British Airways strike to begin Saturday
Posted March 19, 2010 12:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
LONDON, England – The union representing British Airways cabin crew will go ahead with a planned strike Saturday after talks with the airline broke down.
BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said it was “deeply regrettable” that the union declined to accept a proposal on pay and working conditions from the airline, adding that offer would be withdrawn once the strike begins.
BA, which placed an advertisement in British newspapers reassuring customers it would do its best to minimize disruption, said it expects to operate around 65 per cent of its scheduled flights over the next three days.
A total of 1,100 flights out of the 1,950 flights scheduled to operate during the walkout will be cancelled, but the airline has leased planes and crew from rival carriers to take up some of the shortfall.
At its Heathrow base, more than 60 per cent of long-haul flights will operate, but only 30 per cent of short-haul. At Gatwick, all long-haul flights and more than half short-haul flights will run as normal.
“Tens of thousands of BA people stand ready to serve our customers,” Walsh said. “BA will be flying tomorrow.”
Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley said that BA “does not want to negotiate and ultimately wants to go to war with this union.”
BA argues that the disputed changes — including a pay freeze in 2010, a switch to part-time work for 3,000 staff and a reduction in cabin crew sizes from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights from Heathrow airport — are critical for its survival. Unite argues it was not properly consulted on the changes.
BA said Friday it had offered to modify the changes, even though they had been approved by Britain’s High Court, but Unite had declined to put the offer to its members to vote.
Analysts estimate that BA has already lost more than 25-million pounds because of cancelled tickets and the cost of contingency plans, which include leasing fully crewed planes from other airlines.
Unite has a second, four-day walkout planned to begin on March 27 and has said more strikes will be scheduled for after April 14 if the dispute is not resolved. It has made a pledge not to walk out over the busy Easter period.
