BA pilots vote for strike during key summer period

British Airways pilots have voted in favor of a strike action in connection with a wage dispute, threatening to be interrupted during the key period of the summer holidays.

The British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) said that 93% of its members had voted in favor of a protest action.

A strike is likely to cause serious disruption, with Balpa representing about 90% of the airline's pilots.

BA said he was "very disappointed" by the fact that the union was threatening "the travel plans of thousands of our customers".

The union said it still has no date for a potential strike, adding that he still hoped the dispute could be resolved.

British Airways stated that it remained willing to work with the union to reach an agreement and to "seek all solutions to protect the travel plans of our customers and to avoid any industrial action."

The pilots have rejected a 11.5% salary increase over three years, which the airline has described as "fair and generous".

However, Balpa says its members deserve a better offer, with BA making substantial profits.

The vote in favor of an action comes after three days of negotiations between the airline and the union of pilots with the Acas conciliation service.

Balpa Secretary-General Brian Strutton said the positive result in favor of the action showed "the determination of BA pilots" and said that BA "must present a significantly improved offer to avoid a strike".

"We do not wish to annoy our customers, that is why we tried to resolve this issue by trading from last November.This is BA who unfortunately chose to let her hang out during the months of ## 148 ## Summer, "he added.

Injunction of the High Court

British Airways on Tuesday requested an injunction from the High Court to put an end to any strike action.

The union should give British Airways at least two weeks' notice of any action, which means that the first action to be taken is on 6 August.

Balpa stated that the hearing in the High Court meant that any subsequent negotiations "were suspended while we were preparing to defend our right to take this step."

The union argues that the cost for BA to resolve the dispute in its entirety is "significantly less than the cost of a strike even on a day".

"We have no date for any strike action yet and we will issue an update on it in due course, and we are still hopeful that this dispute can be resolved before the strike, but we remain committed to act if necessary, "said Strutton.

Increase in profits

British Airways is part of International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns the Spanish company Iberia. Last year, it had announced a pre-tax profit of 3 billion euros, up nearly 9.8% from the previous year.

British Airways contributed £ 1.96 billion, up 8.7% from 2017.

It has also rewarded investors with a total dividend of 1.3 billion euros.