British Airways flies ‘over 80 per cent’ of customers during dispute

    British Airways has resumed operations after the second walk-out by a large section of its cabin crew workforce - and says it flew over 80 per cent of its customers despite the action.
    “I want to thank the many thousands of our customers who have shown their patience and support by flying with us during Unite’s industrial action”, said chief executive Willie Walsh.
    “We have flown well over 80 percent of the customers who were originally booked for travel in the strike period. And we were able to rebook most of the rest on to British Airways flights on other dates or on to other carriers.
     “Inevitably there have been some disappointments, and I am deeply sorry for those customers whose plans have been disrupted.
    “We have seen a fantastic effort by dedicated staff across British Airways to keep the flag flying. I particularly want to thank our regular cabin crew – more than 60 percent have ignored the strike call and turned up to serve our customers alongside our volunteers.
    ”Unite has failed to ground British Airways. We have put a fair and sensible offer to the union, and I hope it will now allow its members to vote on it.
    “Let us work together to create an airline that can invest in better services for our customers and provide long-term opportunities for all our staff. An airline that is great. An airline for the future”, he said.
    Unite, however, appears to be preparing for a long dispute – and says it is arranging an ”unprecedented levy” on the its branches to create a £700,000 fighting fund.