British Airways Loses Court Bid To Halt Pilot Pay Walkout
British Airways Loses Court Bid to Halt Pilot Strike Over Pay
(Bloomberg) -- British Airways lost a U.K. court bid to halt a pilot strike at the height of the summer travel season, potentially clearing a path for the airline’s first walkout by cockpit crew since the 1970s.
London’s High Court declined on Tuesday to grant BA an injunction against a pilots’ union, whose members this week backed action including a strike with a 93% majority. The airline and the British Airline Pilots Association are locked in a labor dispute over pay, profit sharing, and a share-awards program.
Judge Elisabeth Laing gave BA permission to appeal her decision. That may be heard at the end of this week or the beginning of next, the carrier’s attorney, John Cavanagh, told the court, though no date has been confirmed.
The airline argued at Tuesday’s hearing that the pilots’ union didn’t give its members enough information about “the extent of the strike action” it expects of them. But pilots “knew potentially what they were signing themselves up to,” the judge ruled.
“We are very disappointed with today’s decision,” a spokesman for BA said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue every avenue to protect the holidays of thousands of our customers this summer.”
BA reiterated that it remains open to working with BALPA to reach an agreement and urged the pilots’ union to return to talks as soon as possible. The impasse involves pilots at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
BALPA welcomed the court’s decision but criticized BA for wasting time in bringing the case to court.
“While we’re pleased with the judge’s decision, we’re frustrated that time has been wasted. BA could have spent this time coming back to the negotiating table instead of trying -- and failing -- to tie us up in legal knots,” BALPA General Secretary Brian Strutton said in a statement.
A first pilot strike in about four decades may cost the airline -- part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA -- as much as $50 million per day, it said in its filings for the case.
The dispute highlights the challenges facing European airlines in the middle of the warm-weather season. The Irish Airline Pilots’ Association announced a ballot of its members at Ryanair Holdings Plc for industrial action. That dispute is over a lack of progress in ongoing pay talks.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG pilots are also weighing possible strike action. Walkouts by cockpit crew are particularly disruptive to airlines because they can ground flights.
--With assistance from Benjamin Katz.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kaye Wiggins in London at kwiggins4@bloomberg.net;Simon Foy in London at sfoy8@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser, John Bowker
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