British Airways strike impact still up in the air
Sunday, 21 March 2010
British Airways cabin crew have started a three-day strike that is set cause severe disruption for thousands of passengers, reports BBC.
The BBC's Chris Rogers was on a BA flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam on Saturday morning.
Terminal 5 was teeming with stewards acting as guides for thousands of BA staff who have volunteered to replace striking cabin crew, the stewards were there to guide them though their first day on the job.
The airline has assured passengers the volunteers have been fully trained for the job.
I was a passenger on one of just a few scheduled flights with BA cabin crew who did turn up for work.
The three-man team told me they decided to cross the picket line and were allocated on the flight to Amsterdam.
One worker - who didn't wished to be named - said he may regret it "but he and other colleagues were thinking about the long term effects the strike would have on the company".
BA has told its staff it may have to withdraw company perks such as discounted tickets for workers, family and friends, and the airline has not ruled out redundancy to recoup its losses from strike action.
The majority of passengers found themselves flying on BA planes operated by relatively unknown European airlines such as Jet 2 or Viking which provide their own cabin crew.
So far so good for a majority of passengers at Terminal 5 but with 1,100 BA flights cancelled over the next three days, my experience will be a rare one.
The word cancelled is already appearing on the flight information boards leaving some travellers at a loss, but the expected scenes of travel chaos may have been averted with many passengers opting to take earlier flights or switching airlines.
The airline has brought in extra ground staff to help stranded passengers get to their destination, even if that means switching them to a rival airline.
BA stands to lose £30m a day over the strike period and have warned of a knock on effect in the coming days.
The BBC's Chris Rogers was on a BA flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam on Saturday morning.
Terminal 5 was teeming with stewards acting as guides for thousands of BA staff who have volunteered to replace striking cabin crew, the stewards were there to guide them though their first day on the job.
The airline has assured passengers the volunteers have been fully trained for the job.
I was a passenger on one of just a few scheduled flights with BA cabin crew who did turn up for work.
The three-man team told me they decided to cross the picket line and were allocated on the flight to Amsterdam.
One worker - who didn't wished to be named - said he may regret it "but he and other colleagues were thinking about the long term effects the strike would have on the company".
BA has told its staff it may have to withdraw company perks such as discounted tickets for workers, family and friends, and the airline has not ruled out redundancy to recoup its losses from strike action.
The majority of passengers found themselves flying on BA planes operated by relatively unknown European airlines such as Jet 2 or Viking which provide their own cabin crew.
So far so good for a majority of passengers at Terminal 5 but with 1,100 BA flights cancelled over the next three days, my experience will be a rare one.
The word cancelled is already appearing on the flight information boards leaving some travellers at a loss, but the expected scenes of travel chaos may have been averted with many passengers opting to take earlier flights or switching airlines.
The airline has brought in extra ground staff to help stranded passengers get to their destination, even if that means switching them to a rival airline.
BA stands to lose £30m a day over the strike period and have warned of a knock on effect in the coming days.