British Airways strike enters second day

The strike by 12000 crew members is intended at forcing Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh to narrow down pay cuts and staff firings.

This week’s walkout is the first walkout witnessed by the company in more than 10 years, with another one lined up on March 27.

The Unite Union has revealed that BA has managed to take off only one third of the scheduled flights.

The management further dismissed the chances of a deal by refusing to resubmit the last pay offer or to revive the proposal, following which the Union decided to walkout.

However, the carrier said that all the flights from Gatwick Airport were functioning normally and as scheduled.

BA further claims that its contingent plans for the strike are turning out extremely well, with only a minor inconvenience to some of the passengers.

The airways has managed to fly at least 65 percent of its customers with the assistance of almost 5000 volunteers and 1000 stand-in flight attendants. It further reveals that all its flights are flying as scheduled with the help of rented planes.

Walsh said, "The leased aircraft that British Airways have chartered in, they are part of the normal computer system now, and so far things are going pretty smoothly."

Walkout would hit BA hard
The seven days strike would altogether cost 105 million pounds to the London based airline, said an analyst at Andrew Light.

Adverse effects of the walkout have already started appearing with the rapid increase in the bookings of other airways like Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.

BA has already scrapped 50 percent of its daily flights carrying almost 30000 passengers a day, causing inconvenience all the passengers. However, many of its loyal customers are still there to support the carrier in its bad times.

“I invariably fly with BA -- the strike was the only reason I changed my plans,” said Roger Jones, who had flown from Copenhagen to London, a journey he does every two to three weeks. “I will go back to BA as I’m an executive club member but I think it’s disastrous for the company really. People who are not loyal will switch pretty easily.”

The company has advised the passengers to check the Web site for updates on the flight schedules.

Reasons behind the walkout
The Unite Union had since long been in negotiation with the BA management over pay cuts. The workers were angry with the management’s decision to introduce a two year pay freeze and to reduce the number of crew members on long distance flights.

The management further dismissed the chances of a deal by refusing to resubmit the last pay offer or to revive the proposal, following which the Union decided to walkout.

The management is of the view that it requires the cost cutting measures in order to compensate for the 342 million pound loss incurred by the Airways in December 2009, and that the workers ought to stand by and help the company recover.

“The hawks at BA who wanted a war have won the day,” Woodley said on exiting the talks at the Trades Union Congress headquarters in London. “They put an offer on the table that was worse than the one they took off. That makes it impossible for us to go back to our members and ballot them.”