British Airways Pilots to Strike Multiple Days in September
If you have an upcoming British Airways flight in September then this is news you will want to be aware of. It appears that the British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) has warned British Airways that their pilots will strike on September 9, 10 and 27. Balpa represents around 90% of BA pilots so this will be devastating to their operations if it occurs.
Why Are They Threatening to Strike?
It appears that British Airways and Balpa have been in heated negotiations for some time and Balpa members agreed to finally take the last resort they had left, a strike. According to BBC 93% of Balpa members voted in favor of the strike.
It appears the two sides are still around £5m apart according to BBC. After multiple potential packages being offered they have not been able to get closer than that. Balpa had the following statement:
“Over recent years BA pilots have made sacrifice after sacrifice to assist the company such as taking a pay cut, productivity increases, closing the final salary pension scheme, giving up annual leave days, a new rostering system, and reducing flying pay.”
It appears British Airways was willing to increase the pay of the pilots by 11.5% over three years but the Balpa members did not think that was enough.
Final Thoughts
Contract negotiations can, and often do, get very combative. Look no further than the Southwest negotiations with their mechanics union. Often times the union members will call for a strike as a last ditch effort to gain some leverage. If this ends up happening many flights will most likely need to be canceled and British Airways is in for a lot of lost revenue/added expenses. Will those expense equate more than the £5m difference they have in negotiations? Hopefully the two parties are able to come to an agreement before this goes into effect.
Source: BBC
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Thank you!
A good story for the future: “What are your rights when a carrier cancels or strikes”
Since it is an EU carrier you should be fairly well covered. In the US you get nothing 🙁
I have been thinking of doing something along those lines though.
I happen to be flying on one of those days and am happy I’ll get to change my ticket for free (I assume). I purchased it thru AA but it’s on BA metal. Do you know if I can change the destination as well as the date?
I am not sure how it will work or when they will announce the ability to make changes. I would try to call them and see what they can or are willing to do at this point.