If a rail strike delays my trip to London will Eurostar put me on a later train?

Q I have a 6.30am train booked from Birmingham International to London Euston on 28 July, when post-strike disruption is still to be expected. This is to catch a 10.20am Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris. If I am delayed getting to London will Eurostar put me on a later train?

Jenny B

A The context: members of the RMT working for Network Rail and 14 train operators are staging their fourth one-day strike on 27 July (augmented by Avanti West Coast members of the white-collar Transport Salaried Staff Association). Disruption is certain for early trains the following day. As the first three days showed, these stoppages continue to have an effect the next morning because signalling is not up to full strength and rolling stock may be out of position.

You have understandably booked a good-value London Northwestern Railway (LNR) ticket from the West Midlands to the capital, which are slower but often much cheaper than Avanti West Coast – the express operator on the same route. Your chosen train is (still) scheduled to get in at 8.38am. Euston to St Pancras takes about 10 minutes to walk, so your plan was sound.

The first issue: is the 6.30am likely to be cancelled? I believe there is a strong chance. Next, is there a later LNR train you could catch? Not without considerable stress: were the 7.06am to run and stick to schedule, it would arrive at Euston at 9.32am, just 48 minutes before your train to France is set to depart.

Because you have bought separate tickets, Eurostar may not be prepared to rebook you – its trains will be very full, anyway, partly because of high demand this summer and also because some early and late Eurostars will be cancelled.

So it looks to me that you should plan to travel with Avanti West Coast – probably on the 7.43am, which gets in at 8.51am. I believe this train will run. Advance tickets are available at £50 one-way currently, which I imagine is a multiple of what you paid. LNR may possibly reach an agreement with Avanti West Coast to accept its tickets, but the secure option is to fork out now.

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Q I am flying from London Heathrow to San Francisco on Friday 22 July. I am desperate for it to take off. Is it likely to be cancelled?

Paul J

A Possibly, but don’t panic. I have seen a list of scheduled flight cancellations from Heathrow from yesterday until 24 July, and one United cancellation that day is the lunchtime service to San Francisco. You may, though, be flying on British Airways or Virgin Atlantic, in which case there is unlikely to be any disruption.

Even if you are booked on United, it should be a straightforward matter to reach the Californian city without undue trouble: the US carrier will be happy to book you through one of its other American hubs (New York Newark, Washington DC, Denver, Chicago …) to get you to San Francisco. This would be irritatingly slower and with more hassle, which is regrettable.

A better result for you would be if there is no space available and instead you are placed on a nonstop with BA or Virgin. But don’t get your hopes up: United would be more likely to send you with one of its Star Alliance partners, whether Lufthansa via Frankfurt or Munich, or Air Canada via one of its Canadian gateways.

Your chosen travel date is going to be interesting, in any event, because this is likely to be the busiest day at Heathrow since the start of 2020. Fridays in high summer are usually when the crowds at the UK’s busiest airport are at their greatest, and this year will be no exception. But don’t arrive too early in the hope of compensating: I prescribe a maximum of three hours if you have baggage to check in, two hours with hand luggage only. And be prepared for crowds.

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Q I am booked to fly from Toronto via Amsterdam to Aberdeen in September. I now want to change my return airport to Glasgow as there is a gig on that evening that I want to see. KLM quoted me something like £220 to change arrival airport. I have since found that I can either travel easyJet or KLM for £35 or £60 by booking a one-way ticket. Where do I stand if I don’t go on my original journey from Amsterdam to Aberdeen? I will only have hand luggage. What do you think?

Chris M

A I cannot condone breaking your contract with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which is what would happen were you to abandon the final leg of your journey from Canada to Scotland. In theory, airlines are able to claim against anyone who does not complete the agreed journey. Typically you could be liable for the full Toronto-Amsterdam economy fare, which I bet would be a multiple of the fare you paid for the ticket right through to Aberdeen.

Having said that, airlines have only rarely pursued passengers who do this – targeting travellers and travel agents they regard as deliberately practising “tariff abuse” – buying a ticket from A to B to C at a lower price than the fare from A to B, and throwing away the last segment. Clearly you are not in this category, and indeed you are happy to pay more money to KLM – just not the £220 the airline wants. Not having checked baggage means there is no impediment to you arriving at Amsterdam Schiphol airport and going to a different gate, where you would produce a boarding pass for the new flight and depart for Glasgow.

Given the chronic shortage of security staff for the checkpoints for Amsterdam-originating passengers, you certainly do not want to go “landside” and come back “airside” – but thanks to the layout of the airport this would not be necessary.

Anyone taking the action you propose must also be aware that if the Toronto-Amsterdam leg is late, then there will be no recompense if the Glasgow flight were missed. However, they would have the Aberdeen segment – which would be protected if there were a delay, with the passenger rebooked on a later service.

Or you could leave it in the hands of the travel gods. There is some chance your Aberdeen flight will be delayed or even cancelled. If it is, you can reasonably ask to be flown to Glasgow or Edinburgh instead – and, with no checked baggage, KLM staff should be happy to move you.

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Q Haven’t tried to travel abroad since Covid started – now regretting that I bothered this year. I’m taking a family of six to Germany in August, flying from Heathrow. I have booked Eurowings flights, accommodation, car hire and event tickets all separately. Flights have already been rescheduled once (to leave on the evening before the previous booked date).

After the news of more cancellations at Heathrow, what is the likelihood of the flights being cancelled? Will I be covered for all related costs from travel insurance if they are? Or should I bail on the hope of flying at all, and look at alternative plans, such as driving?

“Worried Traveller”

A It is possible that Eurowings (part of Lufthansa) will cancel the odd flight to and from Heathrow in August. I put the chance of your flight being cancelled as below 5 per cent. Were it to be cancelled, you will probably be given lots of notice and should be able to find a convenient alternative in accordance with the protection offered by the European air passengers’ rights rules.

On-the-day cancellations can never be ruled out, but were this to happen, the number of flights to Germany, and the excellent onward transportation from major airports, make it most unlikely that you would struggle to reach your destination.

For example, if you are booked to fly on Eurowings to Cologne, in the event of cancellation there are other departures to neighbouring Dusseldorf. If all flights to western Germany are grounded, then there is the option of Eurostar trains from London St Pancras to Brussels and onwards from there to Cologne. Any of which, Eurowings would have to pay for.

I can see no reason to imagine that your trip will be lost, and therefore no value at this stage in assessing the options for recompense. I hope you have a happy and much-deserved holiday.

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