British Airways is to fly thousands more passengers during a three-day strike by its cabin crew after more staff volunteered to work.
The company said more employees had offered to stand in for members of the Unite union who will walk out for three days from Saturday in a bitter row over cost cutting.
The union accused BA of "bluffing" and claimed only 350 volunteers were prepared to stand in for strikers this weekend as opposed to the 1,000 announced by the airline.
BA said earlier this week that it aimed to fly 60% of its customers during the strikes. But today the airline announced that since then the number of cabin crew offering to work as normal had increased "significantly" - and was expected to grow further.
The airline said: "British Airways is also pleased that the number of other airlines offering their help for the strike period through charters or provision of spare seats has increased from 50 on Monday to more than 60. These developments have enabled the airline to reinstate some previously cancelled flights and provide extra capacity for both long haul and short haul destinations. For example, this will allow the airline to fly home more competitors and supporters from the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver."
Chief executive Willie Walsh said: "The determination of our colleagues across the whole business to keep the flag flying this weekend is increasing. I am delighted by the numbers of cabin crew who have been getting in touch with us to express their disillusion with Unite's position. Our crews just want to work as normal, do their usual terrific job and look after our customers.
"We will now have the potential to fly more than 4,000 additional customers per day and serve more destinations. We believe this is a helpful move at a time when customers are facing rising fares with alternative carriers. Morale among our operations teams is high. Yesterday was our most punctual day at Heathrow for months, thanks to the efforts of all parts of the airline."
BA said passengers who will benefit from the extra flights will include those who had rebooked to a later date as well as people who had cancelled but not decided whether to rebook.
The extra staff coming forward were mainly members of BA's cabin crew, said the company, which has warned strikers they will lose their travel perks.
The announcement appears to have dashed any hopes of a last-minute deal to avert the strike and another four-day stoppage from March 27. BA said it remained available for "meaningful" discussions, but even though behind the scenes contacts have been maintained, there were no signs tonight of any fresh talks.
source: Hampshire Chronicle
source: Hampshire Chronicle
