Finnair puts up thousands of passengers in hotels

Strike affected travel plans of 32,000 people

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THIS STORY WAS PUBLISHED BEFORE A SETTLEMENT WAS REACHED IN THE DISPUTE BETWEEN FINNAIR AND ITS PILOTS.
      The Finnish airline Finnair does not yet know exactly how many passengers it has had to lodge in hotels in Finland and abroad because of the ongoing pilots’ strike.
      Finnair cancelled all of its scheduled flights on Tuesday, and booked passengers were routed onto flights of other carriers. The airline has promised that chartered leisure flights to holiday destinations will be flown even during the strike - mostly on flights by other airlines. A few Finnair planes can also be used, with managerial staff serving as flight crew.
      If rerouting to other airlines is not possible, Finnair promises to arrange lodging and reimburse the cost of the cancelled flight
     
Negotiations between Finnair and its pilots on ending the strike were at a standstill on Monday evening. However, discussions resumed on Tuesday.
      “We are ready to negotiate, if an invitation were forthcoming”, said Kristian Rintala, President of the Finnish Air Line Pilots Association (SLL).
      Finnair has also not made any predictions on when the strike might end.
     
Nearly 800 pilots are on strike. On Monday pickets stood guard at a few locations at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
      Because of the strike, Finnair has sent 3,000 employees notice of the suspension of pay.
      Finnair estimates that the costs of the stroke are between 2 and 5 million euros a day. Finnair CEO Jukka Hienonen said at a press conference on Monday afternoon that the longer the strike lasts, the more Finnair will have to cut costs in the future.
     
On Monday evening, passengers with tickets were at Finnair’s service desks trying to have their flights changed to other airlines. There was no great crowding.
      Susan Kaija was to have flown to Paris on Monday for a work-related trip. The Finnair flight was cancelled, but the company arranged an alternate route on Czech Airlines via Prague. “The return flight is supposed to be on Thursday with Finnair.”
     
Finnair’s customer service telephone lines were badly congested. For instance, a man who was scheduled to fly from Helsinki to South Africa via London spent three hours trying to reach the number. There was no answer, and at midnight he gave up.
      On Sunday he got through after just one hour of waiting. He was told that Wednesday’s flights were not being rerouted yet, and he was advised to be actively in contact with customer service. However, he was not told when this should be.
      He called again on Monday. This time, the call was answered promptly, but the caller was told that it was likely that Finnair would be flying again on Wednesday.
      The caller expressed some doubt, noting that negotiations were not even taking place. The person at the other end advised the caller to wait for a text message announcing the possible cancellation of the flight, and to then take action.
     
The strike has increased flights by other airlines, and the railway company VR has increased its rolling stock, especially on its overnight services between the north and south of Finland.
      The strike is also slowing down some mail deliveries.

More on this subject:
 BACKGROUND: Strike could drag on

Previously in HS International Edition:
  Pilots’ strike forces cancellation of hundreds of Finnair flights (16.11.2009)
  National Conciliator presents mediation proposal for Finnair pilots (13.11.2009)

Links:
  Finnair website: information on pilots’ strike

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