BA says 1,000 volunteers ready in case of crew strike

London: British Airways cabin crew are on the brink of strike action after the airline signalled its readiness for a lengthy walkout by lining up 1,000 volunteer flight attendants and a fleet of chartered jets to maintain services during industrial action.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive, told staff yesterday that BA was "as prepared as we can be" for a strike that could come as soon as next week if peace talks with the Unite trade union break down.

Representatives at Bassa, Unite's cabin crew branch, will discuss strike dates and lengths today after a source close to the talks described hopes for a settlement as a "flickering flame".

According to an online Bassa poll, nearly a third of cabin crew want a walkout lasting more than 10 days.

Walsh presented BA's strike plan to staff yesterday. In a follow-up email to BA's 38,000 employees, Walsh said BA expected to have 1,000 auxiliary cabin crew, including role-swapping pilots, ready by next week. In total 6,000 employees about a quarter of BA's non-cabin crew staff had volunteered to help in the event of industrial action, he added.

Lease

The airline is also preparing to lease 23 aircraft, including full crew, from other UK and European operators. As well as assembling a temporary workforce and extra aircraft, BA said it had agreements with rival carriers and alliance partners that would allow passengers to transfer their bookings in the event of a strike.

"These plans will allow us to protect our customers' travel arrangements better than many people imagined possible in the difficult conditions that a strike by the biggest section of our workforce is bound to cause," said Walsh.