British Airways, Union Extend Talks to Avert Pilot Strike

(Bloomberg) -- British Airways will continue talks with pilot representatives next week in a bid to defuse a pay dispute and avoid a walkout by its most crucial employees at the height of the summer travel season.

The British Airlines Pilots Association agreed to extend negotiations with former the former U.K. flag carrier, now a unit of IAG SA, after three days of meetings at the state-backed Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, it said in a statement Friday.

“Balpa will not announce any industrial action dates at this time,” the union said, adding that it is “still committed to finding a negotiated solution.”

Balpa had said it would talk until the end of the week and give management a required two-week strike notice if it failed to secure a deal. The parties resumed talks after a court threw out a BA bid to block the strike plans. Crews have voted by a 93% majority to approve industrial action, which the carrier has said could cost about 40 million pounds ($48 million) per day.

Adding to concerns for U.K. holiday makers, London's Heathrow Airport canceled 172 flights on Monday and Tuesday as a separate union voted for industrial action, the BBC reported late yesterday. The Unite union's members voted to strike on both days, affecting 91 airlines, including British Airways, according to the report.

The labor conflicts come as British Airways is also facing pressure from a possible no-deal Brexit that could damp travel as Britons curb spending due to the weaker pound. The carrier is “open and flexible” to finding a solution, it said as earlier talks were ongoing.

Any strike would come at the tail end of the peak season for European travel and could dent IAG earnings that are highly dependent on BA. The U.K. carrier's lucrative long-haul routes helped lift the group's second-quarter operating profit 18% -- the best performance among leading European carriers.

Read: British Airways Profits Show Threat From Looming Strike to IAG

Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said other IAG airlines, including Iberia and Vueling in Spain and Ireland's Aer Lingus, would help in the event of any labor strife at BA. It would also try to benefit from any reduction in capacity if strikes go ahead, he said.

“BA will do whatever they can do to assist the customers,” Walsh said on a results call with analysts. “The rest of the group will do what they can do to take advantage of the unfortunate situation and support and help BA in their efforts to look after customers.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Katz in London at bkatz38@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, Christopher Jasper, Tara Patel

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