BA Cabin Staff begin a second five day strike

Updated 31 May 2010
Members of a British Airways cabin crew union began a second five-day strike after talks held last week aimed at resolving the long-running dispute ended without agreement.

The new wave of industrial action by the airline's cabin staff started officially at midnight (2300 GMT) with little sign on the horizon of a breakthrough in the increasingly bitter row.
Thousands of passengers face more disruption at the start of a week of school holidays in Britain. Cabin staff are due to begin a third wave of strikes on June 5, days before the start of the World Cup football tournament in South Africa.
The two sides are locked in disagreement over pay, reduced staffing levels and cuts to benefits.
Talks between BA and the airline's largest cabin crew union, Unite, broke off without a deal on Friday. Conciliation service ACAS said it was seeking to arrange further talks.
The stoppages come at a difficult time for BA, which last week reported a second straight year of record losses and is battling a global economic downturn and industry-wide recession.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh and union leaders continually blame each other for breakdowns in the often acrimonious negotiations.
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No agreement reached today for BA cabin crew strike

May 29, 2010


Talks between British Airways and the Unite union which represents striking cabin crew were adjourned without the parties reaching an agreement, the mediator ACAS said today.
Both parties would be contacted to arrange more talks in an attempt to avert a further 10 days of industrial action planned during the coming weeks, it added.
Cabin crew are in the final day of a five-day strike, protesting over reduced staffing levels and cuts to benefits.
The stoppages come at a difficult time for BA, which last week reported a second straight year of record losses and is battling a global economic downturn and industry-wide recession.
Ongoing industrial action, coupled with further disruption to flights in April caused by ash from an Icelandic volcano, could scupper BA'shopes of avoiding a third year of losses.
The loss-making carrier said that in the event of another 5-day strike next week, its long-haul schedule at London's Heathrow airport would be increased to more than 70 percent of flights, from 60 percent this week.
It aims to increase the short-haul schedule at Heathrow to 55 percent of flights from 50 percent and operate a full schedule from London's Gatwick and City airports.
BA, which flies around 90,000 passengers a day, said about a quarter of its passengers would be affected by the strikes, but that they could claim a full refund, rebook or reroute their journey.
Previous negotiations in the long-running dispute have been acrimonious.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh and leaders of Unite blame each other for a breakdown in communication.
The issue of travel allowances for cabin crew has become a major sticking point in the conflict. Unite had offered to postpone the strikes if travel allowances for cabin crew were reinstated.

BA And Unite Strike Talks To Resume Today

May 28, 2010


British Airways said it would resume talks later today with the union representing striking cabin crew in an attempt to avert a further 10 days of industrial action planned by staff over the coming weeks.
"We expect talks will resume today and hope that a peaceful resolution can be found," a BA spokesman said.
Flight attendants are  protesting over reduced staffing levels and cuts to benefits

BA strike continues to 09 June

British Airways cabin attendant stike will continue until 09 June.. In the latest statement BA is trying to operate as many flights without interuption...Please click here for the latest updates BA STRIKE
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BA strike update 24 May 2010

Last updated 11:35 - 24 May 2010

Statemant from BA..We are very disappointed that Unite have gone ahead with strike action from 24 May to 29 May.
We will continue to keep as many of you flying as possible.
We would like to apologise if you are affected by the strike. We will do all we can to minimise the disruption to you.
We will update ba.com with further changes as soon as possible and would recommend that you regularly check the status of your flight.

Please do not come to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking.
All flights into and out of London Gatwick and London City airports will operate normally.

BA cabin crew union wins appeal

The British Airways cabin crew union, Unite, won an appeal on Today against a High Court ruling this week that had blocked a new wave of walkouts by the airline's staff.

The union said it would not strike before Monday, and that it was seeking a settlement with BA, which is in a dispute with its cabin crew over pay as the airline tries to cut costs.
Two out of three of Britain's senior judges ruled in favour of Unite in a knife-edge decision.
BA said in a statement it was "very disappointed", adding that it would implement a contingency plan to keep planes flying. It intends to fly more than 70 percent of the customers booked.
Originally the union had planned to stage strikes from May 18-22 , May 24-28 , May 30-June 3, and June 5-9.
BA on Monday won a court injunction to stop a threatened five-day strike by cabin crew members, the first of four such planned disruptions
Upset by the ruling Unite immediately challenged the decision, calling it a "disgrace" and an affront to democracy.
BA's lawyers had previously successfully argued that Unite had breached the 1992 labour law which stipulates that unions must communicate a full breakdown of votes cast, including figures on spoiled ballot papers.
The judge ruled against the union on the grounds that it had failed to provide all the necessary information in an easily accessible place.
Earlier this week Unite said it had reached agreement in principle with BA over its plans to save GBP£62.5 million (USD$90 million) a year to counter falling demand, volatile fuel prices and greater competition.
However, Unite said the restoration of staff travel perks had not been agreed and this row was holding up settlement of the wider dispute.

BA Cabin crew strike - latest information

Last updated 11:00 - 19 May 2010 by British Airways
We are delighted that Unite's plans for extreme and unjustified strike action has been called off.
We are sorry the court judgment cannot undo the disruption already suffered by some of you who were due to travel during the early days of the union's industrial action.
Whilst we await the outcome of Unite’s appeal to overturn the High Court injunction against the strike we are unable to return to a full schedule. We will update ba.com on Thursday 20 May with the latest details.
We have started to reinstate some of the previously cancelled flights over the next few days into and out of Heathrow.
If you do not have a confirmed booking, please do not come to the airport.
Flights to and from London City and London Gatwick
All flights into and out of London Gatwick and London City airports will operate normally.
Flights to and from London Heathrow
Today (Wednesday) we plan to operate a full longhaul schedule at Heathrow and, where possible, we will continue to reinstate further shorthaul flights into and out of Heathrow.
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BA strike outlawed as rules over flying in ash cloud change

The High Court outlawed the back-to-back strikes by cabin crew while the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) altered its criteria for permitting aircraft to fly.

However, the court ruling came too late for BA to reinstate its full flying schedule at Heathrow, which had been disrupted earlier in the day by the ash cloud


This is the latest statement from BA. updated 5:10 PM - 17 May 2010

We are delighted that Unite’s plans for extreme and unjustified strike action cannot go ahead.
We are sorry the court judgment cannot undo the disruption already suffered by some of you who were due to travel during the early days of the union’s industrial action.
We have now started to reinstate some of our previously cancelled longhaul flights on 18 May into and out of Heathrow.
If you do not have a confirmed booking, please do not come to the airport.
Ash disruption permitting, we will aim to restore a full flying programme at Heathrow by the weekend.
We will also offer a full programme at Gatwick and London City, as planned
Travelling between 18 and 23 May
If your flight has been cancelled please don’t come to the airport.
We have started to reinstate some of the previously cancelled longhaul flights on 18 May to and from London Heathrow.
For more information click on this link BA STRIKE UPDATE
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Another Bristish Airways Strike to Begin May 18

British Airways expects to carry more than 70 percent of its customers, or over 60,000 passengers a day, during five days of strike action due to start next week, the airline said on Thursday.

The Unite union announced earlier this week that cabin crew would stage a further 20 days of strikes in May and June, threatening renewed misery for travellers already hit by walkouts and disruption caused by volcanic ash.
BA said in a statement that it had leased eight aircraft with pilots and crew provided by five different airlines to supplement those of its own staff who choose to work.
The latest bout of industrial action will see the first strikes begin on May 18 and run until May 22. Then there will be further walkouts on May 24-28, May 30-June 3 and June 5-9.

Unite has also said it will hold a further ballot of BA cabin crew for industrial action over issues arising from the company's conduct during the dispute.
BA said all flights at Gatwick and London City airports would operate as normal while at Heathrow BA it will operate more than 60 percent of long haul flights and 50 percent of short haul flights.
For updates on the proposed strike you can click on EuropebyAir  or BA STRIKE

Volcanic ash may return to Europe

European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said on Monday areas of higher ash concentration could move from over the Atlantic Ocean back toward the Iberian peninsula, threatening fresh airspace closures in Portugal and Spain.
Europe has been dogged for weeks by repeated shutdowns of air traffic since an erupting volcano under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier in Iceland started spewing ash in April.
Hundreds of flights were canceled over the weekend after the shifting cloud sparked fresh fears of engine-clogging ash.
Italy and Germany reopened their airspace on Sunday, but restrictions were left in place in parts of Portugal, Spain, Austria and the United Kingdom.
The biggest closure so far lasted for almost a week from April 15, causing about 100,000 flight cancellations, stranding millions of passengers and costing airlines more than $1.7 billion in lost revenue.
Volcanic ash is abrasive and can strip off aerodynamic surfaces and paralyze aircraft engines. It can also damage aircraft electronics and windshields.
The most recent closures led to fresh criticism of how air traffic authorities are handling the situation. Germany's Lufthansa and Air Berlin called for authorities to gather data on ash particles rather than just relying on computer models.
Europe's airlines are now starting to tally up the ash cloud's damage to their business in terms of passenger numbers.
Air France-KLM said it lost nearly a quarter of its European passenger traffic in April due to airspace closures from the volcanic ash cloud, driving total traffic down 16 percent.
Irish airline Aer Lingus said it carried over a quarter fewer passengers. UK airports handled 23 percent fewer passengers in April, owners Ferrovial said.
Fraport, operator of Frankfurt airport in Germany, is due to publish its April traffic figures as well as first-quarter results on Tuesday.
The hit to April passenger traffic comes just as airlines around the world start to recover from a severe drop in traffic that reached its severest point in March 2009.
According to industry body International Air Transport Association, the world's airlines lost about $9.4 billion last year as customers curbed spending during the recession.
They stand to lose another $2.8 billion this year, excluding any impact of the volcanic ash cloud.
Air France-KLM reiterated that every day on which it has to completely suspend its flights lowers its net operating result by 35 million euros.
Lufthansa, which is due to publish traffic figures on Tuesday, has said it lost almost 200 million euros due to volcanic ash in April.
The snafu over the weekend will likely cost Lufthansa a few more million euros and be visible when traffic figures for May are released," LBBW analyst Per-Ola Hellgren said.
Shares of Lufthansa were up 2.5 percent by 1318 GMT, Air France was 5.8 percent higher and Aer Lingus had gained 3.8 percent as a rescue package to tackle the euro zone debt crisis lifted markets across Europe.
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