What Are Your Options When an Airline Strikes?

What should you do to protect yourself during a strike? (Bear in mind that airlines will not offer the same things all the time, that low cost and charter airlines are likely to have less options since they don't usually have ticketing agreements with other airlines, and may have less service to the destination you are traveling to from the outset)

• If you are flexible with your travel dates, call to see if you can rebook. Strikes often mean that you can change your ticket for future travel without fees.
• If you are flexible with your travel dates, or do not need to travel and the strike is longer than a day or two, call for a refund. Usually, an airline strike that drags on will lead an airline to permit cancellations without fees when it becomes clearer that even after flights are back to normal there is likely to be a huge backlog of disrupted passengers scrambling for few seats.
• Check into travel insurance and see if it covers labor disruptions.
• If the airline you are traveling on has partner airlines (is part of an alliance like Star Alliance, oneworld, or Sky Team), check to see if there is space on them. The striking airline is more likely to rebook you on a partner airline than one outside of its alliance.
• As a last resort, book a refundable ticket on another airline so that you are covered. I say last resort because refundable tickets are usually full fare or close to full fare and are very expensive. Then you can refund the ticket if you do not end up requiring it for your travels.