Anyone flying BA in the next few weeks, or months? BA planned strike Christmas 2009.

[Lobster]

It will be interesting to see what mood the CC are in tomorrow after this fiasco for them.

[jhm]

It will be interesting to see what mood the CC are in tomorrow after this fiasco for them.

... and also pax's reaction to them!

[KeithMEL]

Great news for those travelling on BA nonetheless!

I think the crew have been badly let down by their union. The damage has already been done even if the strike has been blocked. Such an extreme form of industrial action (if they were really going ahead with it, which was what it looked like) would only serve to antagonise BA and diminish any scope for cooperation and negotiations between all parties involved.

[Kiwi]

Whew - great relief.

[Lobster]

My flight is two hours delayed (at least) due to adverse weather conditions. Luckily if it stays like this I will still be able to make my connection.

[Lobster]

Well the flights were very nice, did not see any reaction by the crew. Heathrow was a mess as there were two snow flakes so most flights were delayed and some cancelled but I was lucky my flight was only about 30 mins late.

Also just got an email from BA giving me 25,000 miles as a sorry for the concern caused by the threat of industrial action.

[SQTalker]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...says-boss.html



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lown-year.html

[KeithMEL]

I'd take anything the Daily Hate Mail puts out with a truck load of salt....

[scooby5]

There are not too many unions left in the UK now i think, certainly compared to 20 and 30 years ago......... and for good reason!

[MAN Flyer]

Well, the 1970's Time-warp Turkeys seem to have voted for an early Christmas.

The union representing British Airways cabin crew has said its members will go on strike for three days from 20 March and for four days from 27 March.

The union confirmed it would not strike over Easter, but warned there could be further action after 14 April if a resolution had not been agreed.

The union will also ballot its members on a new offer from BA aimed at preventing strike action.

Crew members voted to strike last month over pay and working conditions.

Unite is not recommending BA's offer to its members. The ballot on the offer will take place straight away and if cabin crew vote to accept the airline's offer, the strike action will be called off.

The airline is also in discussion with baggage handling staff at Heathrow, but a spokesperson for BA said any talk of strike action involving them would be "extremely speculative and premature".

Back-up plans

BA has already made extensive contingency plans in case of strike action.

Speaking before the announcement, a spokesperson for the airline told the BBC that BA would do everything it could to operate as many flights as possible during any disruption.

It has already trained 1,000 staff to work as cabin crew to cover for any striking workers.

It is also looking to charter aircraft with its own crew - known in the industry as a wet hire - in order to operate as many flights as possible.

The spokesperson said flights from London City Airport would not be affected, while 70% of flights from Gatwick, including all long-haul flights, should be operational.

At BA's most important hub, Heathrow, he said the airline would be able to offer some long and short-haul services.

Cutting costs

BA cabin crew are striking over changes imposed by the airline last November, which saw a reduction in the number of crew on long-haul flights and the introduction of a pay freeze from this year.

BA says the cuts are necessary to save money. Last month it said it lost £342m for the last nine months of 2009. That followed an annual loss of more than £400m reported in May last year.

Unite has acknowledged the "need for change" and has proposed its own cost-cutting package worth £63m through a combination of pay-cuts and part-time working, but this was rejected by BA earlier this week.

The airline said the package would not save as much as Unite claimed, and would involve pay cuts for crew members.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8563728.stm

[225]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8567409.stm
Bring back Maggie, a "please don't strike" doesn't really cut it.

[kapitan]

Recieved from TA;

Travel Alert - BA International Cabin Crew Strike Dates Announced : 20-22 March and 27-30 March

British Airways International cabin crew will go on strike from Saturday 20th March for three days, then again from Saturday 27th March for four days.

Details of how services will be affected will be released early next week, but BA maintain they have contingency plans to keep much of the schedule in place. All flights from London City Airport will operate, along with all long-haul services from London Gatwick.
Similarly BA have not yet advised their policy on refunds and rebooking for cancelled fights.

For the latest information:

www.britishairways.com

BA/Comair South African domestic flights are not affected by this dispute.