Airline Strike Tips
(March 2000)
If you are scheduled to fly on US Airways on March 25 or soon
thereafter, be forewarned. The carrier's flight attendants, who have
gone four years without a raise, may walk off the job at 12:01 a.m.
March 25.
The Association of Flight
Attendants, which represents US Airways' 10,000 flight
attendants, has threatened a series of unannounced job actions under
the title of Create Havoc Around Our System, or CHAOS. Union
officials said that CHAOS could take the form of a systemwide
walkout, or of strikes against individual flights. US Airways has
said it will shut down, rather than face such disruptions.
CHAOS Targets
This week, the union released its
initial targeted routes, which included flights to and from major
cities such as Boston, Washington, Philadelphia, New York, Los
Angeles, and Chicago. The union said it will focus on flights
matched by US Airways' competitors, and all of the city pairings
would give passengers alternate means of travel. The target city
pairings are as follows:
Atlanta - Philadelphia
Jacksonville - Baltimore
Atlanta - Pittsburgh
Las Vegas -
Philadelphia
Atlanta - Washington, Dulles
Los Angeles -
Baltimore
Baltimore - Manchester
Los Angeles -
Philadelphia
Baltimore - Providence
Miami - Baltimore
Boston - Orlando
Miami - Philadelphia
Boston -
Philadelphia
New Orleans - Baltimore
Boston - Rochester
New York, LaGuardia - Orlando
Boston - Tampa
New York,
LaGuardia - Raleigh/Durham
Boston - Washington, Dulles
New
York, LaGuardia - Rochester
Boston - Washington, National
New
York, LaGuardia - Tampa
Chicago, O'Hare - Philadelphia
New
York, LaGuardia - West Palm Beach
Chicago, O'Hare - Pittsburgh
New York, Newark - Pittsburgh
Cleveland - Baltimore
Orlando - Albany, NY
Columbus - New York, LaGuardia
Orlando - Baltimore
Columbus - Philadelphia
Orlando -
Philadelphia
Columbus - Washington, National
Orlando -
Washington, Dulles
Dallas/Fort Worth - Philadelphia
Philadelphia - Phoenix
Detroit - Philadelphia
Philadelphia - Raleigh/Durham
Ft. Lauderdale - Baltimore
Philadelphia - San Francisco
Ft. Lauderdale - Hartford,
CT/Springfield
Philadelphia - San Juan
Ft. Lauderdale - New
York, LaGuardia
San Francisco - Baltimore
Ft. Lauderdale -
Washington, National
Tampa - Baltimore
Hartford,
CT/Springfield - Orlando
Tampa - Tallahassee
Houston -
Philadelphia
Possible Scenarios
In case of a strike,
intervention by President Clinton would enable the airline to keep
flying for at least sixty days while a presidential emergency board
seeks a contract resolution. If there is still no contract, Congress
could intervene. The union opposes such intervention.
US
Airways carries 40% of the traffic into and around the nation’s
capitol, and a strike could wreak havoc on government operations.
Clinton intervened once before, in 1997, when American Airlines' pilots were ordered
back to work only four minutes after first going on strike. Also, in
1993, President Clinton stepped in to encourage an end to the
American Airlines flight attendant strike that lasted five days over
Thanksgiving.
What to Do If You Hold A Ticket
Since
March is one of the busiest travel times of the year, options are
few and far between. Keep expectations low, as there are no
guarantees. Lucy Hirleman, Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) and
President of Berkshire Travel, Inc., in Newfoundland, New Jersey,
says "travel agents who have clients on striking carriers have knots
in their stomachs." Hirleman adds, "At this point many agents are
trying to work things out with tour operators and other carriers to
accommodate their clients." She goes on to say, "People on cruise
vacations that booked the air with the cruiselines are protected,
because responsibility is with the cruiselines to get them to the
ship. However, those who didn't purchase air with the cruiseline are
really at a disadvantage with no protection and will have to really
be creative to get to and from their ship."
So, what options
do you have? You can try the following:
· Switching
airlines: Many airlines have agreements with the striking
airline to accept tickets for travel if space is available. However,
policies vary with each carrier. Some call for re-ticketing. Some
will honor frequent-flier award tickets, but others will not. Your
best bet is to call other airlines to see what options are
available.
· Re-booking: Most airlines will waive
many of the usual rebooking restrictions and penalties for
ticket-holding customers who are willing to reschedule their trip
for another time later in the year.
· Buying another
ticket: Though expensive, another option is to buy a fully
refundable backup ticket on another carrier. This way, if your
original airline has a strike you will still be able to reach your
destination. If not, you can cash in the backup ticket for a full
refund. However, be aware that some airlines competing with a
striking carrier will issue only non-refundable tickets during a
strike, even full-fare ones, so this may not always be a viable
backup option.
· Paper Tickets: If you have an
e-ticket, be sure to convert it into a paper ticket. E-tickets
cannot be used on competing carriers.
If you are using a
frequent flyer award ticket, a word of caution: you may find that
other airlines will not accept such tickets during a strike. If this
happens to you the striking airline will re-credit your frequent
flier account with the unused mileage.
Let’s keep our fingers
crossed that there is no strike and that a fair and equitable
solution can be reached between US Airways and its flight
attendants.
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