British Airways cabin crew launch new round of 5-day strikes as bitter dispute continues

British Airways cabin crew launch new strikes

LONDON — British Airways cabin crew launched a new five-day strike Sunday as a bitter dispute with management over pay and working conditions dragged on with no sign of any breakthrough.

Many flights to and from London’s Heathrow — Europe’s busiest airport — were affected by the walkout. But the airline insisted it could operate more than half of its services because more cabin crew than expected had decided to cross the picket line.

Cabin crew walked off their jobs May 24 for five days and began the new round of strikes Sunday after talks collapsed Friday. They plan to strike for another five days beginning June 5, if a solution to the long-running dispute is not found.

Seven days of walkouts in March over the same dispute cost BA around 43 million pounds ($63 million).

The two sides are at odds over staffing on long-haul flights and other work conditions.

The airline said it planned to fly more than 70 percent of its long-haul flights, compared to the 60 percent it had operated during last week’s strike. Fifty-five percent of British Airways’ short-haul flights will take off, slightly more than the 50 percent last week.

The airline said all BA flights will operate at London’s smaller Gatwick and London City airports.

BA said it expected to fly 65,000 customers — about 75 percent of those with a ticket — between Sunday and Thursday.

Heathrow airport’s Web site showed about ten outgoing BA flights were disrupted Sunday morning, while a handful of BA flights arriving from places including South Africa, Washington D.C. and Egypt had to be canceled.

The Unite union, which represents about 90 percent of BA’s 12,000 cabin crew staff, has blamed BA chief executive Willie Walsh for the deadlock.

The union’s co-leader Derek Simpson reiterated Sunday that the dispute could be resolved if BA restored the low-cost travel — a cherished perk — it had taken away from striking workers.

BA says it made a “very fair” offer to workers and the disputed changes, including fewer staff on long-haul flights, are necessary for the airline to cope in the wake of the financial crisis.