A strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew over Christmas has edged closer following the announcement of 1,700 job cuts by the airline.
BA is cutting 1,700 full-time cabin crew positions at Heathrow, reducing the number of attendants on long-haul flights from 15 to 14. It also imposed a two-year pay freeze and changes in working practices.
A spokesman for Unite, the union that represents the airline’s cabin crew, said the cuts had made a Christmas strike more likely. but no final decision had been made.
BA insisted the changes would not damage customer service and were necessary to ensure the airline’s “long-term survival”.
A spokesman for the airline said: “We have extremely professional cabin crew. However, we cannot ignore the fact that our Heathrow-based cabin crew costs are much higher than those of our Gatwick-based crew and of our competitors.
“About 1,000 members of cabin crew would like to take voluntary redundancy, and a further 3,000 would like to switch to part-time working.”
BA said it expects to make a “significant” loss for the second consecutive year, for the first time in history. The airline made a £148 million loss in the three months to June.