Terminal changes at DCA; strike threat for British Airways

By Joe Brancatelli

AIRPORT REPORT

Watch out for shuffled terminals at Washington/National: The ongoing combination of Delta Air Lines and former NorthwestAirlines facilities at airports around the country is now shaking up familiar patterns at Washington/National. All Delta and Northwest flights, including commuter service, now operate from Terminal B. Continental and Alaska airlines also operate from Terminal B. To make room, Air Canada has moved to Terminal A.

Frontier and Midwest airlines, now owned by the same parent company, have moved into Terminal A, too. They join AirTran, Midwest and Spirit airlines.

STRIKE WATCH

BA plays kick-the-can with its big labor problem: More than 90 percent of British Airways’ flight attendants voted to strike for 12 days over the Christmas/New Years holidays, but BA dodged a bullet when a London court decided the union’s ballot may have counted a few votes from ineligible staffers and former supporters. The union is rushing to vote again, and no one doubts they’ll overwhelmingly vote to strike. So now BA faces a potentially crippling strike in late January or early February. Negotiations have been sporadic at best. At issue: a series of unilateral staffing and work-rules changes that BA management claims it is legally able to make, but the union insists violates its contract. Watch this one carefully, especially if you were planning a flight to London or to use London as a hub for onward travel.

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Joe Brancatelli is editor and publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial Web site for business travelers. Copyright 2009 by Joe Brancatelli. Licensedby contract for Orbitz use.

Tagged: Europe