A message from CEO, Willie Walsh
“I wanted to update you on what we propose to do in
the event that a strike does go ahead.
Unite, the union that represents our BA cabin crew,
has not as yet announced any strike dates.
It must tell us by 15 March whether a strike will happen
and it cannot go on strike without first giving us seven
days notice of the first day.
In the meantime we continue to have talks with Unite
and we want to resolve the issues between us.
I want to reassure you that a strike will not ground
British Airways. We have had nearly 6,000 volunteers
in total to support our flying programme, including
nearly 1,000 who have trained as cabin crew and the
number is growing.
We have been putting plans into place and although
we cannot announce the precise schedule we will operate
until we know for sure what Unite would do, I can tell
you what our plans are.
We will operate all our flights from London City airport,
including long-haul services to New York.
We will operate all our long-haul schedule at London
Gatwick, and about half of our short-haul schedule.
At London Heathrow, we will operate a substantial proportion
of our long-haul programme and a good number of short-haul
flights too, assisted by chartered aircraft with crews
from a number of UK and European-based airlines. We
have at least 23 aircraft available to us over an extended
period.
All BA CityFlyer, codeshare and franchise flights will
continue to operate as normal.
We have also arranged to secure seats from other carriers,
so thousands more of you can reach your chosen destinations.
At this stage our plans do not include crew at London
Heathrow who may choose to work normally. More than
4,000 of all crew did not vote for strike action.
I would like to thank you for standing by us in recent
weeks. Despite all the uncertainty Unite has created
since it announced its ballot in January, passenger
numbers for February were actually higher than a year
ago – and our premium traffic rose for the first time
in 18 months.
We want to help you as much as we possibly can.
If strike dates are announced:
You will be able to rebook, free of charge and subject
to availability, onto other British Airways flights
outside of the strike period for up to 355 days from
the original date of travel.
Refunds will only be available if flights are actually
cancelled or if the original booking conditions allow.
In the event that cancellations are made due to
strike action. You will be able to:
· Rebook onto another British Airways flight to the
same destination within 355 days of the original date
of travel
· Rebook onto another British Airways flight to/from
the nearest alternative airport (for example, if booked
to/from Boston you could rebook to/from Philadelphia
or New York)
· Cancel your booking and get a refund.
· All rebooking options will be subject to availability.
More detailed information about rebooking options,
including specific dates covered by these guidelines
will be made available if a strike is announced.
Normal Conditions of Carriage will apply for any flights
that are cancelled outside of the strike period.
British Airways Executive Club members will continue
to earn Tier Points and BA Miles for flights cancelled
due to any strike action.”
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