Courtesy of ian100 at FlyerTalk:
From today's Guardian:
British Airways' chief executive, Willie Walsh, today declared the latest day of strike action by cabin crew "a failure", citing the number of passengers who had successfully taken flights despite the trade union Unite's plan to ground all planes.
"Unite have failed to ground British Airways, and we are continuing to fly and we are continuing to work," Walsh said, speaking on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Berlin.
Walsh said the airline had stuck to its pledge and flown thousands of passengers on Sunday, despite the strike. "Yesterday we flew over 72,000 customers on a day of strike by Unite and, as I say, they have failed," he said. "They have failed in their efforts."
Walsh refused to comment on the state of negotiations between BA and Unite, saying he had "given a commitment not to speak publicly about the discussions that have taken place, and I intend to honour that".
He refused to respond to reports that Tony Woodley, the joint Unite general secretary and a key negotiator in the strike, had chosen to go on holiday to Cyprus with his wife on Saturday, immediately prior to the industrial action, a decision that received widespread criticism. In turn, Unite members criticised Walsh for deciding to travel to Berlin rather than stay in London, at such a crucial time.
Walsh said: "This is business as usual, and I'm continuing to do what is right for British Airways in running the business." He stressed that the airline was still open to talk to Unite "at any stage".
"They will bring an end to their industrial action on the 9 June," he said. "We are available to talk to them at any stage. I've got plenty of people in my team who can sit down and talk to Unite if there are any people there to talk to. But for BA it's very much business as usual."
Members of Unite will remain on strike until Wednesday but the union has said it is prepared to hold a fresh ballot if agreement is not reached soon. The dispute centres on travel concessions that have been withdrawn from BA employees who have been involved in strike action. It could lead to lengthy disruptions over the busy summer months.
Asked at what point BA would be prepared to cave in to Unite's demands if the costs of the strike became unmanageable, Walsh said: "There is no trade-off in this. This is about ensuring that British Airways has a cost base that is in line with our competitors. This is about the future viability of the airline." He added: "We have been absolutely clear: we intend to continue to make progress on our cost base. We can do that in many different ways."
He remained adamant that travel concessions would remain unavailable for strikers. "The concessions are for those who show loyalty to the company, not those who try to damage its profits," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...e-willie-walsh
The last paragraph reveals that he is still supporting those Cabin Crew who kept the flag flying.