Confused about what to do if Air France strikes during our travels

There are several threads going on this topic and you may want to check out what has been posted already.

First of all, make sure the airlines have the correct contact information for the passengers so they can send alerts as necessary. Air France is not obligated to rebook their passengers on other airlines, but they would be obligated to get passengers to their destintations on the next flight with space available and for duty of care. They should know at least 48 hours in advance if a flight would be cancelled.

My impression is that airlines strive to keep transatlantic long haul flights going, even during a strike. That was certainly the case last summer when BA had a strike from some of their flight crews. Keeping the long haul flights going was a priority.

tell them to buy travel insurance; also consider that it looks like LA to Paris is a code share meaning Air France partner Delta is operating that flight maybe that makes a difference

If strike action has already been announced, travel insurance may not cover it.

Be sure to examine any policy carefully to determine if coverage would apply

We encountered this in June, 2016, when Air France was threatening to strike. I booked through Delta; however, we also flew on legs that were operated by Air France, since they are flight partners. When we first got a notice, while in Paris, that AF was considering a strike, we got little help from the airline's website. Although we were flying a Delta plane home, it was being operated by Air France, which meant it was a problem. I was especially nervous because at the time, the soccer tournaments were going on in Paris, so there were tons of people in town. I was responsible for my sister-in-law and niece and was concerned about what action to take in case we needed to find not only another flight to get home, but possibly hotel rooms at a very busy time in Paris. (Major flooding was also happening at the time.) Btw, AF is responsible for re-booking for you, assuming you booked directly through them.

I had purchased travel insurance in advance for myself, but my sister-in-law didn't think it was necessary. It was her first international trip, and I believe she will look into it if she ever leaves the U.S. again. One phone call and the insurance company took over for me. They re-booked us on a Delta flight that was operated by Delta Airlines, which meant that we had to spend an extra day in Paris. (Yea!) There was no charge to change the flight. We were able to stay at the same hotel for an extra night. We even got to go on our boat tour on that extended day as the river receded enough to allow boats back onto the water.

The insurance didn't pay for the entire hotel room or food expenses for the extra day. There is a daily limit in the contract, so read carefully. But I think I got about 75% of my costs back. My sister-in-law wasn't so lucky, but she didn't complain at all. The beauty of having the insurance was that they took care of the flight change for me, which helped as we didn't have an international plan on our phones and the computer at the hotel was difficult to deal with. This saved me a lot of anguish.

I know that others in our group were also in the same boat with their flights. And they decided to take a chance and go to the airport anyway. I later heard that AF was cutting the local flights for the most part and the international flights were not being targeted. But I made the decision to change because I had never dealt with a strike before and felt completely responsible for my travel partners.

So, my advice to you is to look into travel insurance. You should be covered by the strike, should it happen, and you can buy it up until a few days before your leave on your trip. But check into it. (If you buy the insurance within 10 days of your first downpayment on your tour or flight purchase, there is coverage included that takes care of you if the airline itself goes bankrupt before you leave.) Something that I did learn on that trip: Never travel to France in June, because this is Air France strike month. I never travel to Europe in the summer months because of the heat and crowds, but we had to go then because it was being planned around my niece's schooling.

Good luck, and have a great trip!

Stay in contact with your airline. That's all you can do - watch your SMS,

Add one thing: Either program customer service numbers into your phone or have them available in your carry on bag. If a flight is canceled, most people stand in line at the Customer Service kiosk. You get the same service, without the line, by calling the customer service phone number. While you're waiting in line, available seats on other flights are being booked.

We just had a family member go through this last week. She was flying the day before an Air France strike.
She booked an Air France flight using points from San Francisco to JFK to Paris. Luckily, the flights were operated by Delta.
The day before is when the big snowstorm hit New York. She called the credit card travel desk that had booked her flight. They tried very hard to route her away from JFK but everything was full.
She got lucky again and her flights went on time.
You should check now and make sure your children are on Delta flights. If not, I would see about changing them. The strike does not affect the Delta flights.
The problem with waiting and having the airline rebook them if there is a strike is that planes are full.
If they are trying to find seats for entire plane loads there's just no place to put everyone.
Usually, they will not put you on another airline unless it's a partner.
Make sure they do online check-in and get to the airport early. If the strikes continue, there will be plenty of people looking for seats.
If they are affected by a strike, they need to call the original booking agent to see about changes.
For example, if booked on Expedia then call Expedia, not the airline. It's a good reason to book directly with the airline.

Of all the answers here, has anyone been bumped from a long-haul flight due to an Air France strike? I don’t think so.

There are some good suggestions here to switch to Delta, if you want assurance. Brad’s suggestion of knowing the contact numbers is good for any flight. There is also an unnecessary tone of urgency and panick.

I’ve followed strikes in France for many years and rarely is a flight to or from the States disrupted by a labor action, even when the air controllers go on strike. Everyone should take a deep breath and relax.

EDIT: well, I eat my hat. This is a hard strike compared to others. My son's plane to the US was cancelled. Impossible to get through via internet or phone though offered change options. It's not possible to click through to the change options due to the high volume. He bought a one-way on Icelandair for the next day. We'll deal with EU 261 and a refund later. This is where Chris Elliott's consumer website is golden for tips and advice.

I disagree a bit. I didn't detect any tone of urgency or panic.
I've never been personally bumped from a long haul flight due to strike, but there were a lot of passengers at SFO on March 22 who had been.

Back in February , Air France canceled 30% of long haul flights. These included flights to Atlanta, Detroit, New York and San Francisco. The San Francisco-Paris flight was canceled on March 23.
For March 30, the estimate is 20% of long haul flights.
Even if the flight is scheduled they can reduce passenger load due to crew shortages.

Delta does fly those routes, but Air France does also. If it's too pricey to change, I would monitor the strike announcements. If there is a strike, they could also route them on KLM through Amsterdam.
I hope you have a great trip.

Our experience is several years old, but we got bumped off a long-haul out of Italy. What helped us, when we were able to get through, was knowing what alternative flights/routes were possible, especially the best one for your travel. We actually got a better route home.

Thank you everyone for your thoughtful advice. I really appreciate the suggestions you have included in your responses which I will forward to the kids. I don't think we'll be purchasing tickets with Air France in the future, despite the affordable fares. Still, even at $1000 per ticket, you would think that a guaranteed seat on a specific and designated flight would be a given. We're really hoping that since our kids' flights are long haul flights, our summer travels won't be interrupted by a strike. I was glad to hear that Air France does assume responsibility for re-booking new flights to get their passengers home but we're going to look into travelers insurance, which we always purchase for our senior selves anyway. Many thanks.

Hi Adrienne, I'm interested in this topic too as we are flying Air France and landing in Paris on a strike day. Saw this article today where 20% of long haul flights were cancelled. :(

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/air-france-strike-cancel-flights-easter-weekend-travel-compensation-a8281226.html

To avoid unplanned problems, trip insurance can be your friend, but get it right away not once you determine there may be issues with your flight, hotel, strikes, terrorism, etc....

Thank you so much for passing on the news article. I'm thinking that maybe Air France cut 20% of their long haul flights because they knew in advance that they had enough seats on other flights to cover the 20%? Reading between the lines, I get the impression that Air France had the situation under control rather than in chaos. Still, it's annoying and potentially upsetting. I hope all goes well with your travels and your trip goes smoothly.

Did you contact AF with your question/concern?

They would be the one to know what they plan to do if/when it happens.

Hello,
My parents are flying to France in May, the day they leave the US is not a strike day, but the day they arrive is. They booked through Expedia and its Delta going and Air France coming back. So do I contact Delta or Expedia? They are non refundable and they did not take insurance 😩- but when they leave its not a strike day. Should I be worried??

Demi Hale,

No, you should not be worried!

Demi Hale: I agree with Carol that you needn't worry. Your parents' flight to Paris leaves the US the day before the strike date and they're clear for their return flight. What great luck with the timing of their travels!

Joe: A terrific idea. I've contacted Air France via their website and am waiting for a response. I checked with the kids and it looks like our daughter is flying on Delta even though the ticket was purchased on the Air France website and our son will be flying on Air France. I've asked Air France whether our daughter's flights will be affected being that they're both on Delta. I also asked how they intend to assist our son should his travel dates coincide with any strike day.

I'll get back this forum when I hear from Air France.

Thank you Carol and Adrienne 😀

We are scheduled to fly from SFO to CDG on April 17th and I have tried to get seats for the day before but the problem is that we booked our flight with miles from Alaska. Alaska put a request in but we decided to cancel since it was only "on hold" if an "award seat" shows up which seemed to be non-existant. I'm trying to find out what compensation Alaska has if we are delayed (we are actually connecting from Portland to SFO) with their mileage plan but can't find a thing.
Thanks so much! Lisa

lisacleo, I am really struggling trying to understand your post. It is unclear if you booked your Air France ticket or the ticket from Portland to San Francisco on Alaska Airlines or both trips with miles.

I can't imagine what sort of compensation you would expect from Alaska Airlines because Air France goes on strike. If it is just the ticket from Portland to San Francisco that is the problem, go ahead and buy one with cash. That is not an expensive route. If it the entire trip, you will need to consider just moving forward and hoping that the flight goes as scheduled. There is a fairly high chance that it will. If not, Air France will be responsible for rescheduling you at that time.

My husband and I flew in and out of Marseilles on Aer Lingus in June 2016. He was leaving two weeks before me. My husband received notification via email the night before his flight that the flight had been canceled due to a strike. Aer Lingus could get him on the next available flight...which was in eight days. Aer Lingus was not a lot of help and they don't have a desk at the Marseilles airport. It was a fiasco. We were, however, able to book him on an Air France flight from Marseilles in order to catch his connection from Dublin to Chicago. The smaller budget airlines tend to honor the strikes, while the larger airlines have more options.

Jan— could you explain what honor the strike means, fellow Hoosier?
I wouldn’t make any assumptions about airline service correlated with size during a strike. When Air France canceled my son’s Tuesday flight back to the States a couple of weeks ago, they rebooked him for Sunday. It was impossible to get through by internet or phone in France, UK, or US—a real fiasco. And we were in France. Anything can happen. I think 75020 is still looking for her crystal ball.

Hi Carol and other travel forum members,
Air France did indeed cancel the Tuesday flight from SFO to CDG. Our reward miles were from Alaska for Air France seats. We were originally booked in business class. I called Alaska today and was told that the rebooking was up to Air France (after 30 minutes on the phone). I then called Air France and even talked to a supervisor and the upshot was that (after an hour on the phone) even though the flight was cancelled there was nothing that Air France could do since this was an Alaska mileage reward. I called Alaska yet again and the wonderful rep spent 3 hours trying to explain to Air France that they needed to rebook us on a Monday flight out. Finally (bless her heart) she was able to convince them to rebook us in coach going out tomorrow. I am pleased that we will be able to go on a non strike day but still don't understand why Air France is so tough to deal with (they still have a lot of seat inventory on Monday's flight & the fault lies with the striking airline not customers)).We are seasoned travelers and even though I've enjoyed AF in the past don't know if I'll fly them again. Lisa

Lisacleo, sorry you have had to go through this, but very glad you got it all sorted out!!! When you get back, if Alaska hasn't credited back some miles for the downgrade to, business to coach, give them a call. They are usually pretty good about this.