If NWA strikes, do you have backup plan?

[mla973]

Another Michigander flying to WDW in the next few weeks. Until reading this thread, I had not really thought of a back-up plan. I guess I was hoping "ignorance is bliss." If the FA's strike and the flight does not go, do we get a refund?

I guess we would have to drive, although I'd rather know before our flight if that was the action we needed to take.

 

[disneymom3]

My understanding is that CHAOS is what the NW FA's were planning PRIOR to the judge blocking their strike. I think if they tried that now the individuals involved would be terminated. There is no way to block a "sick-out" but I would like to believe that is very unlikely. Remember the last vote was VERY close and IF NW comes back to the table I would hope to see a settlement. Also the support of other unions came prior to the newest court ruling. I see the current court ruling as good news and there is plenty to remain optimistic about.

Yes, I don't understand why that is the type of strike they were planning other than that it would prevent NWA from replacing them completely. I think that is why, but I am no expert. However the court ruling prevents them from the CHAOS strike as well. Hopefully they will work this out. Seems like the FAs lose out either way. If they go on strike, the airline goes under and there is no job to be had, but if they agree with terms they do not want, that is no good either.

 

[Docsknotinn]

I had read the reasoning behind that type of strike was to put pressure on NW. IE NW would not know what flights would be cancelled or when and thus the CHAOS. Not exactly the way to win over public support IMO. Thus far things seem to be going smoothly. Lets just keep our fingers crossed they all come to an agreement. We leave on Tuesday.

 

[msinformation]

We flew down to Orlando Friday night, the night the strike was proposed to start. Our flight went off as usual with no problems. We were actually sitting in front of a NW pilot flying home, and the people he was sitting next to were asking him some questions about the situation and we overheard. He was being (probably smartly) cautious about what he said, but he did say that working conditions were quickly deteriorating for FAs in particular and they were justifiably unhappy. He said that while he wasn't involved in the issue directly, he knows that the CHAOS plan is really meant to be a moderate but obvious reminder to the company that the average workers are being mistreated and won't stand for it much longer. He also said this model is based on something that some other FAs did years ago, maybe on Alaska Air? I didn't know what he meant, but he said that random strike campaign was fairly effective even though it wasn't widespread.

I'm not sure any of this info actually means much, but I wanted to pass on what I heard. I sort of got the impression that most things should be operating as usual on NW, though I would expect the conditions and attitudes of the employees may continue to deteriorate. I certainly feel for the employees!

We've been visiting family for the last few days, and then it's finally on to Disney! Good luck to everyone else flying out soon!

 

[blondeheroine]

We flew down to Orlando Friday night, the night the strike was proposed to start. Our flight went off as usual with no problems. We were actually sitting in front of a NW pilot flying home, and the people he was sitting next to were asking him some questions about the situation and we overheard. He was being (probably smartly) cautious about what he said, but he did say that working conditions were quickly deteriorating for FAs in particular and they were justifiably unhappy. He said that while he wasn't involved in the issue directly, he knows that the CHAOS plan is really meant to be a moderate but obvious reminder to the company that the average workers are being mistreated and won't stand for it much longer. He also said this model is based on something that some other FAs did years ago, maybe on Alaska Air? I didn't know what he meant, but he said that random strike campaign was fairly effective even though it wasn't widespread.

I'm not sure any of this info actually means much, but I wanted to pass on what I heard. I sort of got the impression that most things should be operating as usual on NW, though I would expect the conditions and attitudes of the employees may continue to deteriorate. I certainly feel for the employees!

We've been visiting family for the last few days, and then it's finally on to Disney! Good luck to everyone else flying out soon!

Good to hear some inside information (even second hand!). I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I fly out on Friday.

 

[Docsknotinn]

We flew down to Orlando Friday night, the night the strike was proposed to start. Our flight went off as usual with no problems. We were actually sitting in front of a NW pilot flying home, and the people he was sitting next to were asking him some questions about the situation and we overheard. He was being (probably smartly) cautious about what he said, but he did say that working conditions were quickly deteriorating for FAs in particular and they were justifiably unhappy. He said that while he wasn't involved in the issue directly, he knows that the CHAOS plan is really meant to be a moderate but obvious reminder to the company that the average workers are being mistreated and won't stand for it much longer. He also said this model is based on something that some other FAs did years ago, maybe on Alaska Air? I didn't know what he meant, but he said that random strike campaign was fairly effective even though it wasn't widespread.

I'm not sure any of this info actually means much, but I wanted to pass on what I heard. I sort of got the impression that most things should be operating as usual on NW, though I would expect the conditions and attitudes of the employees may continue to deteriorate. I certainly feel for the employees!

We've been visiting family for the last few days, and then it's finally on to Disney! Good luck to everyone else flying out soon!

I think he might have been referring to AA. They did this several years ago and we got caught in their "non-strike" in LA on our way to Hawaii.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

We went through this with Delta this past May. We ended up booking with Jet Blue and using the Delta credits this year - we have until 4/20 to purchase tix.

 

[Bete]

NWA is the sole carrier for some 20 plus cities and it would cause tremendous hardship if a strike happened. This was in our newspaper 9/17/06.

We leave 9/29; so, I hope I'm safe.

I'm not sure if the flight attendants can't do something else like the blue flu, but the Federal court is not siding with the FAs on this way of getting their point across. We shall see.

I hope they are inching their way to a resolution.

 

[jsp2000]

I had an experience this weekend that might be relevant to posters on this thread.

We were at POP from 9/9 to 9/16. Booked on NWA, and used Disney's Magical Express.

Getting to MCO from Nashville was flawless. Disney's Magical Express was amazing.

On 9/16, when we went to check in at the DME counter for our NWA flight home, they couldn't find our flight. The DME rep looked and looked, and then got her manager. The manager looked and looked, and even called NWA, who also couldn't find our flight or our information. The DME manager said it was likely that NWA changed our flight number. Unfortunately, in those situations, you can't check in at the hotel. He was very apologetic, and even carried our luggage to the bus (very uneccessary, but appreciated).

Anyway, as we were boarding the bus, I got an automated call from NWA stating that our flight had been CANCELLED due to STAFFING ISSUES, and that we had been rebooked on a flight for the next day.

Anyway, making a long story short, I called NWA and told them that was unacceptable. After much haggling, we were placed on standby for a Delta flight leaving around the same time as our NWA was to. We ended up making the flight, but there were at least 30 people in the same boat as us, from that cancelled NWA flight, that didn't make it. The gate was an absolute mess of angry people.

That was one flight. I can't imagine a large scale strike, and I doubt the judge will ever let that happen.

 

[angel's momma]

jsp2000, thanks for sharing - though that's not what I want to hear!

 

[jengelbrecht]

JSP2000, what an unfortunate experience for you! We left the same day you did, bound for Detroit, and I'm happy to say we didn't have any problems with NWA . The flight attendants seemed pleasant enough and did their jobs with a smile on their faces. I must say I was a bit worried, I'm glad we didn't have any problems. I agree...if that happened on a larger scale, it would be a disaster for the airline and it's customers.

 

[Bete]

if there have been any other reports about cancelled flights due to staffing issues. So far, my flights appear on the website for NWA; so, I'm feeling good about it, but I'm just trying to prepare for the worse scenario.

 

[kimmikayb]

if there have been any other reports about cancelled flights due to staffing issues. So far, my flights appear on the website for NWA; so, I'm feeling good about it, but I'm just trying to prepare for the worse scenario.

Me too Bete! We leave tomorrow morning. Was able to print off my boarding passes just fine and our flight appears to be on schedule. Here's crossing my fingers for both of us!!

 

[Bete]

I'm so very happy that the flight looks alright. I'll check again later in the day, but so far so good.