Spirit Airlines strike continues – 600 flight attendants furloughed

by Scott Carmichael on

The two day strike at Spirit Airlines turned into a three day strike, and then into a five day strike. And with no end in sight, the airline just sent its 600 flight attendants some bad news – they are all furloughed.

The move means these staff members will be without a pay check until the 500 Spirit Airlines pilots reach an agreement on their new contract.

The pilots are currently talking with the airline at an “undisclosed location”, but it is pretty clear that the airline is ready to play hardball. It also makes the pilots look like the bad guys, even though they are just trying to fight for what they (claim they) deserve.

The airline has been on strike since June 11, and is most likely losing millions – they usually carry 10,000 passengers a day, and without that revenue, it’ll take quite some time to catch up. The current talks involve the airline, the pilots union and the National Mediation Board.

[Image from Getty Images]

Spirit Airlines grounded by pilot strike – UPDATED

by Scott Carmichael on

Spirit Airlines has found itself grounded this weekend, after contract negotiations with their pilots failed to result in an agreement.

The pilots have been negotiating for four years – and Spirit claims they have offered a 30% pay increase over the next five years, along with several other perks.

Sean Creed is the head of the Spirit Airlines pilot group within the union, and had the following to say:

“No one wanted this strike-certainly not this pilot group. We have sacrificed so much to see this company prosper. Now we are sacrificing our paychecks until we get a contract that reflects our contributions to this airline,”.

As of right now, the strike should end this evening, and all flights will resume as normal tomorrow.

UPDATE: The strike has been extended through Tuesday June 15 2010.

Passengers on canceled flights will be issued flight credits along with an additional $100 Spirit Airlines credit. More information on the strike can be found here.

It has been five years since the last strike at a major US carrier when mechanics and cleaners went on strike at Northwest Airlines. The last major pilot strike was back in 1998 – once again at Northwest Airlines. Of course, it could always be worse – British Airways just got out of their third batch of strikes in under a year.

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk 006: New York City, Engadget Show, Strikes & Protests!

by Stephen Greenwood on

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk, episode 6 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Ready for the City that Never Sleeps? This week we’re hitting the streets of Manhattan for a jam-packed episode that will take you through the Big Apple, behind the scenes of the Engadget Show, and show you how to get away from it all in a city like NYC.

This week we discuss the ongoing red-shirt protests in Thailand, the long awaited British Airways strike, significant new routes from Virgin America, a bus journey from D.C to Antarctica, and how NYC’s metro matches up against one of the most modern metros in the world.

Of course, there’s more Travel Tips with Bruce! and an epic Adventure that only left one of us curled up in a bathroom…

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.

Subscribe via iTunes:
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (M4V).
[RSS M4V] Add the Travel Talk feed (M4V) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically.

Hosts: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special guests: Mike Barish, Joshua Topolsky, and Bruce!
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood, Aaron Murphy-Crews, Drew Mylrea
Special thanks: Chad Mumm & the Engadget Team

Music:

Camping with Mike
“Camp Walk”
Derek K Miller

Travel Tips with Bruce
“Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:49, III. Tempo di Minuet”
Mario Ajero

Engadget Show
“Le Conseil Militair pour la Justice”
Adhesion

Adventure of the Week
“New York City Heat”
Dead Heart Bloom

“Indian Funk”
Bloingo

all songs courtesy of Musicalley.com

Striking British Airways crew members to lose free travel perks

by Scott Carmichael on

British Airways isn’t messing around when it comes to retaliating against their cabin crew members that decided to go on strike this week.

Those crew members will now lose the one perk that is almost as important as their pay check – free and discounted travel.

Unite – the union that organized the strike called the measure “vindictive” – which is the same way I describe the strike and the inconvenience it has caused thousands of travelers. Of course, the union says the removal of the perk will be challenged in court.

BA’s chief executive, WIllie Walsh had warned striking staff that the perk would be removed if they did not show up for work – so the staff were certainly given enough warning. The airline describes the travel perk as “discretionary” and “non contractual”, so I’m sure they have the law on their side – poorly performing staff members can and will lose the perk.

While I do understand the aggravation over lack of pay rises, British Airways is an airline in trouble, and airlines in trouble simply don’t have the cash lying around to increase the salary of their workers. Resorting to a strike is something that puts the airline in even more financial trouble, and causes major headaches for passengers.

German Lufthansa pilots vote to strike this week

by Scott Carmichael on

If you have flights scheduled on Lufthansa this week, you may be in for a nasty surprise.

The Lufthansa pilots affiliated with the German pilots union “VC” have voted to strike from February 22nd till February 25th. As usual, the dispute revolves around pay, working conditions and job security.

As can be expected, a decent number of flights will be impacted, and the airline is warning passengers about possible lengthy delays.

When possible, passengers have already been rebooked on flights that are not impacted. To check the status of your current Lufthansa reservation, you can check “my booking” within the Lufthansa web site.

An alternative timetable is available on their site for the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th.

Airline strikes are no fun – I’ve been caught in several of them, and the best thing you can do is be prepared for the worst. Make sure you add all the local phone numbers of the airline in your phone, bring chargers and be prepared to spend the night at an airport or airport hotel (if you are lucky).

The Lufthansa information page with the latest flight status can be found here.

UPDATE: As of midnight (German time), the pilots have agreed to suspend their strike. Lufhansa posted the following statement:

Irregularities of the flight operation will continue, however, on Tuesday. We will inform you of any updates to the flight operation as soon as possible on this page.

(Image: Getty Images)