British Airways strike 20-22 & 27-30 March 2010

BASSA, a union for cabin crew on British Airways have announced a strike in the lead up to Easter. The strike dates are 20-22 March and 27-30 March 2010.  Some flights on the subsequent dates (ie 23-26 March, 31 March and 1-2 April) may be disrupted as BA gets the schedules back to normal.

Not all British Airways flights will be disrupted

Codeshare flights operated by other airlines are not affected (except to the extent they may be fuller than normal).

Many flights will operate as normal.  All flights to/from London City airport are unaffected, as are all longhaul flights from London Gatwick. Other flights may be affected. Cancellations of specific flights have not yet been announced but the British Airways strike information page will be updated frequently with the latest cancellations.

Service changes to some (not all) flights

Some shorthaul flights (between London Heathrow and UK/Europe) will use chartered aircraft. Seating and service will vary from normal BA standards.

Some flights will have trained other (non cabin crew) staff as part of the cabin crew and will have reduced service. For example no hot meals and reduced catering.

Other flights will have normal service.

What to do if you are flying BA?

Firstly do not panic. You may not be affected – through flying on flights that operate as normal, or if the strike is called off.  If you are affected there are options, both proactive and reactive.

If you are flying British Airways between 19 and 31 March, and this is not to/from London City airport or London Gatwick on longhaul flights, then you can cancel and get a full refund or rebook.

The full refund applies even on the most restricted tickets. According to the information at time of writing, cancellation must be done before BA announces specific rebooking options (this is harsh). Those who cancel and then want to rebook (eg if their flight does not end up being cancelled) are treated as new customers and need to pay the new fares, which may be very high.  Hotels and other land activities booked with BA at the same time as the flights will also be refunded. For other costs (eg hotels booked independently), consult your travel insurance policy.

Rebooking to alternative dates is allowed right now and most fare rules are being waived to allow this.

Rebooking to other airlines or other flights is not yet occurring. This option will be available once British Airways works out which flights will need to be cancelled. Initially I’d expect they’ll announce cancellations for 20-22 March only.  Those travelling on full fares, or travellers with BA or Oneworld elite frequent flyer status may have more options than other passengers.

As previously advised, you can help by doing some basic research on other flights to your destination, considering carefully whether you can change dates or are willing to risk the uncertainties of flying BA over the next week or two.