Where now for BA and their cabin crew

Yesterday brought the end of the second walkout in as many weeks by BA cabin crew.  It was also the last of the current planned strikes, though the Union, Unite, refuse to rule out any further action.

The protests by the cabin crew have received a significant media attention not least because of the contrasting information coming from the two camps.  Both, the airline and Unite have tried to put as much information into the public domain as possible to weaken the position of their opposition. 

Willie Walsh, chief exective of BA, claimed on the final day of the action that it had been a failure.  He said that with 75% of passengers flying and 60% of cabin crew working that the union should "give peace a chance".

Unite have committed to no strike action in the next two weeks over Easter, however state they have not yet made a decision on further walkouts.

Walsh and Tony Woodley, general secretary of Unite, wrote open letter to each others indicating that further negotiations may be a possibility.  Walsh added that the two side should try to "build on common ground".

The two sides continue to dispute the financial costs to the airline as a result of these walkouts.  However,  the share price had fallen 2.39% at the end of trading on the final day of the strike.  The analysts Citigroup predicted that British Airways' March figures will show a loss of around 72m due to the dispute.

Source: BBC