Questions and Answers

Hello,

We have tickets to fly SEA–>LHR on December 27 and LHR–>SFO on January 2. I’m really concerned that this is right during the time that Virgin Atlantic pilots are promising to strike. We have nonrefundable hotel and theater ticket expenses, not to mention we’re really looking forward to this trip. Do we have any rights at all to get Virgin Atlantic to rebook us given the intended strike? Is there anything else we’d be wise to do before it’s too late?
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I’ve never been in this situation before and can’t help feeling very anxious right now.

Thanks so much for your advice!

Best,
Todd

A total nightmare and I completely understand your anxiety. I went through this once, many years ago. As I understand it (if things haven’t changed) the airlines are not obligated to do anything for their passengers during a labor dispute. If you have top level elite status with the airline, they will probably go out of their way to rebook you on other airlines in order to keep you happy (that was my case). I do not believe they will do anything in advance of a strike. Once the strike happens, then you can get on the phone and work with them. In my case, I had already researched other flights prior to my call and asked if they would book me on those flights with another airline. I know they drop all the change fees if you want to change your flights to a future date but beyond that, I’m not sure of any other compensation.

One would hope, however, that a strike will be averted given the strong economy and the inevitable financial loss to both the airline and pilots if they can’t come to an agreement. Good luck – I hope everything works out for you.

Like [USER=1566]@Gia[/USER] says, the best thing you can do is research and be prepared with alternative options, but don’t stress about it in the meantime.

If the strike is activated, they should have no problem moving you to another airline, but there is roughly a 0% chance of them making proactive changes beforehand. If airlines rebooked all their passengers every time there was a hint of an industrial action, many of them would never fly a passenger anywhere.

Good luck!