BA strikes to cause chaos

BA strikes

The strikes at British Airways by 13,500 staff are expected to cause chaos to passengers. The 12-day strikes by British Airways cabin staff are expected to cause disruption for up to three weeks.

In an attempt to try and stop the strikes, BA will launch a legal bid to try and avoid the "massive stress and disruption" for passengers threatened by the walkout from 22 December to 2 January.

BA have claimed that a ballot of staff by the Unite union, where 92 percent backed industrial action, was invalidated by "irregularities", including former staff being allowed to vote, the British paper The Telegraph reports.

Aviation analysts predict that the strike could cost BA between GBP£10 million and GBP£30 million per day.

Passengers

The strikes mean that tens of thousands more passengers could have their new year travel plans thrown into disarray as families return from holidays and businesses head back to work.

About a million passengers set to fly BA between December 22 and January 2 had already been warned that their bookings could be cancelled.

Rochelle Turner, the head of research at Which? Holiday, said passengers expecting to fly with BA as late as 9 January should be prepared for the worst.

"There may well be a knock-on effect of delays and cancellations," she said. "Planes may have been grounded all over the world and not be in the right place.

"Customers need to be aware that it's not just the 12 days of strike action that they should worry about, but actually perhaps up to a week longer."

What are BA doing?

The airline's chief executive Willie Walsh said to the BBC: "We are absolutely determined to do whatever we can to protect our customers from this appalling, unjustified decision from Unite. We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined.

"Unite was told about the problems with its ballot on Friday. Yet it cynically went ahead with an extreme, highly-publicised threat to our customers and our business in the knowledge that it might not be able to carry it out.

"We remain available for talks with Unite at any time without preconditions."

Disruption

A BA spokesman accepted disruption could spill over. He said the airline was hopeful that it would be "remedied within a few days" of any strike ending.

"Passengers scheduled to fly up to 48 hours either side of the planned action can re-book for a date in the next 12 months," he said.

"That covers people who are worried their flight will be affected or if their plane is stuck somewhere else."

BA said it would meet its EU obligations to refund or re-arrange the flights of passengers affected by the action. It said it would "look into" the possibility of arranging alternative flights on rival airlines, but could not yet confirm this offer.

Virgin Atlantic said it was using bigger aircraft on key routes in an attempt to help passengers left stranded in the event of a strike.

James Fremantle, industry affairs manager at the Air Transport Users Council, said passengers needing to fly during the planned strike faced a "terrible dilemma" over whether to buy replacement tickets, some of which had already tripled in price and were selling out quickly.

BA's offer to swap tickets for a date within 12 months will not help a majority of passengers who need to be at their destination for a specific date.

The airline will only refund for cancelled flights, meaning those who bought a replacement risk being left with two different tickets, booked at a high cost, if the strike does not go ahead.

Passengers with package holidays were reassured that tour operators were obliged to make alternative arrangements or provide refunds.

Yet, those who booked different components were warned they faced long negotiations with travel insurance companies, and they may find they're not covered.

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