BA strikers are behaving like lemmings

By Nick Trend Published: 12:25PM GMT twenty-three February 2010

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"Premier airlines should put their commercial operation first" Photo: PA

The startling thing about the due set upon at BA is not that it right away looks inevitable, but that the issue of cabin organisation compensate hasnt come to a head years prior to now. For some-more than a decade BA has been struggling to contest opposite airlines - similar to Virgin, Ryanair and EasyJet - that compensate their cabin organisation most less, and work with far revoke costs, and far some-more coherence than it can.

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The actuality that it has managed to tarry at all (and mostly still have a profit) whilst necessary approach on top of the marketplace rates for the crew, is especially down to the hugely necessary trans-Atlantic routes, and the high fares traditionally paid by commercial operation travellers. Since the credit crunch, that side of the commercial operation has been melting away, and is one of the key reasons since the airline has lost �342 million in the last 9 months alone. Ryanair, by contrast, has only lifted the distinction foresee to �250 million. Faced with foe similar to this, arch senior manager Willie Walsh cant lift fares to branch the losses; he simply has no preference but to cut costs.

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Yesterday, Unite claimed that the cabin organisation were formulation to set upon since it was necessary that BA remained a "premier airline". Premier airlines (whatever that is ostensible to mean) do not let their passengers down and means massacre to the plans of hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers and commercial operation travellers. They put their commercial operation first.

It is easy to see since Willie Walsh wants to win this battle. It is harder to see what is in it for the cabin crew. Clearly Walsh is dynamic to see it out. A prolonged set upon will ravage the airlines finance management even serve - it could lose �250 million during the set upon days alone. If Walsh wins, his palm opposite the kinship will be strengthened and he will be even some-more dynamic to revoke work costs. If the cabin organisation win, it will certainly be a vale victory. BA will onslaught on, but the finance management will be even weaker than they are now, and the need to cut costs even some-more pressing. More jobs will certainly have to go as a result.

In the meantime we the passengers, and the most debate operators who have up an critical cut of BAs business, are ill of the uncertainty. Those last superfluous commercial operation travellers are even right away switching their bookings to Virgin. And camp travellers will be logging on to the EasyJet website, or even satirical the bullet and drifting with Ryanair.