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On Friday you will see the news blanketed with photos of Delta pilots in NYC at the DAL shareholders meeting. Notice what Captain John Malone said in the latest chairman’s letter:
“Your MEC will be carrying this message directly to the Delta BOD on June 10, 2016 in New York City as your MEC conducts picketing of the Delta Shareholders’ Meeting on your behalf.” – June 7, 2016 Delta MEC Chairman’s letter
Just to be crystal clear of my viewpoint on this (so you know where I am coming from) I am all for the pilots getting what they should and even if they do one day strike I am behind them. They took huge cuts to save Delta “way back when” and it is time for Delta to give back.
Next we will see, on the 24th at many of the Delta hubs, massive informational picketing by the Delta strategic preparedness and strike committee.
It will be interesting to see how the press, Delta herself and others spin this but I am just pleased that the fine men and women who fly Delta jets for us day after day are getting their message out.
Should any of this impact you and me? Not likely for now. Down the road, it could if Delta does not work out a reasonable contract with these folks. Don’t forget Delta no longer has interline agreement with American Air that could be an issue if it does one day come to a Delta strike (maybe they will work something out with AA for the short term).
Now that is what Delta has to face short term and long term. For those of us who fly to Europe in the summer we know summertime truly is the season of strikes. SAS pilots are threatening a large one soon according to TheLocal.se.
Unless you are flying SAS I doubt it will impact you but during the summer you could see ground personnel at airports or rail or other folks also threatening some kind of job action that could impact your travel.
What may impact you this coming week is the planned strike by Air France pilots. One reader who I talked to about this said “When are the French NOT on strike”. Again, yes, it is summer so time to strike in Europe.
What should you do? Be proactive and find solutions that work for you. When it comes to Delta and Skyteam Delta does tend to warn you on the advisories page on Delta.com. Keep in mind Delta can and will if they have to force space on their jets but not on partners.
Next, consider all your options. Uber works in many major cites now but Uber themselves can press taxi and other folks to strike that can impact you. If a rail provider is on strike look at cheap airline tickets or the other way around. The point is you need to be proactive and not expect “others” to fix things for you.
Lastly there is the mindset when things go sideways, that is, don’t let it destroy your trip. So what if you have to pay a little extra to get from A-B. Yes part of a day may be impacted but don’t let it sour your experience. Perhaps pay for the extra cost with a points card that you can pay yourself back with like the Barclays BANK Arrival+ card (a good real chip & pin card to hold anyway). – René
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I’m not thrilled with strikes and striking pilots or whomever!!!!Compared to some jobs the union workers get alot more than private or NOT FOR PROFITS(my employ) Look at the pensions they get vs other businesses…similiar to the evil goverment/city/state pensions killing big cities!!!!
People make fun of CVG for being RJ central, but we’ll have the last laugh when all the mainline jets are parked (assuming regionals can’t strike as well).
I’ll take a 50 seater over a cancelled flight any day.
@William – Hummm that means I can get to ATL or MSP or DTW only out of SBN.
One more tip in France: When I was there last week, in the Border Security line, the officers that check passports had a 15 minute or so walk out. It was in sympathy to the striking rail and oil workers, to show support. They just quietly rolled the shades down on their little “houses” and turned off the “open” lights and walked out (every single one). Those who had NOT allowed the recommended 3 hours were in a panic. Several women (American, of course) started screaming about missing their flights that were boarding at that minute. Word to the wise: allow those 3 hours. You never know. Especially at CDG.
Dear Rene- I appreciate your updates and am watching closely. I was SO excited about this trip and now am quite anxious about the wisdom of going at all. Please keep up your alerts. Merci, Diane