Heathrow news: refuelling strike starts today, capacity cuts to last ‘to November’

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• BajiNahid says:

  21 Jul21 July 04:32

  Hi guys, i think the AFS strike is now suspended due to receiving an offer. Seen it in the press on Sky News

  • ChrisC says:

    21 Jul21 July 04:41

    Confirmed via BBC

    Union suspends Heathrow refuelling staff strike

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62240728

    “A spokesperson for AFS said: “AFS is pleased to confirm that Unite have agreed to postpone industrial action whilst a ballot of a revised offer is made.”

    What surprised me is that AFS only has 50 staff.

    • Cat says:

      21 Jul21 July 05:34

      Thank goodness – I just woke up, saw this, and started having palpitations – I’m flying to Costa Rica on Saturday with AA!

• Cheshire Pete says:

  21 Jul21 July 05:59

  Yes it’s was suspended last night, this must be an auto published article, always a danger there when a situation changes last minute!

• Neil says:

  21 Jul21 July 06:15

  Hi guys, Gatwick South Clubrooms does still show closed as you say but does allow you to book and says it closes at midday.
  This is my favourite LGW lounge 🙂

• Nick M says:

  21 Jul21 July 06:36

  What’s the best way to ensure I get notified as quickly as possible about any flight cancellations? – there’s something in the back of my mind saying there is a better way than just relying on BA letting me know but I can’t remember what it is

  • Cat says:

    21 Jul21 July 07:01

    Check My Trip is a good app for this.

    • Nick M says:

      21 Jul21 July 09:06

      Thank you

• Greenpen says:

  21 Jul21 July 07:26

  Holding down staff numbers until 2023!!

  It is taking on all the attributes of the very bottom of the gig economy.

• Harry Holden says:

  21 Jul21 July 07:46

  United CEO: “We told Heathrow Airport how many passengers we were going to have. Heathrow: “You guys are smoking something, you’re not going to have that many. We are not going to staff for it.”
  United CEO:”I told you”
  Heathrow: “Stop all recruitment for Winter 22. We can eek out a few more pence in the dividend.”
  HarryHolden68: “I have a plan. Let’s hire now and get them really well trained for Summer 22 so we can run a great operation at 2019 levels of capacity AND GIVE THE AIRLINES THE CONFIDENCE THAT THE CAN PLAN LIKEWISE!”

  HTF can these people be allowed to manage one of the worlds most important hub airports with this level of incompetence?

  • SJ says:

    21 Jul21 July 08:14

    Let’s be honest, i think it is more down to the fact that Heathrow and all airports for that matter, do not want to commit to any form of recruitment, as at the back of their minds, they are probably fearful that governments will once again impose travel restrictions once we’re mid Autumn / start of Winter to ‘curb’ any Covid numbers. Why hire now, when there’s a very good chance they’ll be closed down / have significantly reduced operations again and have to lay them off within months?
    Not saying that I agree with that as an approach, nor any form of future restrictions but the world has shown that rational decisions are not being taken currently, so this approach makes sense to me.

    • Lady London says:

      21 Jul21 July 10:08

      100% this is what’s going on.

      So the paying public may only have a relatively short time of the year they can travel, many only in summer, and airlines can make their year’s money in summer to offset the break-even or losses on many routes at other times.

      But airports and airlines have decided a better and safer strategy for them is to restrict supply and use the inelasticity of current demand to force prices as high as they can…. (and airlines doing all sorts of sneaky things to get the seats they already sold cheaply, made available by passengers to now be re-old at the new high pricing….). This lets the industry keep overheads low in autumn and through winter low season that is loved by the virus…. So some opportunity lost in summer.
      But containing the overhead so a more calculated decision can be made about expanding or not expanding overhead, particularly human overhead, for next spring.

      Wouldn’t you do the same?

      I’m fine with it. It’s commercial decisions made by airlines and airports to ensure their own survival and optimise profit.

      But as passengers are the victims of this self-protection by airlines and airports, which are private enterprises and not public services anymore, then at the passenger’s interaction point with this profit chain, ie their airline, paasengers should receive full compensation for disruption and all the assistance mandated by law. Then I’m actually cool with what’s going on here.

      • Brian78 says:

        21 Jul21 July 12:34

        “100% this is what’s going on.”

        Nope definitely not “100%”. Just someone’s unsubstantiated opinion.

  • Track says:

    21 Jul21 July 09:02

    Serves the purpose of holding the public and CAA hostage.

    Don’t want to give us 34 GBP airport fee? Meet an artificial 3-hour security queue and passenger cap numbers..

    • PeteM says:

      21 Jul21 July 14:44

      Fairly sure this is also part of the game, yes.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    21 Jul21 July 14:52

    Heathrow should be publicly embarrassed into hiring more staff by all operating airlines. Waiting until summer season 2023 is a disgrace.

  • Dubious says:

    21 Jul21 July 15:04

    To be fair, the airlines did complain and warn about the airport slot usage thresholds and earlier waivers not being extended for the summer 2022 season.

    As per this article from January 2022, the UK government kept the slot usage requirement high, at 70% (slightly down from the usual 80% but much higher than the 50% waivers during the tail of the pandemic).

    https://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/297416/uk-increases-minimum-slot-usage-threshold-for-summer-2022/

    Now things have come to a head, a waiver (or ‘amnesty’) has been granted at as per this article from 21 June 2022:

    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-21/uk-gives-airlines-a-waiver-on-airport-slots-to-ease-travel-chaos

    Note the date – this was published at or around the same time that Heathrow Airport acknowledged it needed to cut capacity (announced on 20 June 2022).

    I am unclear if the lessons (slot usage waivers) have been granted for the winter 2022 season.

• Grimz says:

  21 Jul21 July 09:35

  My reward flight to Bangkok has been cancelled for January. Can i ask to be re-routed on another airline?

  • Rob says:

    21 Jul21 July 09:40

    You can, but they will refuse (illegally).

    Give them a couple of weeks and they will agree. They want as many as possible to take a cash refund and ignore their legal requirement to a reroute.

• John says:

  21 Jul21 July 09:38

  It’s hardly mentioned in the media, including HfPs, that Heathrow imposed fire and rehire on most of their frontline staff, resulting in pay cuts of 20% on average, is it any wonder morale and productivity is rock bottom.

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