European Airline Strikes: Effects on Agents
by Barbara Peterson /Most of Lufthansa German Airlines 5,400 pilots walked off the job for two days last week, forcing the airline to scrub up to 2,000 flights, or most of its schedule, affecting an estimated 200,000 customers.
For travel agents who book transatlantic travel, this is becoming an all too familiar – and worrisome -- routine. In fact, it’s the eighth such walkout this year by the German flag carrier’s pilots, who are fighting proposed cuts in retirement benefits.
And after a German court last week refused to intervene, the union is vowing to continue its battle, even threatening another short-term job action at Lufthansa.
This comes on the heels of a two week pilots’ strike at Air France in September which cost the airline an estimated $25 million per day in lost revenue.
That strike grounded more than 40% of the carrier’s flights, including a number of transatlantic flights that operate under the Delta code as part of the two carriers’ longtime partnership.
Threatening relationships
Agents said the pattern at Lufthansa of repeated service disruptions could threaten relations with the airline’s most loyal customers, especially after last week when the pilots unexpectedly extended their action to include long-distance flights and connecting flights out of the Frankfurt and Munich Airports – its two biggest hubs.
Kurt Goldschmidt, CTC, of Dutch Broadway Travel in New York City, said the strikes haven’t had that that much of an impact, because “There are so many airlines that fly there.” Goldschmidt specializes in travel to Northern Europe.
But he added that he may be less likely to book an airline undergoing labor turmoil “until it is settled.”
Europe’s turn
That two of Europe’s largest airlines are under siege from unions at the same time doesn’t come as a surprise to airline observers.
Many legacy airlines there are going through the same sorts of convulsions that hit their U.S. counterparts after deregulation, including new competition from low-cost challengers as well as a wave of mergers and bankruptcies.
And most European governments have gotten out of the business of subsidizing their flag carriers, leaving them more vulnerable to market conditions.
But as airlines seek to cut costs further by reducing pay and benefits, agents and their clients can expect to face more service disruptions.
Life on the road
At Omega World Travel, executive vice president Goran Gligorovic said most of his business clients take a strike in stride as just another unpleasant part of life on the road.
When a job action involves a major airline like Lufthansa or Air France, a sizeable corporate agency has distinct advantages, he added.
“Obviously, those airlines partner with TMCs like us and we’ll get a notice that a strike is going to happen often even quicker that it gets to the press,” Gligorovic said.
“They tell us which flights are going to be canceled and how they’re planning to protect people and give us waiver codes so we can accommodate our travelers,” he added.
Gligorovic said his agency will often try to put clients on a partner carrier—for Lufthansa that would be United—so they can keep their award miles.
As in any significant disruption, he said “the first people who get taken care of are the ones with status” in the airline’s hierarchy.
A different perspective
Smaller agencies, however, may have a different take on the problems caused by strikes.
Barbara Jatha, president of Skyway Travel in Ossining, N.Y., and Ensemble agency, said the airlines could do a better job of keeping agents informed during labor disputes.
"The airlines don’t tend to talk about it," said Jatha.
"Air France was on strike and I barely heard about it," she said, adding that she had a client booked on the carrier around that time. Fortunately, the strike was settled before the client’s departure date.
But a bigger problem is that if clients have a code share flight they might not even realize their trip could be in jeopardy, Jatha said. ‘"They might think they're booked on Delta," and not on Air France.
The airlines' reliance on social media to get the word out isn't necessarily helping someone in her position, she added.
"I'm not sitting here 'twittering'," she said. "I'm trying to help my clients."