Possible Baggage Handler Strike

[seastar2]

Hope all this ends or takes place on time...I fly into Rome on the 20th!!

[shoesonfire]

Just spoke to agent with British Airways, regarding our flight arriving on 5/14 into FCO, he assured me that BA has contingency plans in place in the event the baggage handlers go on strike and will have other handlers in place to take care of our baggage/arrival. He sounded so reassuring -- I hope so. In any event, I'm not going to worry any longer about strikes, volcanic ash, etc. and keep praying and fingers crossed that all will work out well and we'll be on our long awaited cruise without any problems.

 

 

Hoping all the same for everyone who is traveling during this time period as well.

[puli]

The strike notice is now officially publicized on the Venice Marco Polo Airport web site.

 

Delta contends that KLM also has substitute baggage handlers available. I guess Italy has no problem with "strike breakers/scabs" so maybe we are all worried for naught.

[Tennant]

United is still claiming they don't know anything about this. I am starting to get a little worried about this. scheduled to arrive in rome at 10:20 for a 6:00pm cruise! I am searching the internet like crazy and I can't find more information about what will happen if there is a strike. Will we land? We will we be re-routed? That hardly seems like the solution if it is a national strike what good would re-routing us do?

[euro cruiser]

United is still claiming they don't know anything about this. I am starting to get a little worried about this. scheduled to arrive in rome at 10:20 for a 6:00pm cruise! I am searching the internet like crazy and I can't find more information about what will happen if there is a strike. Will we land? We will we be re-routed? That hardly seems like the solution if it is a national strike what good would re-routing us do?

Have you tried calling your cruise line and asking them? What are they planning to do if a large majority of their passengers cannot get there for the cruise until the strike is over?

[Tennant]

Have you tried calling your cruise line and asking them? What are they planning to do if a large majority of their passengers cannot get there for the cruise until the strike is over?

 

Yes. I talked to Celebrity and the person I spoke with was not knowledgable. His advice was that "it will probably be fine". I sure hope he is right! He wasn't even able to give me a number to call in case we miss the ship. I will have to call back and hope I get someone different.

[euro cruiser]

I was afraid you'd get a response like that. Perhaps when you call back you should ask to speak with a supervisor, get their name, and ask them to call you back after they have investigated the matter. It may not help, but it never hurts to ask.

[eternityplusone]

United is still claiming they don't know anything about this. I am starting to get a little worried about this. scheduled to arrive in rome at 10:20 for a 6:00pm cruise! I am searching the internet like crazy and I can't find more information about what will happen if there is a strike. Will we land? We will we be re-routed? That hardly seems like the solution if it is a national strike what good would re-routing us do?

 

 

Continental told us the same thing but when we told them that Delta and KLM were aware of it, she got to her supervisor right away and they became very helpful. They actually changed our flights completely free of charge for us to the day before. It worked out because other people we are traveling on the cruise with will already be there so we are lucky enough to go a day before and have a hotel room. So grateful I don't have to stress about it anymore. Hopefully you can get United to do something. Good luck!

[nonrev1]

We are flying in on Lufthansa...we called 3 times and received 3 different answers. So - we will fly with carry-on bags only and hope for the best.

[puli]

I also posted this question on TripAdvisor. We arrive in Venice on May 14 and as of now, a baggage handler strike is scheduled in Italy. Has anyone flown into Italy in the past when a baggage handler strike has taken place? We are just trying to figure out if it means our bags will be delayed until the strike is over that evening, will our bags just be delayed a little bit??? Does anyone know?

Any insight would be appreciated. We know that a lot of strikes are planned, but get canceled- we just want to be prepared if it does.

 

Thanks!

 

On our roll call HAL's "Westerdam 5/16/2010" a poster said they had faced the exact same situation in 2005 and that they were held up in London for quite some time. So it seems then that the issue was not --- what happen to the bags until the end of the strike but rather how long were airplanes prevented from even flying into Marco Polo Airport.

 

We were advised by the poster to take a pillow and a good book and just wait it out!

[euro cruiser]

Nothing new to report, other than that the strike is still listed on the government web site, as of the end of business in Rome on Monday, May 10th. http://www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it/

[lkmamom]

Here is our situation.....please share your thoughts. I am trying very hard to remain calm:o. Our flight is supposed to get into Rome at 7:55 am May 14. Is there a chance that we would be in the mix of problems with luggage? Should we pack with carry ons? Thanks for your support.

[puli]

Here is our situation.....please share your thoughts. I am trying very hard to remain calm:o. Our flight is supposed to get into Rome at 7:55 am May 14. Is there a chance that we would be in the mix of problems with luggage? Should we pack with carry ons? Thanks for your support.

 

I think there are two issues here. If your plane arrives on time you should get through the baggage situation before the 10 AM strike onset.

However, if the volcanic ash problem or any other glitch causes your plane to be late and you could be right in the mix of things.

 

The second issue is will the planes even fly to Rome? I think that is such a busy airport that perhaps planes will fly in and the airlines will use strike breakers. What has your carrier told you? Delta says KLM have there own baggage handlers to use in a strike situation.

 

What airline are you using and what is the on- time rating for your flight?

 

And most importantly are you scheduled to sail that same day?

[lkmamom]

Thanks for your reply puli! I am the eternal worrier, so this just ads to the stress right now. Our son checked the regularity of our flight and the norms of when it takes off. The longest, it has been delayed is about 30 minutes, so hopefully they (Delta)will stay within the norm. As you mentioned, I have no idea what path they will take regarding the volcano. We are scheduled to fly directly into Rome. Our cruise does not start until May 16, so we do have a couple of days to figure all of this out. I really hope things get settled. I was talking with a lady today in the AAA and she said this happens all of the time, you just have to remain patient and be willing to wait. She said "someone" would be there to help remove baggage. They just will not be as fast as those that normally work there. Thanks for your help. I think we will play wait and see until Wednesday....

I hope you have fun on your cruise and everything goes well for your cruise too!

[puli]

Thanks,

We are also flying Delta and going out on the 14th and boarding our cruise on the 16th. But we are sailing from Venice.

 

We fly from Portland Oregon to Venice via Amsterdam. Can't believe the airlines are so frugal in their information. I asked Delta and KLM to put in writing that baggage on our flight would be taken care of. Of course they refused and yet would not move us to the same flight out the day before!

 

Well we shall just be positive!

[rbach]

I just talked to United Air and thier supervisor "hasn't heard anything about that".

This does NOT make me feel better.

[euro cruiser]

There is always a good chance that the strike will be canceled at the last minute.

 

The timing is set so that transatlantic flights will have already landed and been unloaded before the strike starts.

 

Similarly, mass transit strikes in major cities in Italy generally start after rush hour ends in the morning, and end before it starts again in the afternoon, so that other workers do not feel the impact.

 

The folks who will likely be most effected, should the strike occur, are those who have flights that connect through other European cities and are not planned to land in Italy until near or after the start of the strike. My best guess is that they will wind up sitting at the connection point for the duration of the strike, then put on a flight later in the day when the strike is complete.

[nonrev1]

I guess that is both good and bad news for us. The good news is our flight has been running 2 -3 hours late into Frankfurt every day due to the Volcano and we would have missed our connection to Venice. If they hold us in FRA, we will make the flight. The bad news is that it is a very, very long day.

I still hope they cancel the strike!

[euro cruiser]

True, but I have an idea for you if you are stuck in Frankfurt. If you are not a member of an airline club that has an agreement with Lufthansa, you might be able to simply pay for one-time access to the club. It's worth it for the showers. I've done this on business trips when I have to go right to a meeting from the airport, it feels fantastic to take a shower and change clothes after an overnight flight, especially if you are facing a long day.

 

Alternatively, if you don't want to pay for club access, there are public showers at Franfurt Airport: http://www.frankfurt-airport.com/cms/default/dok/355/355955.bathroomshower.html (great airport website, by the way).

[shoesonfire]

In the event the strike is cancelled, how soon will it appear on the strike calender, early in the morning -- or even later in the day? Been watching online at Strike Guarantee Commission and hoping to see a change - none so far.

 

We arrive morning of 5/14 in LHR and due to connect & arrive FCO mid day - mid strike time, BA has advised not to make any changes to our current schedule (I anticipated this would be their message) however, to avoid a long wait in LHR, (assuming they would delay our flight to FCO) would it be advisable to try to change our USA departure time to arrive FCO at 7:10 p.m. which would be shortly after strike ends. Not sure its worth making all the changes, we do have access to private lounges through Priority Pass which would help the wait time. Any suggestions?

[nonrev1]

Thank you Euro Cruiser - that is a great idea. I just received an e-mail from a friend that works at an airport in Italy. As of now, the strike is still scheduled. The airlines are expected to make a decision tomorrow about what they will do - either cancel affected flights or delay them.

 

There is always the possibility that the strike will be canceled and that can happen right up until the scheduled strike start time....but, they will make a decision on our flight tomorrow and if they cancel the flight, it probably will not get reinstated if the strike does not happen.

 

I am soooooo ready for vacation!

[euro cruiser]

Still on the official web site as of close of business Tuesday, 11 May.

[Tennant]

Thank you Euro Cruiser - that is a great idea. I just received an e-mail from a friend that works at an airport in Italy. As of now, the strike is still scheduled. The airlines are expected to make a decision tomorrow about what they will do - either cancel affected flights or delay them.

 

There is always the possibility that the strike will be canceled and that can happen right up until the scheduled strike start time....but, they will make a decision on our flight tomorrow and if they cancel the flight, it probably will not get reinstated if the strike does not happen.

 

I am soooooo ready for vacation!

 

what airlines are you flying? Are you making a blanket assumption for all airlines that they will make a decision tomorrow? United still claims not to know anything so how can they be planning to make a decision tomorrow?

[puli]

Delta told me today that KLM will be signing a baggage handler contract on Friday and that they do not foresee a problem with the baggage handlers of KLM on Thursday. I sure hope they are correct!

[nonrev1]

Sorry I was not clear and you misunderstood Tennant. I was not making a blanket assumption, I was speaking about the airline I am flying on, LH. They have a list of their flights that are scheduled to land in Italy during the strike period and will make a decision tomorrow whether to delay or cancel those specific flights.