I'm going to Paris next week....usually fly Air France/Delta but this trip USAirways. It's been a great help to read what's currently happening with transporation into and around Paris.

I will be traveling from JFK-CDG-FLR on November 9th. I really hope the strike is over by then and it does not affect our travel plans.

Any predictions on what will happen should Air France cancel all flights going into that week?

With they bump us onto another airline?

This is not an unlimited strike. It runs only until Monday October 29.

However, the morning news just said that a lot of domestic flights are being cancelled just a few minutes before departure.

For those wondering what the strike is about, it's because cabin crew made a lot of concessions on salary and working conditions when Air France was in financial difficulty. As Air France is now the most profitable major airline in Europe, they have decided that it's time to get back some of what they gave up.

Air France is having severe difficulties maintaining its flights. 50% of the long haul flights had to be cancelled today.

Flight attendants say that their salaries have been frozen for 5 years and that they are fed up.

The Air France unions have unanimously officially announced that the strike will end as planned tonight.

However, all flights will not return to normal immediately, because a lot of the planes are not in the right place yet.

Thank you for the updates, kerouac. Wife, daughter and I will be travelling ORD-CDG-FLR in a few days via Air France. Hoping for smooth sailing as always.

We were caught up in the mess. We were supposed to return from Rome on the 28th. It was a real mess. After a 10 hour wait, we were re-routed on the 29th from Rome to Milan to Frankfurt (that last connection is where our luggage was delayed...I will get it tomorrow. They know where it is)(I always carry-on but I bought too much and was very tired). At Frankfurt United confirmed we had confirmed tickets but said it never got into it's computer.....no seats for three days. So we ran to the Air France counter and they re-routed us to London and then to Dulles. Yes, 4 flights and three different carriers.

Lesson learned.....when there is a strike called before my return home, sit tight until they can give me a direct flight home. Enjoy a few more days in whatever city I'm in.

Is it in fact over?

The strike is definitely over today. Things are back to normal.

However, the unions are still negotiating with AF management and may call for a new strike in mid November if they don't make a deal.
(Mid November is when I am trying to take Air France myself, so I have a definite interest in the outcome.)

Thanks Kerouc - I am travelling 9 Nov. and 16 Nov. I guess I am not safe yet!!!

Did this strike affect Delta flights out of CDG? Since they are partnered with Air France?
Also - I heard that there may be a strike in December. Is this true? I cannot find anything on the Air France web site.

Air France personnel do not have any plans for a new strike at the moment.

However, transportation to the airport will be disrupted starting on the 14th.

Kerouac, I saw this story: http://tinyurl.com/2fpyfv in Le Monde (this is in French), about negotiations with the Air France PNC (personnels navigants commerciaux). I'm not sure what that is in English -- are they the air traffic controllers? Anyway, it says their contract expires Jan 2, 2008. I'm not sure if that means they wouldn't be likely to strike before that date, but the story makes it sound as if they're going to have trouble reaching an agreement.

PNC = personnel navigant commercial = flight attendants.

PNT = personnel navigant technique = pilots.

Contrôleurs aériens = ATC.

Anyway, there is no word of a strike in the article, just the sentiment that another strike is inevitable.

One of the most interesting observations in the article is that Air France has made an effort to recruit flight attendants more democratically in recent years, and they better reflect the diversity of the population. They used to be from a "more reasonable" elite, but now they tend to listen to the more radical unions, because have a more developed sense of injustice and want action NOW.

kerouac - have you heard any updates - I have asked folks I know here in Paris and they say it is coming.... but, no idea when???

Please tell me it's not happening next week.

Since I am trying to fly out of Florida on Air France on the 20th, it would please me if there were not a strike.