According to the news on Best Fares, if US Airways management fails to offer its flight attendants a new contract by 12:01 a.m. March 25, Create Havoc Around Our System (CHAOS) strike actions will begin among an initial list of city pairings in US Airways' system. Additional cities and routes, including a number of international cities, will be announced in the coming weeks.

The list which follows was released by the flight attendants' union for two purposes: as a bargaining chip in the current contract stalemate and a means to offer passengers booked on US Airways some time to prepare.

The contract battle has been going on for almost four years. The flight attendants want more money and pension improvements. despite $2.1 billion in profits over the past five years, airline management wants to cut overall wages and benefits.

CHAOS, first used at Alaska Airlines in 1993, is a strike action that can take many forms. At US Airways, flight attendants will target primarily those flights that are matched by US Airways' competitors, giving passengers alternatives. Although the union is providing this initial list of cities, flight attendants will not announce in advance the exact dates and times of the targeted flights to be struck.

US Airways has threatened to shut down the entire airline if there is no new contract by March 25.

Here are the city pairs which might be affected:

Flights between Philadelphia and Boston, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Detroit, Columbus, Raleigh/Durham, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Juan

Flights between Pittsburgh and Newark, Chicago O'Hare and Atlanta

Flights between New York LaGuardia and West Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, Rochester, Fort Lauderdale, Raleigh/Durham and Columbus

Flights between Washington Dulles and Atlanta and Orlando

Flights between Washington National and Fort Lauderdale and Columbus

Flights between Boston and Washington Dulles/National, Tampa, Orlando and Rochester

Flights between Baltimore and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Manchester, Cleveland, Providence, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Jacksonville and New Orleans

Flights between Hartford and Orlando and Fort Lauderdale

Flights between Albany and Orlando

Flights between Tampa and Tallahassee

V,
This is not good news! I am currently holding tickets on USairways! Not for Vegas, but for Cleveland!
I don't expect them to settle.
Lee-PA

Any more news on this available?
Lee-PA

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

USAirways'
negotiations with its Flight Attendant Union
have broken down and the clock has started
ticking on the deadline of March 25, 2000.

Although no one is quite sure what will happen,
USAirways is advising travelers to use paper tickets
instead of e-tickets. With paper tickets anyone
affected en route can obtain travel on alternate
airlines.

This is, as of March 16th.

I do beleive my travel plans are about to come apart at the seams.



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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

read in the USA today....
Possible USAirways Strike options...
The best way is to change any e-tickets into real tickets. They (USairways) is allowing passengers with e-tickets to exchange them in for real paper tickets up to April 9th, for now.
Also Amtrack is planning on honoring the USAirways tickets. They plan on adding more cars and are boosting up inspection times, for a pressed into action rail service. However, amtrack will not refund the differance of the ticket cost, you'll have to do that with USAirways.

For anyone traveling in the Northeast, this is going to be a mess if it happens. USAirways is a major carrier in these parts. They have a great many of the short haul routes. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to exchange my e-tickets in for real tickets, I'll post back here, how it went!
FYI department: USairways offered no cyber fares for this weekend. To me that is a very bad sign!

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com



[This message has been edited by Lee-PA (edited March 22, 2000).]

Lee: Thanks for the update and answering your own question in the thread <lol>.

If things don't get solved soon, I'll suggest to the relatives and friends to go get their e-tickets changed. Whatta mess this could turn out to be.


[This message has been edited by Veronica (edited March 22, 2000).]

Well, I changed in my e-tickets. There was no problem and no hassel at all. Also no line! yippy!
Counter agent said they are all hoping that it gets settled in the 11th hour, but right now it looks like a strike is very possible. I also asked him what airline offers me the best shot, he recomended Continental if they strike. He also checked my route and schedule and said the USairays flight isn't very full, so that's a good sign if they strike, less people looking for flights. Lets just keep our fingers crossed!

V, by all means get those e-ticket issued by Friday midnight.

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

Here's some more info...

Most major airlines will honor US Air tickets if a strike occurs at midnight ET. United, which also shares with US Air and books their tickets on the same reservation system, will be one of the very few airlines that will be able to honor US Air e-tickets.

United will also permit customers to call their reservation centers at 800-241-6522 and make changes to their travel plans over the telephone. If seats are available in the similar inventory, United will offer the passenger confirmed seats, not standby.

United is also cutting customers another break: If seats are not available to or from your two traveling cities, United will permit travel from an alternate airport up to 200 miles from either your originating city or your final destination. This option is very important if seats are completely sold out on your route. Delta, for example, will only permit travel to or from the two cities that appear on your ticket.

Most major airlines, including American, Delta, TWA, Northwest and Continental, will honor US Air tickets up to three days prior to the original departing date. For example, if your travel date is Sunday, you can call a competing carrier once a strike announcement becomes effective. However, if your ticket originating date is next Thursday, you will have to wait until Tuesday to make rebooking arrangements.

Keep in mind that these policies are subject to change as the possibility of a strike approaches. The major carriers are limited because of contractual agreements with US Air. United may prove to be an exception and offer rebooking for up to four days in the future (the current day and the next three days).

Is anybody else as amused by this strike as I am?

dirtyricky: Welcome to Talk Vegas!

Not much to report except that negotiations between US Air officials and representatives of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) have been extended for an undisclosed period. The outcome so far: the only thing either party has agreed to is to continue talking past the midnight deadline of the federally imposed 30-day cooling off period.

Dirtyricky,
I'd find it extremely funny, if I wern't currently holding tickets on a fastly approaching flight. It's like the old story goes, your only interested in something untill it affects you. <S>

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Lee-PA
Moderator, What's New Forum
lee@talkvegas.com

Great news! US Air officials and representatives of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) reached an agreement around 2:30 a.m. (EST), narrowly avoiding the possible strike and averting the CHAOS.

I have to admit: This strike (or threat thereof) wasn't as hyped as strikes in the past. Probably because of the minimal effect it would have had on Vegas. And it's over already. I would have liked to see them all lose a little business first. After all, they are both trying to use the rest of the country as pawns in their chess game.