Airline Says It Will Lease Aircraft And Hire Replacement Workers

With a cabin crew strike looming, British Airways says it will do what it has to in order to keep flying, should the Unite union's members walk off the job.

The union's members voted for a three-day strike starting March 20th, with an additional four days planned beginning on the 27th.  Union leadership has said it hopes to ground the airline with the labor action.

But CNN reports that BA CEO Willie Walsh said in a statement "Around 60 percent of our customers will be able to fly as planned and many thousands more can be re-booked onto alternative BA flights or onto rival airlines."  He said the contingency plan BA has in place will accommodate some 45,000 passengers each day of the strike.

The airline said it has received calls from a large number of cabin crews who have said they will work during the strike. Walsh is confident that 60 percent of the long-haul flight from Heathrow, and all of the scheduled long-haul flights from Gatwick, will fly during the period. He said as many as 22 aircraft with pilots and crews can be leased from 8 other airlines for the short-haul flights it is unable to accommodate.

"We will continue to try to prevent this strike taking place, but we have reached a point when we must now offer some clarity to our customers who have waited with great patience since Friday, when the strike dates were first announced," Walsh said in the British Airways statement.

The strike is planned in response to the airline's planned changes in working conditions for cabin crews. Unite says the new plan will extend working hours and cut crew levels, which will damage the BA brand. The airline looks to save about $90 million with the changes.

The union and the airline have both rejected the others offers. Some flights have already been cancelled as the strike date draws nearer, but Walsh said those flights could be re-instated should Unite decide not to go on strike.

FMI: www.ba.com, www.unitetheunion.com