Dear Reader

THOSE of us with a soft spot for soppy ads will have warmed to that British Airways one from 2016 about ‘building superhighways in an unknown sky’ and how its pilots were ‘skimming the edge of space, the edge of Heaven, the edge of dreams’ — all set to rousing music before coming back down to earth with the slogan: ‘To fly to serve.’

Six years on and the reputation of our national flag-carrier is in tatters. Never mind the row about not serving complimentary food and drink on shorthaul flights to sunny spots such as Spain (Marbella, pictured) — a policy that has been reversed — but now its ground crew and baggage handlers have voted to go on strike in what amounts to a devastating blow to holidaymakers desperate for a break.

The unions, predictably, have accused BA of ‘pigheadedness’, while BA has banged on about the ‘extremely challenging environment’ and pinned its hopes on a one-off 10 per cent bonus payment being enough to prevent picket lines being erected at Heathrow.

Wishful thinking. Imposing a 10 per cent pay cut during the pandemic when no one was flying was understandable — but not to reconsider the position on wages now that planes are full and when ticket prices have risen smacks of recklessness.

The reason many staff never returned to the industry at the end of the lockdowns was because they could find better paid and more secure jobs in other sectors. And it can’t help that the pay of senior executives at BA is back to pre-pandemic levels, with Luis Gallego, the boss of BA’s parent company, IAG, in line for a possible payday of nearly £5 million if he hits his targets.

Travellers are becoming despondent. Flights are being cancelled, luggage is piling up and the mood is becoming increasingly militant.

There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind. It’s called leadership. BA needs to do its bit to keep summer alive

— and fast.