My wife,son and I are traveling to Geneva from Houston and then from Bilbao back to Houston June 8th and 23rd. I notice today on the BBC website that Luftansa was striking for a pay raise and had cancelled all of its flights this Monday. How worried should I be that this is going to cause a major disruption in our travel plans? I don't know if I should cancel my existing reservations (if I can) and book through another airline or just "hang on" and see what happens. I'm not an overly seasoned traveler and therefore don't know how to judge this.
Thank you in advance.
Posted by
OP
Giddings, TX, USA
22 posts
That is actually very helpful and somewhat reassuring. Many thanks for your response.
John.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
"...they rarely go on strike on weekends...." What???? Airlines operate 24/7, using your logic they would strike on the weekend.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
Your point was that union workers only strike mon-fri because they don't want to ruin their weekend. My point is that it doesn't matter to airline workers what day they strike since they don't get the weekend off in the first place.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9109 posts
Nice spin.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9153 posts
Almost all of the flights in Frankfurt are cancelled today. Not much coming in or going out except for a few long distance flights, like from the US, etc. So it isn't just flying with Lufthansa. The union workers called a strike for all the people doing things like getting your plane landed, turned around and getting it ready to go again. They do usually strike on a weekday though. I can't recall them ever striking on a weekend.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32329 posts
John, I noticed this story on the news earlier. They've reportedly cancelled 1700 flights on Monday, and the ripple effect with their Star Alliance partners could be considerable. I don't have any idea whether this will affect your flights on 8 & 23 June, but I suspect the labour dispute will be resolved by then. Peak travel time is fast approaching, and Lufthansa can't afford to take that kind of a "hit" on their bottom line and their reputation. The unions undoubtedly chose the timing of their job action well. Good luck!
Posted by
OP
Giddings, TX, USA
22 posts
Thank you all for your information and advice. I'd hate to be delayed going over as it would really mess up our hotel reservations etc. Hopefully they'll get the situation resolved by June. If not, I guess I can always count on the fact that they're not likely to strike on a weekend. Thanks again for your great advice.
John.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
19650 posts
John, today strike has no impact on what goes on in June. In June it might be your connecting flight on United that is kapoot, who knows. I have a flight home from Budapest Wednesday on Lufthansa and I am sort of hoping that the strike goes for a few more days as I am having a good time here.