Further BA strikes

Members of Unite working as cabin crew for British Airways mixed fleet announced a further round of seven days of strikes today (February 24) in their ongoing pay dispute, taking the total number of strike days to 26.

The latest round of strikes involving mixed fleet cabin crew working long and short haul flights out Heathrow will run for seven days from 00:01am Friday, March 3 to 23:59pm Thursday, March 9.

The latest strike announcement comes on the second day of a four day tranche of strikes which finishes tomorrow (February 25) at 23:59pm and on the same day as British Airways’ owner, IAG Group, reported a rise in pre-tax profits by nearly a third to £2bn (2.4bn euros).

Over the course of the dispute strike action has led to the cancellation of flights and the airline chartering, or ‘wet leasing’, aircraft from other airlines such as Titan Airways, Vueling and Thomson Airways to cover striking cabin crew.

“Striking mixed fleet cabin crew continue to demonstrate their determination to achieve a fair deal on pay in the face of British Airways’ bully boy tactics,” said Unite national officer Oliver Richardson.

“It is clear from today’s ÂŁ2 billion rise in IAG’s pre-tax profits that British Airways can afford to address low pay among its mixed fleet cabin crew and settle this dispute,” he added.

“We would urge British Airways to meet Unite at Acas to resolve this dispute, as it claims to want to, and enable us to cancel these further damaging strike days.”

Since 2010 all British Airways new cabin crew employees join what is called mixed fleet, where despite promises that pay would be 10 per cent above the market rate, basic pay starts at just ÂŁ12,192 with ÂŁ3 an hour flying pay. Unite estimates that on average mixed fleet cabin crew earn ÂŁ16,000, including allowances, a year.