BRITISH AIRWAYS pilots said yesterday they want the UK government and financial institutions to force a change in the way the carrier is managed after the chaotic opening of a new terminal at London's Heathrow airport.
The cancellation of more than 600 flights and a backlog of 20,000 bags after a breakdown in Terminal 5's computerised baggage system highlighted the "arrogance" of British Airways' leadership and its failure to listen to employees, the British Air Line Pilots Association (Balpa) said in an open letter.
Balpa represents about 3,000 of the London-based company's 3,200 pilots.
BA said last week the upheaval that followed the opening of Terminal 5 on March 27th would cost £16 million (€20.24 million). That may make it tough for the airline to reach a 10 per cent operating profit margin for the year ended March 31st, set as a benchmark for paying a first dividend in seven years.
Chief executive Willie Walsh says he accepts full responsibility for the breakdown at the terminal.
"Banks, institutional investors and analysts need to wake up to the fact that there is something very wrong right at the heart of this company that is making our once-great brand a laughing stock," Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan wrote in the letter.
Balpa members have voted to strike over BA's plans to start a subsidiary airline called OpenSkies, which will fly between Paris and New York.
They have yet to announce strike dates as the airline is seeking an injunction to block the industrial action.
Balpa has referred the matter to the UK's high court, which will hear the case in May, the group's spokesman said.
(Bloomberg)
