Unite boss on British Airways cabin staff strike

[Gerald A]

The strikes are set to begin on 22 December and run until 2 January. They are expected to cause significant disruption over the Christmas period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8412523.stm

[Matt D]

What a nightmare for a company that is already losing close to $100,000,000 per month. (-GBP292M 2009 H1)

[Sarah C]

I am both amazed and dumbfounded by this action.

BA is in a dire financial position and this might be the final nail in the coffin. The cabin crew might not have a job to come back to in 6 months time if the company goes under - they seem very short sighted in their approach. The impact of this is huge - not only the million of so people travelling in that period, but people who might travel in the future. I am sure the strike won't change the BA management's position - the union needs to get in to the world of reality for any negotiation to happen.

On one hand, you have employees agreeing to forgo pay and then you have this union who wants the opposite. I understand the reasons why they are striking but they need to understand the state of the airline and the airline industry in general.

Meanwhile, the staff in all the other areas will no doubt do a fabulous job dealing with this in the holiday period, and yet cop the brunt of passenger frustrations.

[Owen H]

Sarah, why do you think that this strike is for a pay rise? Have you watched the video?

BA have been trying to unilaterally change the employee contracts, and while staff need to work with an airline in trouble, it is a fine line between that and letting them permanantly slash their conditions.

Its never good to see strikes threatened, but sometimes its necessary. I don't know enough of the details to say if it is warranted... but I'm still willing to bet that they're not striking for a pay rise... just to limit the damage the company is trying to get away with.

[David C]

As understand it , BA are proposing a cut in cabin staff levels on flights . This is surely a safety issue and not a pay issue . Safety must not, and cannot be compromised at any cost , even if it means the airline and its employees suffer financially by industrial action .

In these situations , the employer always appears to be in the right , and the employee is often castigated by the general public .. In this particular case I firmly believe that the workers have a good argument , and if cabin staffing is to be cut they should stand firm .

[Daniel F]

I don't see how it is a safety issue. The staff cuts would be in line with all safety requirements. They can not cut staff so that there is less than required by law.

EDIT: Having just read a bit more about it on the FT forums, it seems like the crew cuts apply to flights from Heathrow to bring them in line with the crew numbers for flights from Gatwick. So unless flights from Gatwick are unsafe, there is absolutely no safety issue.

[Nic P]

British Airways have one of the highest, if not the highest, staff costs per head of any airline in the world.

It is not a viable business model moving forward if the cabin crew, along with all other staff, don't recognise there will have to be some deterioration in their wages/conditions in order to keep the company viable.

Whilst it wasn't the main cause of Ansetts demise it certainly had an impact on the organisations profitability - I remember statistics showing their staffing cost per head being significantly more than Qantas et al.

[Matt D]

Originally Posted by Nic P

British Airways have one of the highest, if not the highest, staff costs per head of any airline in the world.

Nic has hit it on the head here. The competition's (Virgin Atlantic etc) crew provide better service at lower cost. BA have to reduce costs and bring them into line with their competition as a minimum.

Two BA cabin crew were on talkback radio this morning saying they are striking on behalf of the general public to make sure that BA don't become another EasyJet, cutting services, costs etc. Very misguided indeed.

If BA dont cut costs these cabin crew wont have a job to go to.

Matt

[Dan Hammond]

This has been issued by Qantas

Qantas Statement on British Airways Industrial Action

Sydney, 15 December 2009

Qantas said today that industrial action by British Airways (BA) cabin crew from 22 December would have no impact on Qantas operations between Australia and the United Kingdom.

Qantas Group Executive Government and Corporate Affairs, Mr David Epstein, said the airline's first priority was to its customers, including those booked on codeshare services operated by BA.

"All Qantas services between Australia and the UK will operate as scheduled over the Christmas and New Year period," Mr Epstein said.

"The action does, however, have the potential to disrupt the travel plans of Qantas customers booked on BA services.

"We have been working with BA overnight and today, and have determined we have sufficient capacity across the 12 days to accommodate Qantas ticketed passengers booked on BA codeshare flights between Australia and the UK on existing Qantas services.

"This will provide certainty for Qantas customers travelling to and from the UK."

Qantas will provide alternative options, where possible, for other affected customers, such as those booked on BA services into Europe out of London. These will include allowing changes to bookings without penalty and, on some routes, opportunities to travel on other carriers.

Customers will be contacted over coming days regarding their options. Some flexibility may be needed regarding changes to travel dates and times.

Updated information will be available on qantas.com as it becomes available, and customers will be contacted by their travel agent, or by Qantas where their booking was made directly with Qantas.

"We will continue to liaise with BA regarding its plans for the period between 22 December and 2 January, and closely monitor what further action we can take to minimise impacts on our customers," Mr Epstein said.

Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (3995)
Email: qantasmedia@qantas.com.au

http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn...009/dec09/3995

[Nic P]

Andrew, where do you get these numbers from?

The most recent report I read had BA no. 1 subject to currency fluctuation. Even if your numbers are accurate being no. 8 in the world for cost of cabin crew/flight crew isn't something supportive of a competitive business model.

Regardless, you have to compare apples with apples - as Matt said airlines operating in the same regulatory environment and from the same airport (eg Virgin Atlantic) are paying as little as half (for what is subjectively better service).

Why would any management continue with that position when an airline is loosing money at a rate of knots?

I don't believe management are asking cabin crew to halve their pay, are they? My understanding is some wage changes along with some reduction in numbers of cabin crew per flight. If other airlines (and indeed their own LGW crew can) then why can't BA crew?