NEWSFLASH - BA Sets Priority On S.A. Flights

TALKS between British Airways and the Unite union representing BA cabin crew resumed over the weekend, following the Appeal Court decision to overturn an injunction granted to the airline, preventing the strike from going ahead last Monday. Barring an agreement over the weekend, strike action will start today (May 24) and last for five days.

BA claims it will be able to operate approximately 60 percent of its schedule, with priority given to long-haul flights and particularly to South African services, due to the lead-up-to the World Cup.

Although airline and union had agreed the substantive issues in dispute, the sticking points remained the full re-instatement of travel privileges for all cabin crew and the thorny issue of disciplinary action, including some firings, for about 50 employees.

BA Chief Executive Walsh, however, told Sky News last Friday that he blamed the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, a branch of Unite specifically for BA cabin crew, for the continuing impasse by rejecting the entire proposed agreement. He charged Unite leaders with not having control of their union and said that, if travel concessions were the only outstanding issue, the strike would be over.

Meanwhile, the carrier reported a pre-tax loss for the year ending March 31 of £531 million, largely as a result of plummeting revenue and a drop in high-yield business.