British Airways agrees pay deal to end strikes

Context:

British Airways agrees to a new pay agreement with its pilots’ union ahead of planned Christmas strikes.

Analysis:

A turbulent few months have been costly to BA. The 48-hour walkout in September saw 2,325 flights cancelled, costing BA’s parent group IAG about €137m. As part of this revised agreement, BA has agreed to insert an inflation protection clause to its previous offer of a 11.5% rise in wages over 3 years. They have also pledged to improve working conditions, rostering and flight bonuses to staff.

But this isn’t the end, pilots have yet to vote in the upcoming ballot within the next few days. If pilots agree, then BA’s chief executive, Alex Cruz, can breathe a sigh of relief. In a precarious situation, he faced increasing pressure from IAG and customers complaining of the inconvenience over the strikes.

Looking Forward:

BA will find out quickly enough whether their concessions have won over the pilots. With the holiday season looming, they could not have asked to be in a worse situation. But as things stand, it may seem that BA may have won the fight, for now.

Source: Financial Times