Flight disruption due to General Strike

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by brocher

BA only posted the info on their website last night, so I made sure I was up early to be first in the queue when their offices open at 6.00am today! On Thursday night I phoned them and at that point they were not "aware of any strike."

Someone on Trip Advisor said that Easyjet had offered him to change dates a few days ago. I understand that Easyjet often just cancel flights if there is a problem, then it is up to you to rebook - at whatever last minute rates are available,.

That's right - which is why I choose BA whenever possible.

And as youwill know, BA fares are quite competitive and you get treated like a client not part of a herd of cattle.

The ambiance on board on certain routes differs radically from EJ or Ryanair too.

But why the alterations in April? I'm flying to Birmingham with BMI and back from London with BA during that period....

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by brocher

Oh dear, I don't know what would be the best thing to do. If you make a very costly phone call to Easyjet before they "have information of a strike" you will get nowhere, but if you leave it too late any available seats, on other days, will be gone.

Although, BA have now posted the info on their website and were excellent when I phoned to rebook, they did not actually email me to advise of the situation, nor have they replied yet to an email enquiry I made on Wednesday and, as I said earlier, when I phoned on Thursday they had no info.

I'm not sure of your exact location in Spain...but have you tried ringing BA at Gibraltar?

Gib is the nearest airport for me in terms of distance so I often use it to fly to London via BA and every time I've needed flight info I've rung and got through immediately.

EasyJet doesn't give a damn about its customers....I once had a flight from Prague cancelled because of snow and spent more money trying to get through to arrange a refund than the value of the refund.

Another time a flight from Glasgow to Gatwick was cancelled - presumably for lack of passengers - and I got an SMS informing me I could fly at a later time foc or rebook at my own expense. Fortunately the change of flight time caused no inconvenience.

I once got accused on this forum of elitism or something similar because I said I would rather fly once with BA than five times with a budget airline. The reasons I choose BA are those of economics and convenience...

[brocher]

Originally Posted by mrypg9

That's right - which is why I choose BA whenever possible.

And as youwill know, BA fares are quite competitive and you get treated like a client not part of a herd of cattle.

The ambiance on board on certain routes differs radically from EJ or Ryanair too.

But why the alterations in April? I'm flying to Birmingham with BMI and back from London with BA during that period....

I don't think there are any changes in April (unless another strike is announced!!!!), BA are simply offering to change flights booked for the 29th March to either 26-28th march or 3-6th April. Presumably they have no capacity to reschedule people during the period 29th March to 3rd April.

I try to choose BA but up here in North of Scotland, we have little choice.Some of BA's flight prices have risen beyond reality this year.

I have just checked the Xmas flights and unless we can afford £1000 each way with BA winter schedule, we have no option but to use Easyjet. Similarly, I booked flights 3 months ago for the end of April, and had to choose Easyjet, as BA would have cost £1000 each way, with ridiculous overnight stays in London and having to transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick, not to mention a possible additional stop in Madrid.

BA's on board service isn't always that good either. Last year, they kept us sitting on the run way for over 3 hours before take off. We were not allowed to disembark and BA would not provide any extra catering - even a drink. In the words of the stewardess "BA do not cater for delays. Tell them if they get their sandwich now, there is nothing else until we reach London."
,

[mrypg9]

Originally Posted by brocher

I don't think there are any changes in April (unless another strike is announced!!!!), BA are simply offering to change flights booked for the 29th March to either 26-28th march or 3-6th April. Presumably they have no capacity to reschedule people during the period 29th March to 3rd April.

I try to choose BA but up here in North of Scotland, we have little choice.Some of BA's flight prices have risen beyond reality this year.

I have just checked the Xmas flights and unless we can afford £1000 each way with BA winter schedule, we have no option but to use Easyjet. Similarly, I booked flights 3 months ago for the end of April, and had to choose Easyjet, as BA would have cost £1000 each way, with ridiculous overnight stays in London and having to transfer between Heathrow and Gatwick, not to mention a possible additional stop in Madrid.

BA's on board service isn't always that good either. Last year, they kept us sitting on the run way for over 3 hours before take off. We were not allowed to disembark and BA would not provide any extra catering - even a drink. In the words of the stewardess "BA do not cater for delays. Tell them if they get their sandwich now, there is nothing else until we reach London."
,

That's not good. I must confess that I got 'hooked' on BA as when I left the UK in 2005 I kept doing the work I did and commuted and all my expenses including Business Class BA travel were paid for me. We were obliged to buy flexible tickets as meetings could be rescheduled or cancelled at very short notice and economy tickets aren't transferable.

When I started paying for my own travel I kept with BA, looking for seat sales and bargains, as I had accrued tens of thousands of air miles and fares were competitive as I could fly when I chose and I avoided expensive times of the year. No way would I pay the prices you've mentioned for flights - although I guess the budget fares increase dramatically at these times too.

Now I fly rarely, three times a year or so. On balance, I would rather fly less often and pay slightly more. But then my family come over here most months and we restricted our invitation list to close friends only so the need to fly to keep up with friends and family isn't so pressing.

Are you further north than Glasgow? My partner is Glaswegian so we used to fly there frequently from the UK, CR and Spain.

[brocher]

Originally Posted by mrypg9

That's not good. I must confess that I got 'hooked' on BA as when I left the UK in 2005 I kept doing the work I did and commuted and all my expenses including Business Class BA travel were paid for me. We were obliged to buy flexible tickets as meetings could be rescheduled or cancelled at very short notice and economy tickets aren't transferable.

When I started paying for my own travel I kept with BA, looking for seat sales and bargains, as I had accrued tens of thousands of air miles and fares were competitive as I could fly when I chose and I avoided expensive times of the year. No way would I pay the prices you've mentioned for flights - although I guess the budget fares increase dramatically at these times too.

Now I fly rarely, three times a year or so. On balance, I would rather fly less often and pay slightly more. But then my family come over here most months and we restricted our invitation list to close friends only so the need to fly to keep up with friends and family isn't so pressing.

Are you further north than Glasgow? My partner is Glaswegian so we used to fly there frequently from the UK, CR and Spain.

Yes, we're away up past Aberdeen - an hours trip to the airport at night, two and and a half hours during weekday traffic! Four or five hours north of Glasgow, without allowing time for hold ups on the road if you drive down to get a flight - and a lot more by public transport!

Last year we could easily get return flights on BA, even at quite short notice, for less than £200 return but this year it's a real struggle to get anything from them with a sensible flight plan - and sensible prices.

Thankfully, though, this weeks flight for my youngest is booked with BA and I really can't complain as she has been rescheduled, at no extra cost, on a convenient date!

[mrypg9]

[QUOTE=brocher;746169]Yes, we're away up past Aberdeen - an hours trip to the airport at night, two and and a half hours during weekday traffic! Four or five hours north of Glasgow, without allowing time for hold ups on the road if you drive down to get a flight - and a lot more by public transport!

Last year we could easily get return flights on BA, even at quite short notice, for less than £200 return but this year it's a real struggle to get anything from them with a sensible flight plan - and sensible prices.

Thankfully, though, this weeks flight for my youngest is booked with BA and I really can't complain as she has been rescheduled, at no extra cost, on a convenient date![/QUOTE]

Which proves my pont abouit BA v the so-called 'cheapies'.

[Solwriter]

I have no preference for an airline and use the flight which fits in with my travel plans and departure times. I find very little difference in overall costs, taking into account things like baggage allowances and whether or not I will need to pay for a long journey in a taxi at the other end.
(Although having said that, I have never used Ryanair...).

But as to the General Strike, as soon as I heard about the general strike being on 29th, I decided not to travel that day, because, even if your flight does go ahead, there could well be delays, hassle and uncertainties.
Not much help to those who have to travel that day and have flights already booked, I know...

I flew to the UK during the ash cloud crisis. My flight had already been booked when it happened, so it was a case of wait and see (and watch the fiasco as rules were changed to fit in with the needs of the larger airline companies...).

What I found most stressful was that no airline could give you definite information on whether your flight would go or not (understandable I know, but still stressful), and you were told to turn up at the airport and await announcements. On the airline I travelled with, you were not allowed to change your flight to a later date (without losing money) until within 48 hours of the flights departure. And some airlines never gave you this option.
As it turns out, my fight went on time and was less than half full, where so many had cancelled.

The general strike, in terms of details provided, is not the same as the ash cloud, but it is still very much a case of wait and see.
And I wouldn't want to do that again, if I could help it.

[brocher]

Wel, I'm absolutely gobsmacked - definitely on a roll today.

When it looked likely that public transport would be badly hit, but possibly not much effect on flights, I booked a shuttle transfer instead of relying on the bus from Malaga airport.

I emailed the company this morning to see if they would change the date of the transfer to suit the rescheduled flight. Not only have I received a reply, on a Suaturday morning, but they've agreed!

Now, I must go and do something useful as I have been waiting in for the Rotary Club to come and collect our old bikes which are being sent to Africa for kids who will make far better use of them!

A very good day so far....!