British Airways Strike Begins, 1100 Flights Cancelled

Cabin crews of British Airways began a three-day strike today, forcing the airline to cancel 1100 flights worldwide. Talks between the Unite trade union and British Airways broke down Friday, which resulted in the strike. Among the issues being argued is the plan by British Airways for a two-year pay freeze and to cut the number of staff onboard long-haul flights. Another three-day strike is planned March 27th. Each strike is expected to cost the airline millions of dollars in lost revenue and brand damage.

To check the status of any worldwide flight, click here.

British Airways to Pay Expenses in Fare Foul-Up

The U.S. Department of Transportation said that British Airways has agreed to compensate consumers for cancellation penalties and other expenses incurred due to the carrier's erroneous offer of $40 fare between the United States and India. The carrier realized its error nearly immediately and removed the fare within minutes from its own website, but it remained on the websites of certain on-line travel agents for about two hours. During this time, more than 1,200 bookings were made covering approximately 2,200 passengers.

British Airways cancelled the bookings of all passengers who purchased the fare and, before the Enforcement Office began its review of the matter, offered all affected passengers a travel voucher valued at $300. Now British Airways also has agreed to reimburse passengers resulting from having relied on the erroneous $40 fare. These could include fees for cancelling flights or cancelling hotels, rental cars or other ground arrangements, as well as additional costs incurred in rebooking flights due to fare increases on previously held flights that were cancelled in order to book the $40 fare.

Possibly the Best Airline Credit Card Offers Available

By Mike Grasso

It's new, it's hot, and it's all the buzz over in the Flyertalk and FatWallet forums. We're talking about British Airways Visa Signature Card from Chase - where you can earn 50,000 miles for using the card once, 100,000 for spending $2000 within 90 days. But, there are strings attached.

According to the offer, new BA Visa Signature cardholders will earn 50,000 British Airways miles upon first use of the card - enough for a free roundtrip ticket to Europe. Then earn another 50,000 miles when you spend atleast $2000 within 3 months of account opening - which scores you a second roundtrip ticket. Wowie wow!

And now the strings: As with most award ticket redemption's, the customer is responsible for paying all applicable taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. Unfortunately British Airways is notorious for being the "industry leader" in tagging these charges on. So be aware that your award ticket redemption may set you back up to $250 if flying British Airways. Also, British Airways offers limited service to/from the Bay Area, so availability for award seats, which are capacity controlled, may be slim pickins. Finally, keep in mind there is an annual fee on the card of $75.

But here's some good news: You can redeem BA miles on partner airlines, such as Japan, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific, from 50,000 miles. Or choose to use the miles for domestic trips on U.S.-based partners, American and Alaska from 25,000 miles, and the fees would likely be fairly insignificant compared to flying internationally. Something else to be all jazzed about: British Airways has a pretty robust search engine for searching award availability with partner airlines, which helps limit the need to contact the airline directly for bookings.

Overall, this offer impresses me, and may very well be one of the best deals out there. I just received my approval this week and will report back any difficulties. If you are interested in applying, do it soon as word has it the offer may be pulled by months-end.

British Airways Plane Crashes At London Airport, Two Injuries

A British Airways regional jet enroute from Amsterdam crash-landed late Friday night at London's city airport. According to officials, the front landing gear on the aircraft failed. 67 Passengers and five crew escaped through the plane's emergency slides. Two injuries were reported.

British Airways Considers Qantas Partnership

Today British Airways announced they are in partnership talks with Qantas, Australia's largest airline. Although British Airways officials cautioned no guarantee a deal can be reached, both airlines are reportedly working toward a "complete and permanent merger." Read more from the New York Times.

American and British Airways To Team Up

British Airways announced a deal that partners up with American Airlines, allowing both carriers to operate together, fixing routes, schedules and fares throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Spain's Iberia Airlines, recently acquired by British Airways, is included in the partnership.

One hurdle for the airlines will be receiving government approval. They must convince the U.S. that the deal does not negatively impact consumers. European regulators will likely be concerned about the dominance the combined airlines will have at London's Heathrow Airport, where the two carriers control nearly half the take-off and landing slots to the United States.

Virgin Atlantic's Chief Executive Richard Branson is not so excited about the prospects of a combined airline; "Make no mistake, A BA/AA alliance would be bad for passengers, bad for competition and bad for the UK and US aviation industry". Branson has sent letters to Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain urging them to say no to the proposed deal.

On the plus side, if the agreement is approved, travelers would likely see more booking options, including a wider array of destinations, easier hub connections and improved cooperation between the two frequent flier programs.

British Airways & Virgin Atlantic Passenger Refunds

Approximately 5.5 Million people who flew British Airways and Virgin Atlantic may qualify for a refund as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. The lawsuit claims the airlines unlawfully conspired to fix prices for the "fuel surcharge" that was added to base ticket prices. Customers who purchased a roundtrip ticket on either airline between August 11, 2004 and March 23, 2006 are entitled to a refund of the fuel surcharge they paid, approximately $40 U.S dollars.

The airlines are expected to release records of passengers flying during the time period in order to arrange for refunds, but have also set up an official website whereby potential claimants can provide their current contact information: http://www.airpassengerrefund.com/

British Airways Crash at London's Heathrow Airport, 13 injured

Hundreds of flights into London cancelled as the investigation of the crash continues.
(CNN) A British Airways Boeing 777 flight en route from China crashed Thursday, just short of a runway at London Heathrow Airport. Passenger Paul Venter told the UK Press Association: "The wheels came out and went for touchdown, and the next moment we just dropped. I couldn't tell you how far."
More from CNN

British Airways has been flying "ghost flights" across the Atlantic ocean right into the United States.
Citing a lack of cabin crew, the airline has been shuttling their huge planes across the globe without a single passenger on board. Details from USA Today