UPDATE: British Airways cancels 1,700 flights as pilots strike

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways (BA) pilots began a two-day strike on Monday, grounding nearly all of its flights and disrupting thousands of passengers in a dispute over pay.

The airline, part of the International Airlines Group (IAG), cancelled 1,700 flights to and from London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Monday and Tuesday ahead of action by British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) members in BA’s first ever pilot strike.

“I am really sorry that the cynical actions of the pilots’ union have put us in his position,” BA Chief Executive Alex Cruz told BBC television.

“It is by all accounts an own goal; it’s going to punish customers, it’s going to punish our brand, it’s going to punish the rest of the colleagues.”

IAG shares were down more than 2% in early trading.

BA has offered its pilots an 11.5% pay rise over three years, which it said would take the pay of its highest earning captains from 167,000 pounds ($205,000), plus 16,000 pounds in allowances, to just over 200,000 pounds.

Its pilots on average earn around 90,000 pounds a year.

BALPA wants the pay deal to include profit sharing.

“British Airways is going through some good times, we want to share in those profits just as we shared the pain in the bad times,” BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton told BBC television.

He had said pilots were willing to compromise, but BA was not prepared to “budge”.

The airline dismissed a new offer by BALPA last week as an “eleventh hour inflated proposal” that was not made in good faith. BALPA had said it would have called off the strikes this week if BA had engaged with the offer.

BA’s Cruz said 11.5% was “way above” inflation and the offer already recognised that BA was making money. UK inflation stood at 2.1% in July.

Cruz said the airline was prepared to negotiate.

“The commitment of everyone at British Airways is to get over this particular dispute as quickly as possible and we urge the union to sit down with us as quickly as we can so we can reach an agreement,” he told BBC radio.

He said it was a BA dispute and it would be resolved by the carrier rather than IAG.

The airline said it had no detail from BALPA on which pilots would strike, and had no way of predicting how many would come to work or which aircraft they are qualified to fly, so had no option but to cancel nearly 100% of its flights.

Following strikes on Monday and Tuesday, another day of industrial action is scheduled for Sept. 27.

BA has been criticised over its communications with passengers ahead of the strike, which has caused thousands of people to change their travel plans.

(REUTERS)

British Airways pilots ground planes in unprecedented 48-hour strike

British Airways pilots began a 48-hour strike on Monday, grounding most of the airline’s flights and disrupting thousands of travelers’ plans in unprecedented industrial action over a pay dispute.

The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) last month gave the airline notice of three days of industrial action in September, in what is the first ever strike by BA pilots.

Following the strikes on Sept. 9 and 10, another day of industrial action is scheduled for Sept. 27.

BALPA has said that British Airways (BA) should share more of its profits with its pilots. BA has said the strike action is unjustifiable as its pay offer was fair.

Thousands of customers have had to seek alternative travel arrangements, and the airline has come in for criticism over how it handled communications with passengers ahead of the strikes.

“This strike will have cost the company considerably more than the investment needed to settle this dispute,” BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said in a statement on the eve of the strike.

“It is time to get back to the negotiating table and put together a serious offer that will end this dispute.”

Last Thursday, the airline dismissed a new offer by BALPA as an “eleventh hour inflated proposal” that was not made in good faith. BALPA had said it would have called off the strikes this week if BA had engaged with the offer.

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged both sides to end the dispute.

Asked about the strike action, a spokeswoman for British Airways said: “We remain ready and willing to return to talks with BALPA.”

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is investigating the airline after it enraged some travelers by wrongly telling them their flights had been canceled.

The regulator also reminded the airline to proactively tell customers of their rights. During the strikes, BA must offer the passengers reimbursement for canceled flights, alternate travel arrangements under comparable conditions or a new flight at a later date

(REUTERS)