JOINT BA/BALPA STATEMENT
British Airways and the British Air Line Pilots Association (BALPA) today agreed to refer issues relating to the launch of the BA subsidiary, OpenSkies, to a conciliation process with an independent third party.
The decision was reached at a positive meeting between BA and BALPA at the airline’s headquarters near Heathrow. Both sides expressed their strong desire to achieve a peaceful outcome.
Willie Walsh, British Airways chief executive, said: ‘We welcome the progress made today and are confident that a settlement can be achieved through conciliation which will protect our customers from the possibility of disruption.
‘We are proud of the professionalism and high reputation of our pilots and have never sought conflict with them.’
Jim McAuslan, BALPA general secretary, said: ‘The ballot result shows the strength of feeling of our members about the implications of the creation of OpenSkies.
‘We have no quarrel with the travelling public and have always maintained that these issues could be resolved through negotiation rather than confrontation.’
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