British Airways set to strike
British Airways (BA) cabin crew are set to strike. They’ve voted to take action before the middle of March this year, causing yet more frustration for anyone planning to travel over the next few weeks.
The Unite union represents the majority of cabin crew and they will reveal details of the action later this week. At that time, passengers will be able to find out if they’re affected.
But this time, BA has had a chance to plan and has said it will operate as many services as possible during the strike period.
So what do you need to know if you’re planning a trip before the end of March?
The union cannot organise a strike until seven days after the news is issued. That means if you’re booked to travel before March 01, your flight will be safe.
Once the union reorts when it intends to strike, BA will contact affected passengers. You should make sure the airline has up-to-date information in order to contact you.
Customers can check their information is correct on the BA website, just visit the Manage my booking page.
Once the strike dates have been revealed, any passengers planning to travel during that time will be able to rebook flights at a different time, as long as they travel within 355 days.
You won’t be able to demand a refund without your specific flight being cancelled, unless your ticket allows a full refund, which most tickets don’t.
Bear in mind that if you book an alternative flight just now, you could end up with two bookings and be unable to claim either of them back.
So, unless you can afford to lose the cost of a ticket, it’s best to wait until strike dates are published before making alternative plans.
If your flight is cancelled as a result of the strike action, BA will allow you to rebook onto another flight within 355 days of the original date, subject to availability.
Alternatively, you could rebook onto a different BA flight heading to or from the nearest alternative airport – for example, if you’ve booked to or from Boston, you could rebook to or from New York.
If neither of those options suit, you can simply cancel your booking and receive a refund.