Posts Tagged ‘British Airways’
Monday, January 25th, 2010
As British Airways cabin crews return to the polls this week to cast their ballots the airline has announced that anyone who decides to walk out will immediately have all travel privileges revoked. They will also lose any days off that would have been earned by flying as well as their pay. BA say that the scheme which allows cabin crew and selected friends and family to fly at a ninety percent discount with the airline when seats are available is a perk and is not written into the employment contract. They say that they are therefore well within their rights to remove such privileges. Cabin crew who have been with the airline for more than five years also traditionally receive a set of free tickets to anywhere they choose to go on the BA network. This will not be the case for anyone who walks out.
BA has also said that they are willing to offer training to anyone within the airline who wishes to make themselves available for cabin crew duty in the event of industrial action. Last week Unite made the concession that if its members voted to strike they would not do it over the Easter holidays so as not to disrupt family plans to get away. British Airways were not overly impressed saying that the move would be of little comfort to those who planned to travel at other times. Unite have said that the latest threat to its members was petty and that the only way to resolve the problems between BA and its cabin crew was to sit around the table and thrash out a deal.
Tags: airline, BA, British Airways, cabin crews, Easter holidays, free tickets, strike, Unite
Posted in Finance and Business | No Comments »
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
British Airways seems to be unimpressed by the fact that Len McCluskey, assistant general secretary at the trade union Unite has said that if a strike by BA cabin crew goes ahead it will not take place during the Easter holidays. McCluskey announced that the union wanted to avoid dates when families were most likely to be travelling together so they would be able to book their holidays with confidence. A spokesman for BA has said that he doubts such a promise will be of much comfort for all those who need to travel on dates not included in the Easter holiday calendar.
If members of BA’s 12,000 cabin crew decide to strike then they will be legally allowed to do so at some point after March 1st. This will of course depend on whether or not Unite have ironed out the creases in their balloting system which wrecked the chance of a walkout over Christmas. The High Court ruled the strike planned for the festive season unlawful because some of the ballots cast in favour of strike action were by employees who had already taken the voluntary redundancy packages offered to them. This irregularity meant that millions of BA passengers avoided the consequences of a twelve-day walk out over the holidays.
Unite is continuing to argue with Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive about staff cuts and pay reductions. Walsh has announced that BA will be offering training to all staff who wish to take the place of members of the airline’s cabin crew should they choose to walk out.
Tags: BA, ballots, British Airways, cabin crew, Easter holidays, High Court, redundancy packages, Unite, willie walsh
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Cabin crew working for British Airways have been slammed for not doing enough to help the recession hit airline. Jonathan Strickland, an aviation expert was talking at this years World Travel Market when he pointed a finger at BA employees for not helping the airline’s CEO Willie Walsh adapt to the modern market. They are due to vote on whether or not to strike in the run up to Christmas over working conditions and pay. He said that airlines now had to focus more on costs rather than just the traditional glamour associated with air travel. Strickland went on to tell the Vision Global Economic Forum that BA needed to keep up with airlines such as Ryanair who are managing to supply quality service without the enormous costs.
Walsh also spoke to the forum in a pre-recorded video. He said that the main challenge facing British Airways at present was to make sure that it was striking the right balance between demand for seats and the supply of those seats. He said that the business was going to have to bring itself in line with the drop in demand.
Both Walsh and Strickland talked about the impact of the loss of the business passenger on premium airlines. Walsh said it was obvious that the global economic downturn had had a devastating impact of the numbers of people flying in the airlines first class and business cabins. Strickland said that because airlines cannot be sure whether or not these passengers would be returning then business models had to be made to adapt. He went on to say that BA was trying to do this by reducing capacity.
Tags: airline, BA, British Airways, cabin crew, Global Economic Forum, Ryanair, willie walsh, world travel market
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
As it becomes more and more necessary for the individual to play their part in looking after the environment, so to is the travel industry taking greater steps to play its part. Car hire firms along with hotel chains and airlines are now making going greener a major part of their company policies. Car rental outlets throughout the world are now offering customers the opportunity to do their bit by providing fleets of hybrid cars as a way of saving fuel along with reducing emissions that damage the environment. Enterprise, Budget, Avis and Hertz already hire out a large range of vehicles especially designed to reduce a driver’s impact on the planet. Although at present they may cost a little more to run it is expected that over time as these vehicles become standard prices will drop.
Major aircraft manufacturers are also realizing that by producing planes that are more efficient they are helping to reduce the impact on both the environment and the wallets of the airline companies. Boeing has already shown that its new 787 is more efficient than most other large aircraft by around twenty percent. This added to initiatives by companies such as British Airways, Southwest, Continental and Singapore Air to recycle more materials and use more efficient bio-fuels is already having a more positive impact on the environment.
Greener designs, recycling programs, water and energy saving initiatives along with the use of electricity saving light bulbs are now measures that have become standard across many major hotel chains. Customers who wish to do their part in reducing their impact on the planet’s environment now have few excuses not to do so.
Tags: Avis, boeing, British Airways, Budget, car hire, car rental, continental, Enterprise, green, Hertz, hybrid cars, southwest
Posted in Health & Environment | No Comments »
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
A row over employment contracts will see cabin crew union Unite take its case to the High Court against airline giant British Airways before the new contracts are rolled out to employees on November 16th. Unite say that the new contracts will affect pay as well as terms and conditions for cabin crew at a time when the airline is also trying to cut costs as well as staff. British Airways say that they are implementing the changes so that they can respond to a number of requests for voluntary redundancy as well as requests by staff to go part-time. They say that the new contracts are being produced after nearly a year of negotiations with the trade union.
Steve Turner, Unites national officer says that there has been an enormous amount of support for a strike that if it goes ahead could see more than 13,000 cabin crew staff walk out on December 21st. The action would be devastating to an airline already hit by heavy financial losses because of the ongoing global economic downturn. Turner points out that the first walk out by cabin crew in twenty years is not as a result of demands but merely as a measure aimed at preventing British Airways placing unacceptable impositions on its staff. Turner also warned that the action could spread to involve BA transfer and check-in staff.
British Airways are defending their moves by saying that the new contracts will not affect cabin crew pay but actually increase their benefits. BA maintains that its cabin crew is still the best paid in the country.
Tags: British Airways, cabin crew, High Court, pay, strike, Unite, walk out
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
Former chief executive of Aer Lingus and current British Airways chief Willie Walsh believes that the future of the Irish flagship carrier would be secure only if it merges with another airline.
The airline is currently fighting to save €100 million by slashing 670 jobs in Ireland, however the Belfast operation would not be affected.
Mr Walsh spoke yesterday at the Jim Kemmy Business school saying that various vactors had created an uncertain future for Aer Lingus, given the state of the economy, so the airline must look at a relationship with another carrier.
But the airline may face difficulties given the current ownership of the national airline in finding new investors.
Walsh said that the current shareholder being Ryanair with 30 percent, the Irish government with 25 percent, and the Employee Share Ownership Trust with 15 percent, he struggled to see how anyone would invest or want to invest with that sort of structure.
When asked about the proposed takeover of Aer Lingus by Ryanair, Walsh said he always found it a challenge as to why Ryanair would want to control Aer Lingus.
He said that there were serious competition issues and there was a significant overlap between the two carriers and the competition regulators would always struggle with that.
He continued by saying that it wouldn’t be impossible, but a merger between the two would be very difficult.
Tags: aer lingus, British Airways, Ryanair, willie walsh
Posted in Finance and Business, Travel News | No Comments »
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Unions have urged British Airways cabin crew to wait against the airlines bid to cut their pay and alter their contracts. In a message to the airlines 14,000 cabin crew, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), the union said that it was not time to reach a deal.
The crew were hold to hold firm and stay strong. The BASSA feel that the wind is behind them and before long everything BA have been plotting and scheming would be exposed as nothing more than a farcical and opportunistic scam.
British Airways have been in talks since May over proposed changes to conditions and pay of cabin crew. The airline wants a two-year pay freeze, reduced holidays and cutbacks to travel allowances for flying to long-haul destinations. BA would also like to cut 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs and it told casual staff this week that their contracts would be terminated by the end of next month.
The struggling airlines is seeking the extreme cuts as it has been hit badly by the recession, and lost a total of £401 last year.
Analysts have raised the topic of industrial action against British Airways if it tries to force through its changes, which could have a devastating effect on the airline.
Tags: British Airways, recession, travel, unions
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
A new agreement has been reached between New York and London in order to boost travel between the two cities.
The arrangement will also see both cities providing each other with advertising space and sharing new ideas.
London Mayor Boris Johnson made the announcement during his trip to New York and said that both cities were in a good position to be able to exchange combined knowledge.
Johnson has been attending events in New York to promote London’s economy.
One of the promotions includes the launch of a British Airways campaign at JFK International Airport highlighting business travel and attending an ‘Only in London’ event at Time Square.
He will also be promoting the 2012 Olympic Games at a ‘Think London’ Reception.
Johnson said that the two cities shared many similarities including a strong sense of optimism and determination, along with a great appreciation for diversity and innovation.
He concluded by saying that the common ties and dedication between the two cities provided a world-class service and experience for both residents and visitors, making them well poised combine knowledge and resources to impact the future of the cities.
Tags: British Airways, economy, london, New York
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
Friday, September 4th, 2009
British Airways has announced that it will launch its first television campaign in two years.
The airline, last running TV ads in August 2007, will air the first in a series of nine ads on ITV1 this Monday.
The new campaign features a series of events taking place from around the world over the next few weeks, aimed at convincing travellers that the most exciting holidays are not ‘staycations’.
The first ad will feature Mumbai’s Fashion Week which runs from 18 to 22 of September.
The commercials will still maintain a level of tradition, using the same music from previous advertising, Flower Duet from Delibe’s opera, Lakme.
Other events that will be featured include the Las Vegas Rodeo, Carnivale in Venice, and the Canton Fair in Guangzhou.
The advertising comes following a terrible year for the airline which posted a £148 million loss in the first quarter, and has been fighting to stay afloat amidst the downturn in the travel industry due to the recession.
Tags: British Airways, fashion week, india, mumbai, tv campaign
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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
British Airways has launched the first of two unique Airbus A318s into its fleet that will be used to operate a new business class-only service from London City airport to New York.
The aircraft has been redesigned by airbus to allow it to take off and land at steeper gradients than usual, such as required by London City Airport.
The new Airbus A318s can carry up to 32 passengers, which feature seats that convert to fully flat beds, internet and email access as well as the option of sending text messages.
Airbus claim the A318 has the best range and capability of all aircraft serving city centre airports.
British airways chief executive said the A318s had been specially ordered for the twice-daily London City to JFK service because of their size, flexibility and steep gradient capability, and will reinforce their unrivalled schedule between two of the world’s greatest financial centres.
He added that although the A318 may be the airline’s smallest aircraft, but it will play a big role in bringing a new dimension of style and convenience to the London to New York route, as well as show their determination to invest in the future of London City.
Passengers who choose to fly to New York from London City have the option of clearing US Customs checks when the plane stops to refuel at Shannon in Ireland.
Tags: a318, airbus, British Airways, london city airport, New York
Posted in Travel News | No Comments »
