The whole world is festering with unhappy souls. Just ask the passengers on a quartet of flights stranded on the tarmac at Hartford Saturday for seven hours because of weather, or the tens-of-thousands of fliers flummoxed in the four corners of the world as Qantas and Air France were beset by labor disruptions.
Hardest hit were folks trying to fly to or from Australia, Qantas’ home country. After this weekend the carrier’s iconic red kangaroo has his tail tucked ‘twixt his legs and the airline’s embattled CEO, Alan Joyce, is apologizing profusely.
Over the past few weeks, trade unions have staged industrial actions against the airline. Pay and working conditions were among the reasons. Qantas fired back by grounding all of its flights Saturday, disrupting the plans of some 70,000 passengers.
Australia is critically dependant on air travel to keep the gears of commerce lubricated, and Qantas is the country’s key airline. That forced the government to step in and force flights back into the air.
While Qantas jets again took wing Monday, it’s going to take a couple of days to sort out schedules.
If you’ve been caught in the middle, between Qantas and the people who work for it, you can get a full refund. Stranded? The airline’s website says you can apply for compensation via its Accommodations and Incidental Expenses claim form.
Meanwhile, over at Air France flight attendants went out on strike, forcing the cancellation of some 20 percent of the French flag carrier’s departures. Short- and medium-haul flights took the biggest hit, but a number of long-hauls were also axed. Cancelled for today, Monday, Oct. 3:
- AF072, a Paris flight to Los Angeles.
- AF069, the return Los Angeles flight to Paris.
- AF026, a Paris flight to Washington, DC.
- AF027, the return Washington, DC flight to Paris.
- AF682, a Paris flight to Atlanta.
- AF681, the return Atlanta flight to Paris.
Air France is currently showing just two long-haul cancellations affecting the United States on Tues., Nov. 1: AF682/681 again, the Paris – Atlanta round-trip.
Air France is allowing affected fliers to change their travel free of charge through Dec. 9, regardless of the fare paid.
The final piece of the weekend breakdown fell into place Saturday when a heavy, wet late autumn snow plopped down upon the northeast, affecting flights form New England to Maryland.
Were you affected by this past weekend’s chaos? Tell us about it.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: Alex Proimos)
