If you have tickets for upcoming travel on this airline, you need to read this. NOW.
Normally, I don’t read many Wall Street stories, but when I see one involving a major airline, I take a peek.
Such a story, from the Associated Press, turned up on Yahoo! last night about American Airlines, describing the falling stock values of its parent company, AMR. Not much to interest the traveler — until you get to the bottom:
“American says it has higher labor costs than other airlines, and it’s negotiating new contracts with its three unions.”
If you’re flying American in the near future, however, it’s the very last sentence that demands your attention:
“Two of the unions have asked federal officials for permission to move toward a strike.”
Uhh…yikes?
Of course, this could all just be a bit of union posturing as part of the course of routine negotiations. The mere fact that they have to ask Washington’s blessing makes a strike less likely.
But do you want to stake your trip, not to mention your money, on that assurance?
Particularly if your plans fall during a busy holiday travel season, you might want to have a backup plan ready. And you should at least look into travel insurance.
Meanwhile, we will keep an eye on this.