My wife and I are planning to spend our first Christmas as a married couple with family in the SW of England before flying to Seattle to visit her family on Boxing Day.
Now all that looks doomed unless Willie and the BA managers can sort out this “12 days of Christmas strike” with those lovely chaps at the union Unite – ironic name don’t you think seeing as over 1M people look as if they’ll not get united with their families this festive season!
If you’ve been affected, leave a message below for all parties involved and explain your situation. Maybe that’ll pull a few heart strings and avert disaster for everyone!!!
Subscribe to the RSS feed or to email updates!
If this site has piqued your interest in hiring Mel, either as a speaker for your event or as a consultant for your business, contact him now to start a conversation about how he can help...
Get in touch with Mel
Am flying out to New Zealand for a month with my wife on our dream honeymoon, we got married last year but couldn't afford to go, so have saved for the last 18 months for this trip, and now it all looks like a waste of time and money! How can they do this, and cause so much upset to the innocent people it will affect!
“The 12 days of Christmas strikes”. That's just the biggest kick in teeth I can think of. It has a holiday theme. Well you know what? Get stuffed. Your kids ought to get nothing for Christmas if my kids don't get to see their grandparents.
I know this is horrible. But I hope BA go under and all cabin crew lose their jobs! Ungrateful. I was made redundant, but got on with it. Thats business and thats life. Crew should be ashamed of themselves. I'm not going to be able to see my poorly grandfather now… Thanks BA cabin crew!
wtf?!!? that's ridiculous! you guys need to come home, we all miss you and it won't be christmas without you!!
Utter disgrace. Fancy some extra time off over Christmas do we?? Well congratulations BA Crew – never the brightest bunch I know but this is ludicrous. If you wanted to harm your employer, try doing it when high revenue business travellers are in the air – not families trying to get together for the Christmas break. Utterly shameful. I guess being the highest paid in your industry just isn't good enough for you pompous lot any more.
I hope they all lose their jobs and BA can get some new people who WANT to work. Disgraceful!!! I for one will do my best not to fly with them again unless something is done about their 'Scargill' union leader.
I think the strike is sooooo selfish-it does not affect me but I feel so sad for those who are
I agree Mel. To be honest it just doesn't make any sense.
A company that's losing money and is getting a little desperate, so the staff/union think the answer is to walk out over Christmas. The result will be more lost revenue over the 12 days of action, but more worryingly, customers affected will switch to their rivals which means longer term implications.
I know staff should have the right to express their concerns and not be held to ransom by a company, but I wonder how many of these employees look at the bigger picture. Do they realise that by upsetting 1m travellers, in the future they will only face more cuts in staff numbers, as these customers will refuse to travel with BA?
We're all facing cuts and sadly not matter what people do, it's inevitable that BA will cut jobs. Question is how many… The answer very much lies in the hands of staff and their union.
I hope they see sense, and all parties call off the action. Also pray it doesn't continue throughout January otherwise it'll affect my Vegas / Affiliate Summit trip.
The amount of people that have lost their jobs, been forced to take pay cuts or have missed out on well deserved, hard earned pay rises is through the roof!- it's not always the parent company's fault, I'm sure they'll try to get away with as much as possible to feather their own pockets in the name of cost saving (and who wouldn't?) – But striking, just to put a strangle hold on your company when people are reliant on this service to see family or go home for Christmas – it's deplorable and inexcusable behaviour.
I feel the very same contempt when the postal service pulls this, ultimately the parent company will suffer … eventually (once the money runs out from the existing sales which have not been honoured due to the strike action from their staff) … but the immediate impact is on the consumer and the individuals who have already placed their faith in the company.
I see a company as not just management staff, sales targets and bottom lines – but it's reliant, and is nothing without, the hard working honest people working on the ground to keep the cogs turning. To betray peoples trust in this way is selfish and should, in my opinion, be met with the harshest of punishments- sack them! sue them! find a way to stop the madness and make an example of these individuals to show that this type of “Hostage taking” is not and will not be acceptable. Royal Mail do this, they get away with it … The fire service have done this, they got away with it … The Tubes do this, they get away with it … stop letting people force the hand of large companies to serve themselves above the customers best interests! Ultimately, the more these people win in extra pay, more staff, better working hours (whatever the grip of the day is) – the more we pay as consumers. Guaranteed, if this strike leads to more cabin staff being taken on, or better pay for existing staff- BA will pass these costs onto you and me, the consumer. And really, who can blame them??? you can't budget for mutiny … you can't predict unfair tax hikes … you can't forecast global markets which lead to one of the biggest recessions since the 1930's- what you can do is make the best with what you've got and pull together to get through the tough times.
I didn't receive the payrise this year that I've worked so hard for- I didn't see a bonus, I didn't receive a promotion – the last thing I'm thinking about is stopping providing services on behalf of my company so they have more excuses to provide even less next year.
Hey guys,
I might miss my sister's wedding in France because of this strike.
I hope this actually pushes BA over the edge and they all loose their jobs. My wife and I will likely be stranded in Johannesburg, where I work, while the rest of the family get together over the holiday. I find it incredulous that these people seem to think they are owed a living, well let me tell them they are not. Their employer is loosing 1.5 GBP per day, and they are cannot bring themselves to do what other airline crews have been doing for years. Well shame on them!
I'm due to fly to South Africa on the 24th – I also have an onward flight to Cape Town where I'm supposed to be a bridesmaid. I'm gutted. I have no family here so will be spending my Xmas and New Year alone……
Heather, maybe you could go visit my son and daugther in the UK and we can go to the wedding you were planning to participate in, as we will be stuck in SA while you are stranded in the UK!
Aargh…… It's awful to be away from your children over Xmas! Thank you for responding and I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. Here's hoping that BA perhaps resolve this….. optimism is all we have.
Good luck Mate.
Kind regards,
Heather
I am so annoyed with this strike. I fly on 16th to New York for a week. I can get there, but have no idea what would happen if they cancel my return flight. Do I risk it and just fly, hoping I can get back to the UK on Xmas eve for a nice Xmas day with the family, or do I cancel the whole thing? Even if they do keep my flight from NYC to London, they might have cancelled my connection to Glasgow while I'm away. Nightmare stuff and as I can fly out, my travel insurance doesn't cover me!!!
I really, really hope that BA turn round and say that due to this action, they will be laying off a few thousand staff in the new year to cover some of their losses. Highest paid in the industry and still not happy. They should all be ashamed of themselves.
I am having the same concern! We are booked to travel from Atlanta to London on Saturday and then return on the 27th. We have been planning since last year to meet our family from South Africa for Christmas there. I spoke with a BA rep on the phone today – they are admittedly clueless, confused and borderline panicking themselves- and I was told that 'no flights are cancelled at this time' therefore I cannot cancel and obtain a refund. Rather, we must fly and wait and see if our return flight is cancelled. Mind you, my husband and I are traveling with our 20 month old son and 3 year old daughter. I'd rather not fly by the seat of my pants at this point in time and hope that a return flight comes through for the 4 of us. Further, who is to say that BA will reimburse us for additional nights at a hotel if we are forced to stay longer? I know they certainly won't pay the interest that I will pay when I have to put that cost on a credit card.
In sum, if I had it my way, I would cancel our trip outright now since I don't want to be stranded abroad with the little ones- plus we have to go back to work on time and be responsible adults. We cannot afford to lose the money we spent on the tickets though- who can?
My wife worked for BA for a number of years so I have a good understanding of the pay and conditions of BA crew. I also have a good friend who is a pilot for Easyjet which provides a good comparison. BA staff are not on the poverty line, they are not slave labour, in fact they have it pretty good compared to others in their sector (probably the best). Unfortunately they are one of the few large companies in the UK still stuck in the 1960's thanks to the strong union influence. They need a wake-up call. The union reps don't work for BA, they work for Unite. So if BA goes bust they they don't give a sh*t. Willy will walk into another job so he doesn't care. The only people who are going to get screwed by this strike are the employees. Private customers like me will avoid BA for holiday travel (just canceled BA and now going to Barbados with Virgin). Businesses are already looking at lower cost options for travel. A premium airline that strikes is likely to find itself delisted from the company approved vendor list and replaced by airlines that put their customers first (in case you haven't realised – WE pay your salary, not Willy !!!). Huge losses today will put pressure on the company from the shareholders, it could easily spiral out of control and result in debt ridden company being broken up and sold at a garage sale. The city and the public have no good will toward a company that deliberately tries to screw-up their customer's holidays.
BA STAFF—You are just an airline, and not a particularly good one. You have a job that pays well compared to others in your sector. Time to get you heads out of your backsides and be thankful you have a job at all. I'm sure all the other UK based airlines are down the pub right now celebrating how fuc*ing stupid BA employees are!
In an economic envirnoment such as we all are in at present, it is unbelievable that unite and BA Cabin Crew decided to tell the real people who pay their salaries (salaries mind that are much better than all most all other flight crew!) BA customers to 'Sod Off!!' Strike action at the best of time is an upheavel but at Christmas it is down righ anti social, anti family and pathetic. I would appreciate if unite and BA cabin crew could forward their postal address on planet cloud 9, so i could complain!! I am meant to fly with BA on the 23rd to Dubai for xmas with the family so thanks for nothing Unite! trust your christmas sucks as well!!!!!!! So will i fly with BA again……simple answer as i'm sure most other passengers will agree is no, so perhaps both unite and BA Cabin crew will not have to strike again………cause they will have no jobs!!!
Phil, with any luck, the power workers will go on strike over Xmas then those selfish b*stards at Unite and BA will be freezing their backsides off, while I (although stuck 5,500 miles from where I want to be, with the family in the UK) will be soaking up the sun and swimming in my pool in Johannesburg.
Would serve the berks right, though be better if the power companies just cut the power to their houses and while we are at it, perhaps their bins could be left uncollected for a few months, the postmen just delivered bills after bills and their cars decided enough was enough and depart for the scrapyard in the sky….then to round it off the water companies turned the taps off and well the whole country left the [edited out naughty word!] to their own self serving mean!!!!!
Hi Phil, work for a uae paper and looking for people who have experienced disruption on flights to and from the UAE. If you are happy to talk can you drop me an email on lmorris@thenational.ae?
I'm a frequent flyer with BA and while I appreciate the Cabin Staff are excellent they do get paid twice what Virgin do and a third more than EasyJet (and International crew's get paid more than teachers at the top of the scale) and in this climate I'd say you should thank your lucky stars you have a job.
mine is not as dramatic… but I might miss the best new years eve party ever if I don't come back to London on time! This strike over Christmas must be the most selfish action in the history of any unions… sad… very sad..
Thanks for all your stories guys. This has really got people's emotions heightened. Just wish Northwest hadn't stopped flying direct to Seattle!
Pass it on to anyone else who might be affected. I'll print out the comments and pass them to the “Cabin Service Director” on my next BA flight!
LOL – just tried to bring our flights forward to 21st December and BA want to charge me £7,000 for the pleasure!!!!
If Mr Walshes comments on the Gatwick based crews, the engineers taking pay cuts, the pilots taking paycuts, 1000 staff taking redundancy already 1000's of others going part time… the this union wouldn't look out of place in 70's Scargill's Britain. I'm booked to return form the US on 29th December, BA, and this is a pain, 12 days? Sounds to me as if there's a bunch of misled members blindly following a Union with a wishh to see BA collapse, and have a few extra days off. Sympathy, dont come asking me, I'd rather see Thierry Henri and Tiger Woods nominated for the honest boy scouts of the year – they probably still have more integrity then the Unite Union Leaders.
Never in the field of commercial aviation was so much disruption to so many created by so few!
In the midst of a global recession the likes of which we haven’t seen since air travel became mainstream, the Unite union leaders need to get with it and get up the courage to work with management to create change and improve BA’s competitiveness! If not, soon their members will be able to ballot all day, every day because BA’s customers will have all flown… to other airlines!
B.A staff are well out of order. They choose a time of peace and goodwill to do this. Think of all the families who only manage to get together at this time of year. The Union leaders are using us ruthlessly and the members who intend to go through with this strike should be ashamed. We've had enough of greedy bankers, greedy politicians and now a greedy union wants to hold a gun to our heads. Give the people peace and call it off.
I was planning to go to England for my first time and was going to spend Christmas and New Year's eve there. However, this all seems far away now. Although they offer the posiibility of re-booking, that doesn't help me at all. I'm a student so except for my holidays, I am not free to go to other countries. It's a shame that a company such as BA creates such problems to their customers…I had the opportunity to chose other airlines, such as Wizz Air or Blue Air, but I thought “Let's get the best”…And I've chosen poorly. I'm very dissapointed. I hope they will work out something, at least for the period before Christmas. If there was anything I could do to convince the union to make up their minds, I would…I hope we'll get lucky
I'm very worry ,I'm a french canadian ,I live in Québec and my partenair still live in Ireland ,he will move in Québec province next years and I didn't see him since 20 september .My flight is the the 27 december with british airways it's very bad I don't agree this strike not just because my flight but because the christmas time for a lot peoples it's the only chance to see their family in the year.
I am plain disgusted by the strike action. We are in a recession. Most employees are happy to still have a job and BA waitresses go on strike??? (Educated as they might be, see post below, this is not the right time to do so!).
We booked our Christmas flights last FEBRUARY and have been looking forward to a combination of trips home (between Germany and U.K.). I haven't seen my 80 year-old-parents in two years, they haven't seen their 4 year-old grandchildren since the twins were 2…unfortunately we also booked my mother-in-law on BA, now she won't be spending Christmas with my family, but alone. And I do not even want to think about not seeing old friends as arranged and not being able to take care of personal business after such a long time away from home. We get 15 days of holidays in the US that cannot be carried over into 2010 – so we cannot even rearrange the whole family reunion for later in the year without using up our year's holiday entitlement, not to mention the cost of it. I am so disappointed. Needless to say that this was our last BA booking (by choice, that is…not by BA going bust as it inevitably will if they go through with this).
No British Airways for me anymore. You selfish [rude word edited out]
Flying to INdia on the 18th December, can get thereno problem but will i get back?, cant get through to BA to discuss, cant change my flight to use in 12 months as pregnant and wont be flying for a while, will they let me change and complete a name change so at least my friends parents can have the flight?, i doubt it but after 7 times being cut off whilst trying to call i am now on hold so will see, so angry was our last couple holiday and visiting our close friends for Christmas so all the prep we and they have made for Christmas looks like will be a waste of money which BA will not compensate for..thanks a lot BA staff have a Merry Christmas!
Stop being so spoilt, i work for a large blue chip company and i havent had a pay rise for 2 years, there have been redundancies, no bonus's etc but i still think myself lucky in the current climate to have a job!! maybe BA staff wont have many jobs after this strike when ba lose so much money and loyal customers who switch to another airline to minimise the risk, to be honest not found the staff on ba particularly exceptional anyway
Hi all just managed to get through to BA after holding for 1 hour, apparently there will be an update later today or tomorrow with details of the flights affected.
BA crew who have voted for this action must live in a different world from the rest of us (apart from politicians). The very people whose Christmases they are ruining are the ones who would pay their salaries – if they ever flew with BA again!
Wouldn’t BA rather have the revenue of a changed flight than having to refund a cancelled one?
Flight dates and times have to be changed by phone call (other than for “fully flexible” tickets). Needless to say, you phone the number listen to the options and then get: “We apologise, all our lines are busy at the moment – please try later”
If you go on line and try and change a flight between 22nd December and 2nd January you are asked to pay for the change.
BA has known this was coming and when it was coming for some considerable time now. They could have reduced some (albeit a very small amount) of customer resentment and frustration by having a viable system to deal with the aftermath.
What an opportunity missed.
Needless to say, I have booked EasyJet for my next trip in January.
Does it help being part of the BA Executive Club?
I need to see my family this Christmas because I lost my partner this year (he died at a very young age) ;(
I hope there's someone clever enough out there to re-write the words to the 12 Days of Christmas to something slightly more derogatory.
Luckily enough I only have a little drive down the M42 to see my family, but I hope those stranded by BA get to work something out.
I agree with the comment made by “seraphaxg” earlier, striking is just not an option and will only create a worse situation for themselves than they think they're in now.
There is a big demand for cabin crew jobs. Give the cabin crew an ultimatum. Strike and you're sacked ! Sack the strikers, reemploy new cabin crew who would be happy to take on the new contract in these trying times.
The threat of sacking will bring 50% of them to their senses. 50% of flights can carry on. Better than none. And then the problem is gone for good. 150m loss instead of 300m. Use the 150m saved to bring in contract cabin staff and you'd have all the flights running. The pilots would no doubt then threaten strike option, but the same arguments apply. Union mentality is not for me.
Well I Can see why British People Dont like the Term United kingdom cus by what put here it all for one & screw the rest, NO one of you knows who will lose their house NEXT, yet all you do is WHINGE when some says NO to the Corporates who are screwing all of you, still thay say LOOK on the BRIGHT SIDE you all stabbing your selves makes it easier for Banks & MPs to flece you all, & you not on a Beach screming England England when realy you HATE each other, FACT.
I am from Australia and have saved up over years for a holiday to Europe. This will be the only time I'll be able to travel and EVERYTHING is planned. This is my first major trip overseas and I cannot believe BA workers would be so selfish and wreck the holiday season for innocent people who themselves have had a hard time during the financial crisis. I cannot afford to pay for new flights – what do you think of that? You're only doing your company an injustice. You need to have a hard look at yourselves.
Quite simple,BA cabin crew are a bunch of selfish wankers
I was going to go home to America to hang out with close friends for New Years Eve. . . This would have been the first time I would have been able to hang with them to welcome the New Year for five years. . .sigh.
Devastating. Im meant to be flying on xmas day!
If there a way passengers can help to make a difference so even if it goes ahead it wont affect us. Can we club together and do the training course to become temporary cabin crew for each of our flights? A mad idea, but is it possible??
What makes me sick is the union and its members claiming it is striking as much for their 'customers' as for themselves so that we will keep the 'high' standards of service we have enjoyed for so long. How horribly cynical can you get when you don't give a stuff for your customers by deliberately choosing the worst time of year to go on strike and leave a million of your beloved customers stranded. Dont pretend its for us poor mugs who have been foolish enough to book BA, you are just selfish b*******s .
I always thought BA was a dependable and responsible company whose cabin crew were committed and sensible. But striking over christmas when this is a time for all families to reunite is not only ridiculous but utterly cruel. My parents are flying from Greece on the 19th December and staying for two weeks till the 3rd, so it may not affect them but it will affect others (millions according to the figures) and I don't think this should be allowed to happen. I certainly won't be flying BA again.
People who have no REAL pain or problems tend to go round inventing them for attention or some other agenda.Which is whats happening here. Not happy with your job?Get another. Cabin crews aren't loaded onto planes at gunpoint. Can't get another job? Be grateful you aren't unemployed. Can't see why you should be glad you've got a job? Shut up and go away.
Preferably in that order.
Hi Guys
it would appear that flights from gatwick are not affected only ones from heathrow. The staff at gatwick have already implemented the changes but not the militants at heathrow.
Thanks Chris-my daughter is due to visit me for Christmas and I thought we were going to be apart-but her flight is from Gatwick. Don't know why the media or BA aren't making this clear-thanks for the info
Here in the United States, the President can intervene when transportation is threatened by a strike and he can compel arbitration and he can even halt or prevent a strike. Can the PM (Gordon Brown) save Christmas for thousands of travelers by doing likewise? Has anyone asked him?
1981 – Air Traffic Controllers in the US go on strike. President Ronald Reagan says they provide an essential service and orders them back to work. They refuse, and he fires the entire lot of them and ban them from the industry; the ban is lifted in 1993, but almost none of them ever work in the air business again. The uncertainty of whether or not my flights will happen mean that at some point in the next few days, if there's still no clear word on what's happening (please BA, just fire the entire motley bunch of greedy parasites that pass for cabin crew) I'm going to have to start spending on an alternate travel options (I don't have a choice about flying on January 2) which will have a knock on effect with my car hire, hotels and everything else. In an economy where great numbers from all industries are getting redundancies all through 2009, I would be happy to not ask for a refund from BA if my flight is canceled, as long as they do as Reagan did, and see that none of these ungrateful slobs ever take to the skies again as cabin crew for any airline anywhere. Shame and Blacklist each and every single one of them.
Did anyone see the secret recording of the industrial action ballot? Disgraceful…
You can watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v5zQ3PpjgM
I am going home after 6 years, planned this vacation a few months in advance and was hoping to see my family for the holidays.
Don't they understand they get paid by the customers. They will ultimately lose their jobs and it will be too late by the time they realize the stupidity of their actions. I will never fly BA again.
During any war the major crime of all is damage to innosnet people. Terrorists always attack innocent people. This strike will bring damage and distess to innocent people. There is so much bad n the world, so this is absolutely unnessessary.
Please do not do this! Please bring happiness to everyone for Christmas! This would be the greatest gift!
Haven't seen my daughter for over a year and was expecting her on 24th. She is totally distraught at not being able to return home for Xmas. I can't bear the thought of her spending it alone. Very selfish and very, very bad judgement on the cabin crew's behalf. If they thought they would get the public's support then they thought wrong!!!
i think that the ba strikers are a very mean lot not putting familys together over this important family time .I for one ,and all of my family will never ever fly ba again then what happens to the strikers jobs and their familys. Who would want to employ these hard hearted strikers.This year alone we as a family have used them for 12 flights to N.Y and to spain a couple of times. the business will go down then where will they get jobs we are in resession.
For every ones sake grow up and thrash the problems out and take us all off the hook
My first time to Europe with my family leave on the 25th — I am still holding out hope…
Why not call the chief of the Unite Union on this case – Len McCluskey – and leave him a message voicing how strongly you feel? I have! And will keep leaving messages for him too…
Here's his number: [edited out the number – Just go to Bing.com and search for Unite Union 😉 MC]
Hi I hop BA go on strike so finaly the company goes bust and all those that have gone on strike will not have a job. They will all have to carry the responibilty of having the all the staff made redundant….does this remind any ofyou of the British Leyland. I hope you at the top of Unite know what you are doing…this I doubt!
I am flying BA to Berlin 22-29 Dec to see my elderly mother in Poland. My sister with her family is flying from South Africa to be there and my daughter and her boyfriend are flying from London 2 days later after me (also BA). My mother was preparing for this Christmas for months as we were not all together for a long time. I always used BA because I believed that they are a good airline but if this strike goes ahead I am definitely switching over to another carrier. I also travel BA for work and am planning to convince my company to change it.
My husband and I decided to spend xmas in London as we are on our own this year, all our family members live in USA and South Africa we cant go there. We live in Lisbon and the idea of spending xmas in London was because of knowing the British are generally happy people and could make it easier for us to not feel so alone…..although I sympathise with the cabin crew and their grieviences I have a suggestion for BA, especially for short distance flites in Europe….. as passangers we dont need to have meals or drinks served on the flite..have bottles of water distributed at the boarding gate if anyone so requires and run the flite with a small team that way you dont have thousands of passengers stranded and the loss of income is minimized. Good Luck everyone!!! and lets hope we can ALL have a better xmas!!
I have a suggestion for BA, especially for short distance flites in Europe….. as passangers we dont need to have meals or drinks served on the flite..have bottles of water distributed at the boarding gate if anyone so requires and run the flite with a small team, for long distance flites I suggest you hire unemployed staff that are just to willing to WORK, that way you dont have thousands of passengers stranded and the loss of income is minimized. Good Luck everyone!!! and lets hope we can ALL have a better xmas!!
My boyfriend is posted in Denver, Co and I am in the UK. We fly back and forwards a lot, and sadly because BA is the only airline to fly direct, we have to go with them. He has a flight booked to come to Uk for Christmas, and it cost over £600. this was booked back in the summer at the cheapest possible time! I feel so let down by all this due to the amount of money I give BA, and to be honest, they have never been a great airline. I have had better customer service from easyjet/Ryanair!!! The stewards on BA are always shirty and sound inconvenienced when you ask them for something. I have been made redundant twice in 2 years, and you just have to get on with it. I would love to work for BA, and so would many others – give the jobs to people that want/need them!!!!
My sister and family are due to fly from Bermuda to the uk on 23rd December where my mum is expecting to have her first xmas with all her grandchildren together. There is no alternavative carrier on this route. BA Staff need to think very carefully about their action as the longterm effect of their action will be even worse financial returns for BA a toddler can work out that that will mean even more cuts however as a hotelier I am always looking for Glossy types to serve drinks in my Bar where my excellent staff only earn £6.50 per hour, They are all very intelligent and are well aware that we could not afford to pay more look forward to seeing a future of ex BA staff behind bars probably wishing they had never heard of unite!
This is the culimnation of long drawn out battle that has seen successive BA senior managers duck the crucial issue of who runs the airline Mr. Walsh should shut the airline and make all existing staff redundant. He should then issue new terms and conditions of employment and recruit and train an entirely new team. Whilst the business is shut he would save a fortune in employee costs, fuel, etc. Any of the existing employees would be able to apply but only on the new Ts and Cs.
Its make or break time so lets det on with it.
I am luckily not flying with BA but Flybe to visit my family for Christmas. However I really feel for everyone affected by the BA strikes as I think this is such a selfish thing to do to keep families separated over such a special holiday. Obviously this will be an impactful time to strike but it will not earn them public support or sympathy, in fact it has done the opposite. I am so angry that they are doing this and feel they have really let down their passengers and shattered the trust that people have put in them to get them home to be with their loved ones.
Even though I am not flying with BA, I have no disillusions that it will be a smooth journey home.
I am expecting massive delays and total airport choas at Gatwick as the BA strikes will have a knock on effect on the airports they operate from and other airlines that also operate from them. In fact I am still afraid, even though I am not flying BA, that I will not make it home for Christmas and that would leave me celebrating alone as I have no family in the UK at all.
Thanks BA I hope you all have a good Christmas.
My husband & I have had a trip to Prague booked since October. Now we won't be able to go! We are from Australia originally & will be going back soon & wanted to make our last Christmas in Europe a special one. Looks like that won't be happening now, it is far to expensive to 'simply rebook on another airline' as I have been told to do by several bastard asshole (BA for short!) cabin crew on a forum. What a pack of w******! I'll bet none of them care about ruining people's Christmas. Heartless people!
I am just disgusted with the grinning faces of BA cabin crew, how can they be flying at the moment without anyone spitting at them? I am sure I could not be silent if I were flying BA at the moment and this week..
Just booked 6 people ski hols in US… not with BA, which I had contemplated and did use last year.
Has anyone seen the U tube clip of their vote..they were all celebrating..Heavy heart indeed!
I haven't seen my girlfriend for 6 months, no skype, no nothing – I've been counting days and what do I hear now? Her f**king flight won't take off. Missing her so much and now this mean action.
Should they be called the national airline any longer – they are certainly acting against the best interests of the nation. Perhaps we need a campaign to have the suggestion scrapped once and for all.
As a retired staff member of BA, I am so ashamed that BA Cabin Crew think it's OK to spoil the Christmas of up to one million passengers! Do not forget that they are the people who provide your salary and perks! I worked in Finance for over 34 years and understand fully the financial difficulty that BA is facing. Careless of the rights or wrongs of this dispute, a strike of twelve days could well bring about the collapse of a great airline. Who will suffer most – not your union leaders; they will still have very well paid jobs; not BA Management as they will financial assets to cushion them. You will suffer most – just look at the unemployment figures! Your union state they are fighting to save your jobs and the customer service standards. Well ruining 1 million christmases doesn't look like good customer service to me. The union is fighting to save their power base. Do not be sucked in by their rhetoric!
my husband and i are to fly from Scandinavia to the UK on the 24th to celebrate Christmas with his family and tell them they are to become grandparents next year. Now it looks as if we are spending Christmas at the airport instead and we are gutted that unite can do this to people over the Christmas period where people are dependent on the services of airlines to get to their families instead of spending christmas on their own.
In these financial times we have all had to make sacrifices to ensure that at least some of us have jobs and help our companies in any way possible. i do not understand what they hope to achieve? Will it be better that the company goes bust than to lower their salaries and let some people off???
Thanks for the overwhelming response to this post everyone!
Let's hope that the High Court sees sense this afternoon: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8415370.stm
If that BBC report is anything to go by, we should be in a good position to take our seats, although I for one won't be sitting all that comfortably.
Fingers crossed!
Our plans to spend Christmas in England with our daughter (only child) and her family (including our only two grandchildren) are disrupted by this strike. What was planned as a beautiful family Christmas has become a nightmare filled with tears, lumps in the throat and a great sadness. I understand the right to strike but choosing the Christmas holidays as the target is keeping families apart at this most precious time. How would you, who are on strike, feel if put in the same situation? Because no flights have, as yet, been officially cancelled we are all being held hostage to worthless tickets and the inability to search for other carrier options. In this current financial crisis, who can afford to buy new tickets (if new ones can even be found) and still be stuck with the price of the BA tickets?
BA Cabin Crew: with so many people honestly out of work through downsizing and layoffs, be happy that you even are bring home a pay check. You will have to live with this decision that effects so many innocent people for the rest of your lives!
We are visiting India for my parents important function in their lifetime(50th marriage annversary) and booked flights with BA travelling from US to India. Our regular flight is Lufthansa, but this is the firsttime we booked through BA, but this is not good that they decided to strike, if they do it, it is a beginning of end of BA company. Even if they withdraw strike, I dont think not many people to think about booking BA in future. Atleast if they withdrew strike before Friday, will give people to plan their trips and enjoy the holidays even at these hard economic times.
Thanks
PD.
Am supposed to be flying to Edinburgh from Naples on the 2nd (strike day 1) then back to Italy on the 2nd (final day of strike). Who uses a religious holiday for monetary means??? Even soldiers during the war managed to suspend hostilities for Christmas, while these selfish pigs are so concerned about money that they are willing to ruin Christmas for more than 1 million people. Thanks to BA Cabin Crew, I might well be spending a very un-merry Christmas by myself. Yes, alone, I have NO family out here. They deserve to be lynched.
The strike is OFF http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8418805.stm – Congratulations everyone and have a great Christmas!!!
Congratulations…..the strike is OFF…..now families can be together over the festive season….safe flying, have a peaceful xmas and all the best for the new year…as for the cabin crew and their union ..yes negotiate your grievences but without disrupting other people´s lives…after all be thankful in todays era you have a JOB!!!!! good luck!!
“I have just hit my fifties and I have established a very comfortable financial position. I am a financial consultant for a highly successful international brokerage house, but it has not always been that way.
I have experienced hard times, particularly when I was younger, and it was then that I developed the bedrock of my financial resources, The Winning Way which is on offer on this web site. Once that system took off the old adage of money makes money has never been more true. The instant cash flow gave me the opportunity to try out a trading system, 100% Profit In One Year which is also on offer here and this accelerated cash into my account like there was no tomorrow.
http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com“
Hello There!
I'm out of the office now on holiday until 4th January when I'll be in Seattle!
You might see the odd New Year's Tweet if I can use my phone without my wife seeing! 🙂 http://Twitter.com/MelCarson
Thanks and have a nice break if you're taking time off!
Happy New Year!
Regards
Mel
The best place for freelance projects is freelancing sites.
Freelancing sites are the best option for part time home
based business and freelance jobs. There are many types
of work available at freelancing sites for example;
you can work as a web developer, programmer.
You will get hundreds of website's to be developed.
If you are a web designer then you will get template
designing job.
http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com
Hello There!
I'm out of the office now on holiday until 28th December when I'll be in Seattle!
You might see the odd Christmas Tweet if I can use my phone without my wife seeing! 🙂 http://Twitter.com/MelCarson
Thanks and have a nice break if you're taking time off!
Regards
Mel
Dear Friend,
It’s a fact: if you want your website to make you money, generate leads or get subscribers you have to advertise in order to drive traffic to it. Of course this is true for any business, but it is absolutely essential for online business.
http://www.onlineuniversalwork.com
Hello There!
I'm out of the office now on holiday until 4th January when I'll be in Seattle!
You might see the odd New Year's Tweet if I can use my phone without my wife seeing! 🙂 http://Twitter.com/MelCarson
Thanks and have a nice break if you're taking time off!
Happy New Year!
Regards
Mel
Do any of you have a clue? People don't take strike action lightly – and they lose money when they do. Workers, including flight crew, have a right to take action to defend the living standards of their families. BA management were heavy-handed in all of this – leaving the crews with no alternative. When choosing a time for their action, they quite correctly chose the optimum time in the hope that inconvenienced flyers would exert pressure on BA management. That's how industrial relations works -members of the public are inconvenienced, unfortunately. Anyway, I hope you all overcame your anger management issues and had a good Christmas