EVA Air to help travelers get refunds, rebook flights if pilots strike

Taipei, Jan. 26 (CNA) Taiwan's EVA Airways (EVA Air) will help passengers get a refund or reschedule their flights without being charged if its pilots go on strike, the carrier said Thursday evening.

In a statement, EVA Air said that if the union officially goes on strike, it will announce the affected flights on its website and app and upload a special webpage to provide the latest information on adjustments made to its flight schedule.

The airline added that it would try its best to help travelers reschedule to other suitable flights and would not charge a fee for rebooking travel.

EVA Air said it did not want to see a strike and would do its best to work out feasible plans and continue negotiations with the union representing the potentially striking pilots, the Taoyuan Union of Pilots (TUP), in hopes of reaching a consensus in the coming days.

Representatives for the pilots, who obtained the right to strike after a TUP vote on Monday, said negotiations held Wednesday with the carrier's management did not yield any breakthroughs.

On Thursday, the TUP approved and announced two possible "windows" for a pilot strike -- Feb. 7-18 or March 30-April 7.

These windows coincide with the Lunar New Year holiday and Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival, considered to be peak overseas travel periods.

Any potential strike would be announced 24 hours in advance, the union said.

Responding to the planned strike, a high-level manager in the tourism sector told CNA that the strike was strongly opposed by the industry.

According to the manager, who did not want to be identified, owners of shuttle buses, restaurants and hotels are expected to be affected if a strike occurred.

Taiwan's Travel Agents Association attacked the union in a statement, saying the pilots did not care about consumers, the travel sector or members of the public, and were harming the rights of others while fighting for their own rights.

"Travel agencies are being forced to stand on the front line to face consumers," the manager said.

A major potential issue would be refunds, the source said.

Under the Standard Form Travel Agent Contract, when itineraries are canceled because of issues beyond the travel agent's control, refunds are only issued after the cost of passport and visa applications and deposits for hotels and transportation paid for in advance by travel agencies are deducted.

As a result, prepaid tours that would canceled if the pilots were to go on strike could trigger serious disputes, the manager said.

The Financial Supervisory Commission said Thursday that EVA Air could not refuse to compensate or refund travelers affected by a strike, but it did not specify whether the compensation would extend to costs of travel beyond airfares.

One insurer announced Wednesday that it would not offer travel inconvenience insurance for travel involving EVA Air flights from Feb. 7 to Feb. 18, but announced later in the day that it had canceled that policy.

It remains to be seen, however, how insurers will deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, Lion Travel Service Co. expected around 30 percent of group travelers to be affected by a strike during the Lunar New Year, while Phoenix Tours International predicted that losses caused by a strike would hit NT$10 million (US$319,861).