British Airways on strike - most flights canceled

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British Airways on strike - most flights canceled

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Nearly all British Airways flights canceled as pilots go on strike

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN

September 9, 2019

Hong Kong - British Airways says it was forced to cancel "nearly 100 per cent" of flights for Monday and Tuesday after the British pilots union went ahead with a strike.

The strike was called for by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) amid a heated dispute over pay with the airline.

BALPA said Sunday on Twitter that it put forward a proposal to the carrier's management Wednesday, but had yet to receive a reply.
British Airways said in a statement posted Monday it remains "ready and willing to return to talks with BALPA."

The airline said it was forced to cancel so many flights because "with no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, we had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly."

Customers who had flights booked for Monday and Tuesday will likely "not be able to travel as planned," British Airways said. The airline also advised customers not to go to the airport.

Members of the pilots union voted 93% in favor of a strike in July. BALPA said last week that it would be willing to call it off if British Airways returned to the negotiating table.

According to its website, BALPA represents more than 10,000 pilots in the United Kingdom — more than 85% of all commercial pilots who fly there.

The pilot's union also intends to strike September 27. British Airways said Monday that it will be in contact "in the next few weeks" to let customers who are traveling on or around that date know if they are affected.

While the union is calling for higher wages, British Airways has said its offer of an 11.5% increase over three years "fair" and above the United Kingdom's current rate of inflation. In a statement released last month, it said the strike could "destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of our customers." It called the strike "a reckless course of action."

https://us.cnn.com/2019/09/09/business/ ... index.html
fountainhall

Re: British Airways on strike - most flights canceled

Post by fountainhall »

As I understand it, this strike is the first by pilots in BA's history. The reason goes back to the 2008 financial crisis when pilots were asked to take major cuts in salary and conditions - which they did. Now, however, the airline's parent company is back making big profits - more than $3 billion in 2018 and with a 20% increase in this year's second quarter pretax profits. The pilots believe the time has come for some of those give-backs to be restored.

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As anyone who has flown BA in recent years knows full well, costs have been pared to the bone. The Skytrax review site is filled with complaints about poor on board service and the sale of sandwiches and snacks. Only credit cards are accepted, machines break down and on many flights food runs out before even half the passengers have been served. I last took a longish haul economy flight 4 years ago to and from Chicago. The (free) food was disgusting and inedible. Breakfast on the inward flight was a small bar of some protein snack. Business class remains the only one in the air with 8-across forwards/backwards narrow seating. Try that on the ancient dirty 777s the airline flies to and from BKK! I used to be a top tier member of its Executive Club. That Chicago flight was my last with BA.

The strike is worldwide. So BA is not only losing all the income from its passengers booked on the strike days, it will have to pay for the alternative last-minute flight arrangements for many of them. Estimates are about US$50 million per day. But it will take a few days to get aircraft and crews back to their proper destination, so the total cost is likely to be well over $100 million.

If the pilots continue their action later in the month as planned, the affect on BA's brand, such as it is, will surely take another hit.
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Re: British Airways on strike - most flights canceled

Post by Gaybutton »

fountainhall wrote: Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:13 am The reason goes back to the 2008 financial crisis when pilots were asked to take major cuts in salary and conditions - which they did. Now, however, the airline's parent company is back making big profits
If that is the case, then I think the pilots are absolutely right. They sacrificed for the company when asked to do so. Now instead of returning the favor and making things right with the pilots, corporate greed prevails.
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