British Airways plans to operate more than 60% of long-haul flights and more than 50% of short-haul services from Heathrow during the first wave of cabin crew strikes next week, the airline said today.
BA said it plans to fly more than 60,000 customers each day of the strikes next week, adding that Gatwick and London City airports will not be affected by the industrial action.
Most of its revised short-haul schedule at Heathrow will be operated by BA's own aircraft and cabin crew, supplemented by leasing up to eight aircraft with pilots and cabin crews from five different airlines from the UK and Europe.
BA said it has also made arrangements with more than 50 other carriers so that it can rebook customers during the strike period on to their flights, if they had been due to travel on a BA service which has been cancelled.
The airline said it is still available to hold further talks with Unite but wants customers to have early warning of its flying schedule to allow sufficient time for alternative travel arrangements to be made.
'Unite's leaders have deliberately targeted the busy half-term holidays to cause as much disruption as possible for hard-working families looking to spend some well-earned time away,' commented BA's chief executive Willie Walsh.
BA carried 130,000 passengers during the first three-day strike in March and 226,000 during a subsequent four-day walkout, so today's announcement means the airline is planning to fly many more of its customers next week.
