May 21, 2010 - Back in February British Airways cabin crew members announced through their union, Unite that the majority of its members had voted to strike. While most, 75 percent, of BA's crew are at the top of their earnings, the dispute is not about pay.

The dispute was triggered by in November 2009 by BA through its new work practices of reduced cabin crew on its aircraft. BA's refusal to consult with the union on these changes meant for the union that BA had broken with the long-standing negotiating structures.

British Airways cabin crew held a weeklong strike that forced the airline to cut back on service and it had an impact on merger agreements with Iberia Airlines. Due to Icelandic volcano eruption causing a number of passengers to became stranded abroad, the cabin crew temporally called off their strike.

British Airways response to court order, “we are very disappointed for our customers that Unite’s appeal has been upheld and that the union intends to go ahead with its unjustified and pointless strikes. We will implement our contingency plan to keep British Airways flying. We are confident that thousands of cabin crew will ignore Unite’s strike call and help us fly more than 70 per cent of the customers who were booked to fly with us in the period targeted.

“We will run a full program at Gatwick and London City. At Heathrow, we will operate more than 60 per cent of our longhaul operation and more than 50 per cent of shorthaul.