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British Airways will launch a legal bid later to try to stop a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew going ahead.

BA said the move was aimed at avoiding “‘massive stress and disruption'” for passengers threatened by the walkout from 22 December to 2 January.

The airline will claim in London’s High Court a strike ballot by the Unite union was invalid because it involved members no longer employed by BA.

At the centre of the dispute is BA’s decision to reduce cabin crew numbers and introduce a pay freeze.

source: BBC News

British Airways Plc agreed to a $7 billion merger with Spanish carrier Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA, ending more than a year of talks on a tie-up aimed at fighting a slump in travel and closing the gap with competitors.

Under the all-share deal, British Airways investors will own about 55 per cent of the business, to be led by Willie Walsh, the UK carrier’s chief executive.

British Airways needs a bigger network to compete with larger rivals Air France-KLM Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The combination will meld the UK company’s web of US routes with Iberia’s Latin America services, extending its leading position in the lucrative trans-Atlantic market and consolidating its status as Europe’s third-largest airline.

source: business-standard.com

British Airways was accused of hypocrisy as the airline prepared to launch a luxury all-business service between London and New York, with just 32 seats on an aircraft normally fitted for 100 people, days after chief executive Willie Walsh pledged a drastic cut in emissions.

The twice daily service on customised Airbus A318s features flat beds and latest technology allowing passengers to send emails and text and use the internet while on board.

Flights leaving from London though will be forced to make a brief refuelling stop at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland because City airport’s runway is too short to handle an A318 aircraft with a full fuel load. BA is arranging for passengers to use the Shannon stop to clear US customs and immigration.

source: guardian.co.uk

British Airways passengers will have to pay to choose their seats before they travel from October.

The charges will affect those seeking to ensure they sit together on a flight and people with a preference for window, aisle or emergency exit seats.

Prices range from £10 per person for European economy flights, to £60 for long haul trips in business class.

source: BBC

British Airways is understood to have joined Qantas and American Airlines in a three-strong investment consortium bidding to drag Japan Airlines (JAL) back from the brink of financial collapse.

Other offers to buy stakes in JAL are believed to have come from Korean Airlines and Air France-KLM.

The rehabilitation of JAL, which is bathed in red ink and has been allowed to operate with huge inefficiencies, poses a severe political challenge to the new administration of prime minister Yukio Hatoyama, who was only inaugurated two days ago.

source: Times Online

The drift away from premium to economy class air travel has been reconfirmed by British Airways, which has registered another month of falling sales from first- and business-class passengers.

The airline saw premium-class traffic in August fall by 11.9 per cent year-on- year although “‘non-premium'” economy-class custom edged up 1.3 per cent.

The monthly breakdown confirmed trends established this year as BA continued to grapple with a downturn in demand among business travellers.

The airline is also battling against competition from no-frills budget airlines on its less lucrative short-haul routes in Europe.

source: FT.com

BA, which began life as Air Transport & Travel, took off on its first flight from Hounslow, west London to Le Bourget on the outskirts of Paris, on Aug 25 1919. The airline was the first to offer a daily international service.

BA in its present form was created by the merger of British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, in 1974.

Today, BA is struggling to compete with low-cost carriers such as Ryanair offering no-frills flights with fares of a few pounds and, like the rest of the airline industry, has suffered from the sharp drop-off in business and holiday travel as a result of the global downturn. BA is particularly reliant on business-class travel across the Atlantic for its profits.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Baggage fee hikes continue as this British Airways announced that beginning October 7, international passengers flying economy will only be allowed one free checked bag. The previous, pretty standard way of international checked luggage was to allow each person two checked bags.

On British, economy class is called “‘World Traveller'” and “‘World Traveller Plus’,” and these are the only classes affected. Flying Club World (business) or First Class will still yield the massive allowance of three free checked bags on international flights.

source: Jaunted

Branson, whose Virgin Group controls BA rival Virgin Atlantic, said in a statement that an alliance between BA and American would strangle airline competition on routes between London’s Heathrow Airport and the United States.

“‘If the proposed merger between BA and American Airlines is allowed to go ahead, then the result for passengers, employees, communities and for fair and healthy competition, would be disastrous,'” Branson said.

Virgin Atlantic has asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to reject the proposed alliance, which would allow BA and American Airlines to cooperate on schedules, fares and cost-cutting.

source: Reuters

British Airways said this afternoon that first and business class traffic fell 17.7 per cent last month as its more lucrative customers cut back amid the recession.

Overall, the airline said total traffic for April rose by just 0.9 per cent, as market conditions continued to be “‘very challenging.’”

Economy traffic rose 5.2 per cent, boosted by Easter falling during April this year instead of March, although the seasonal difference did mean fewer premium passengers. Its total load factor, a measure of how full its planes were, fell 2.6 per cent to 78.1 per cent. Cargo traffic was down 14.8 per cent

source: timesonline.co.uk