Holiday families in fury over BA pilots
‘Disgusting’ strike threat could wreck summer trips
HOLIDAYMAKERS have accused British Airways pilots of ‘disgusting’ behaviour by pushing ahead with plans for crippling strike action at the height of the summer break.
Furious passengers said the airline’s high-earning pilots had knowingly overlooked the devastating effect of cancelling hundreds of flights because they are ‘driven by greed’.
Their union Balpa also faced criticism for failing to offer any reassurance to passengers by setting a date for the strike, leaving them with an agonising wait.
The backlash came as one pilot blamed the industrial action in part on the airline’s decision to downgrade pilot accommodation from five to four-star hotels.
Restaurant chain owner and regular BA passenger Louise Robinson, 51, yesterday accused the pilots’ union of deliberately causing distress to families during the summer break. She is among tens of thousands facing the prospect of a ruined holiday. She said: ‘It is fairly hardcore to do it like this.
‘When you take the job you know what the pay is and if you don’t like it then you should get another job.’
Mrs Robinson said the union’s course of action is more egregious given that the 11.5 per cent pay increase it has turned down is above inflation.
‘Instead of ruining people’s hard-earned family holidays, why don’t members just realise how fortunate they are,’ she said. ‘Doctors don’t even earn what you lot do.’ Mrs Robinson added: ‘An 11 per cent increase over three years is more than most people can dream of at the moment.’
The Robinson family, from Northampton, is due to fly to Los Angeles from Heathrow on August 13, having spent £20,000 on a dream trip to the US. Michelle Goodall, 41, criticised both British Airways and Balpa for failing to provide reassurance. The mother-of-two from Peterborough is planning to take her family to Walt Disney World in Florida on August 20, claiming she chose BA because of its prestige and to avoid just such disruption.
‘You don’t think a reputable company such as this would be letting people down,’ she said. ‘The families that can only take holidays in school holidays are the ones that suffer.’
Brian McKeown, an engineering lecturer from Grantham, Lincolnshire, said: ‘BA pilots, you are a disgrace to your profession and will disrupt many families who, unlike you selfish idiots, have to holiday in August.’
Despite being offered an 11.5 per cent pay increase over three years, BA pilots are holding out for a profit-sharing deal after the airline made £2billion last year.
Balpa was cleared to launch the industrial action earlier this week after a legal challenge by the airline was thrown out by appeal judges.
The union has insisted that strikes will go ahead unless its demands are met during talks at conciliation service Acas. Under union laws only two weeks’ notice is needed, meaning industrial action could be launched from mid-August.
A BA captain who has worked at the airline for 25 years accused bosses of ‘snipping away’ at perks including the provision of luxury hotels during layovers.
‘It used to be five-star, it’s now four-star,’ he said. ‘The problem with lower-standard hotels is they tend to be noisier and that becomes an issue when getting enough sleep to do your job.’
Balpa insists that BA’s 4,500 pilots – who earn an average of £100,000 – had made ‘sacrifices’ and taken pay cuts during the economic crash. BA said strikes could it cost £40million a day, affecting around 130,000 passengers a day.