Talks between British Airways management and cabin crew union BASSA have ended without a resolution.  The union advises an announcement will be made 12 noon on 11 March UK time (ie in just over 12 hours time).

If, as seems likely, they announce a strike there must be 7 days notice, and the last possible date for a strike to commence without requiring a revote is 22nd March.

If I was flying BA on 18-20th March I’d now be actively making contingency plans.

Edited to add – 18th March is safe since today’s press announcement did not confirm a strike.  The at risk travel period is now 19-24th March.

Edited to add – strike dates have been announced as 20-22 March and 27-30 March.  As yet, British Airways have not cancelled any flights. For up to date information check out BA’s strike information page.  See the new BA strike post with more details and advice.

As reported last month, British Airways “32B” aircraft code is not good for Club Europe passengers.  The old convertible seats which provide slightly more room in business class are being replaced with spacesaver seats which are identical through the entire aircraft.

The seat conversion program has started and over 30 A320 aircraft are due to be switched over within the next 8 weeks.

Could this be a signal that some shorthaul BA routes (served by A320) will soon lose business class altogether?

No news is good news, at least for those flying British Airways in the next couple of weeks.  No announcement yet of a cabin crew strike, which if it occurs must commence within 4 weeks of the ballot result being confirmed and with a minimum of 7 days notice.  The vote to strike was confirmed over a week ago.  Today’s reports of negotiations extending into next week (source Guardian) means the likely earliest start date of  a strike is around 17 March.  The latest is about 22 March.

Here’s hoping there is no strike.

Travellers booked to fly British Airways in early March can breathe a sigh of relief.  The BASSA cabin crew union meeting today did not announce a strike date but instead talks with management are continuing, perhaps spurred on by the recent court decision in the airline’s favour.

Under UK law if there is any strike it must commence within 4 weeks of the end of the ballot and must also have 7 days notice.

Hopefully there will be no strike.

BASSA, the main cabin crew union for British Airways, has announced the result of their ballot for strike action – 81% in favour of strike and 80% vote turnout.  They have not yet announced a strike and it seems will do so on Thursday.  This makes 4 March the earliest possible date for a BA strike.

The latest round in the ongoing struggle between British Airways and their cabin crew union BASSA was a clear win for the airline.  In the judgement, all points were in favour of BA – confirming that it wasn’t unreasonable for British Airways to make the changes in crew numbers and arrangements given the circumstances.

In a few days the month long union ballot will be completed and shortly thereafter we’ll hear if there is to be a strike. Back in December a 12 day strike was called for over Christmas but was cancelled by court injunction due to voting irregularities.

This latest court decision is too late to effect the ballot (which almost certainly will be another vote to strike), but should play on the minds of union officials as they determine what to do next.

The best outcome for travellers will be if the union accepts the judgement and takes a softer line.

A beef which many members of American’s AAdvantage and British Airways’ Executive Club have long held is the restriction on earning and redeeming miles on each others flights between USA and UK. Ie AAdvantage members cannot earn or redeem on BA flights between USA and UK, and nor can Executive Club members earn or redeem on AA flights between USA and UK.

The restrictions are one step closer to being removed (in the future) with US Department of Trade’s announcement that it intends to approve the requested Anti Trust Immunity for Oneworld airlines (source BBC news).  Very limited restrictions are included in the announcement of the decision, which also opens the way for a proposed joint venture between American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia.

Naturally Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson isn’t happy.