London: British Airways' cabin-crew union said it's no closer to returning to negotiations with management on the third day of a four-day strike by 12,000 workers over pay and staffing levels.

About 60,000 customers will be prevented from flying with BA during the walkout, which began on March 27 and runs through midnight tomorrow, BA estimates. Cancellations will wipe out 30 per cent of long-haul services from London's Heathrow airport.

"We are still pressing for talks and would welcome these with whomever," Unite union spokeswoman Pauline Doyle said yesterday. "As yet, there are no developments regarding talks to report, so the strikes continue."

The latest walkout follows a three-day stoppage that ended on March 22 and cost £21 million (Dh114.8 million), according to the carrier.

BA chief executive officer Willie Walsh last met with Unite leader Tony Woodley on March 19 and efforts by arbiters to bring the men together for fresh talks have failed.

British Airways was trading little changed at 251 pence as of 10.31am in London yesterday. The stock is up 19 per cent since February 22, when Unite first said it had won a strike mandate, suggesting investors may be dismissing losses from the walkout as a one-off cost and focusing on BA's improving traffic.

BA flew about 75 per cent of passengers booked to travel on Sunday, the first day of the more intensive summer timetable, spokeswoman Sophie Antoniades said by telephone. The carrier operated about 70 per cent of long-haul services and 55 per cent of European routes, she said.

About 50 per cent of crews due to work stayed away yesterday, Unite said. The use of rented planes and volunteers from other parts of the company also means that BA is rostering only about 15 per cent of the 2,100 attendants who would normally be working on a given day, the union said.

British Airways has also scrapped hot meals for the duration of the strike to cope with reduced staffing levels.

The airline expanded its schedule since the first walkout in anticipation of more crew reporting for work, allowing the operation of a full timetable at London Gatwick, its second- biggest hub. Flights at London City are also unaffected.

Cost of labour action

All told, British Airways expects to fly more than 180,000 people during the strike, it said on Friday. Of those affected by cancellations, 18 per cent have been rebooked with other airlines or on different dates. While BA has declined to provide an estimate of the likely total cost of the full seven days of the walkout, Unite estimates the loss at £100 million.

Travel in Britain may be disrupted further from April 6 when rail-maintenance and signalling workers plan to strike for four days in a dispute over job cuts and changes to working conditions.