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Traveling on British Airways this holiday season? Not so fast --
You've got to hand it to the unions, they're hitting British Airways where it hurts. They've chosen the busiest and most profitable holiday season to strike in protest of the airline's recent cabin crew cuts, a move that will disrupt over a million passengers soon-flying on the United Kingdom's flagship carrier.If the plans to strike move forward, crews will walk off the job from December 22nd until January 2nd, the time during which nearly all holiday travel will take place. Those booked on the airline will encounter either severe disruption or canceled flights altogether.
That is to say, unless either the union (Unite) or the airline folds. Given the strongly worded statement from the company CEO Willie Walsh this afternoon, however, that may be further away than we think.
In the meantime, those that are scheduled to fly during those dates have been given the option to reschedule for a different itinerary. Instructions for rebooking can be found here, while news of the impending train wreck is being collected on BA's frontpage. Let's hope that this gets resolved quickly.
Filed under: Business, Airlines, News, Consumer Activism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe Dec 16th 2009 5:40AM
I'm an outsider with good information. But the strike isn't about the cabin crew cuts. That is a part of it but it's only a component. The bigger problem is the company wants to institute radical changes without giving the crew a voice. It wasn't even a negotiation just an ultimatum.
While I'm not comfortable with unions, preferring to rely on the free market, they are doing their job and representing the interests of the crew. The decision isn't even in dispute 90% of the unionized crew agreed to the strike. That's how strong they feel about it.