BA to Run Full Flight Program Despite Looming Strike Action

Britain’s flag carrier says that its contingency plan will guarantee smooth operations during a walkout by mixed fleet cabin crew.

A strike by British Airways’ mixed fleet cabin crew may be just a few days away, but the carrier is promising that it will run a full flight schedule despite any planned industrial action.

Members of BA’s cabin crew, many of whom are represented by Unite, Britain’s largest labor organization, are planning to strike on December 25^th and 26^th following a long-running dispute over pay.

On Monday, the carrier stated that it had been reviewing its contingency plans, though it declined to explain exactly how it would operate at full capacity during the strike action. At the time of writing, negotiations are underway to try and resolve the dispute, but BA is attempting to reassure its customers that it is prepared for all eventualities.

Alex Cruz, BA’s chief executive and chairman, told City A.M. that “We are making sure that this attempt to ruin Christmas for thousands of our customers fails. Over the weekend we have been working on detailed contingency plans to ensure that we are able to operate our normal flight program from all our airports on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day [December 26^th].”

Members of BA’s mixed crew, who fly both short and long-haul routes, last week rejected a two percent rise in pay.

Speaking of the strike action, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey stated that, “Unite is focused on trying to achieve a negotiated outcome for our members many of whom are young men and woman who have been underpaid for years. Unite has consistently raised the issue of ‘mixed fleet’ cabin crew pay over a number of months, yet British Airways has refused to listen.”

He also criticized the carrier for quoting misleading salary figures in the media and added, “new entrants to ‘mixed fleet’ are paid a basic of £12,192 ($15,113) per annum […] Our young members deserve credit for standing up for themselves against a corporate giant such as British Airways in their fight for a living wage. They are entitled to have […] a decent standard of living.”

Cruz, however, countered that members of the carrier’s mixed crew enjoy a ‘competitive salary package’.

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