BALPA to vote on strike this week?
 

I'm not sure I trust a garbled version of a story from The Express (and it seems very unlikely any strike could be on by Christmas) but a timely reminder that it's not just the cabin crew strike we need to worry about. :(

British Airways Plc's pilot union may vote this week to strike if talks to resolve a 2.1 billion ($4.11 billion) pension deficit collapse, the Sunday Express reported without saying where it got the information.
The British Airline Pilots Association, or Balpa, will
begin talks on Dec. 14, the paper said, citing unidentified
sources close to the talks. A strike could ground flights during the Christmas holiday, Express said.
An issue at stake is the proposal that the retirement age for aircrew be raised to 60 from 55, the Express said. The union must give eight days' notice of any action that would include cabin and ground staff.
A representative for the airline told the paper on Dec. 8
the company is ``pretty close'' to an agreement with the unions.

If the pilots and cabin crew could arrange to all go on strike at the same time, rather than at different times, wouldn't this at least minimise the overall impact to the travelling public? ;)

A more reasoned view from The Guardian. ;)

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1969333,00.html

More garbage from the Express. BA meet the trade unions on the 14th for yet another 'final' meeting. If that fails to resolve the issue and BALPA see no progress then a 'failure to agree' may be registered and a strike ballot called. Once the ballot is called it will need to be open for a reasonable period of time(about 3 weeks I believe was the plan), then 7 days notice must be given to BA before any action, so realistically we are looking at at least 5 weeks before any action. The BASSA ballot hasn't even opened yet and will close on the 12th on January, so despite the Express' scaremongering there will be no strike over Christmas.

Now we've all got to keep our fingers crossed that the baggage handlers stop their work to rule before everybodies Xmas pressies go missing. :(

I'd like to see the baggage handlers actually do some bloody work in the first place :rolleyes:

If they'd work to rule (or just did some work) maybe it won't take as long to get your bags from the Paris flight as it does to fly from Paris.

Now now. According to BAA bags at LHR are on the belt between 15 and 31 minutes after the doors to your plane are opened! :D

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=634508

I don't dispute that. :D It's just a shame it takes an hour after chocks-on to get the loaders to open the aircraft doors!