Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Walsh guarantees all BA flights

Walsh guarantees all BA flights

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has said the airline will be able to offer all departures in the event of a further strike by the Unite union.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Mr Walsh said the days when union leaders could hold airlines to ransom were “gone”.

He added: “If in case of a strike 100 per cent of flights will, as we believe, be guaranteed, British Airways will not only not lose money - it will end up saving.”

Unite has outlined its intention to ballot members in order to seek a mandate for further industrial action.

However, the union last month postponed the vote in order to put the latest British Airways offer to members. This ballot began on Tuesday 6th July and is expected to last some weeks.

Some 22 days at British Airways have been disrupted by strike action at the British flag-carrier in 2010.

Mr Walsh explained the airline had already cut labour costs by 45 per cent over the past year, saving the airline £65 million annually.

Combating previous strikes, the airline has retrained staff from other areas of the airline to serve as cabin crew, while simultaneously chartering reserve jets and booking seats with rival airlines.

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