(NECN/APTV) - British Airways was scrambling to deal with a three-day strike launched by cabin crew on Saturday, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travelers into chaos and risking harm to the Labor government before a tough general election.
BA chartered planes from rival airlines, drafted in volunteer crew from its other work force and rebooked some passengers on other services in a bid to keep as many passengers happy as possible - but it was still forced to cancel thousands of flights.
Chief Executive Willie Walsh issued a direct apology to passengers via YouTube for the walkout, the airline's first in almost 15 years, saying it was a "terrible day for BA."
BA passengers were arriving at airports on Saturday morning to find departures boards displaying their flights as either canceled or delayed.
At Athens' international airport in Greece, one man said he now expected a four and half hour delay.
BA ticket counters and check-in areas stood empty. The airline also warned on Saturday that the disruption would likely last several days beyond the three-day strike, because of a knock-on effect on flights that would carry through to the end of a second strike planned for March 27-30.
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As protesters were readying picket lines on Saturday outside London's Heathrow international airport, analysts estimated BA has already lost more than 25 (M) million pounds (more than 37 million USD ) because of cancelled tickets and contingency costs.
The two planned strikes combined could cost the airline more than the 63 (M) million pounds (95 million USD) that Walsh is trying to save through the disputed changes to workers' pay and conditions.
The Unite union has gathered some support from unions in the United States, Germany and Spain for its action, but they have so far stopped short of pledges for coordinated activity that would disrupt BA's ability to refuel and service the planes it is operating over the walkout.
Aside from hurting BA financially, the strike is also an unwelcome event for Britain's governing Labor Party before national elections expected before June. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown irritated Unite, a major political donor , by calling the union "deplorable," and as late as Friday evening was urging it to call off the strike.
BA said it would handle as many as 49,000 passengers on both Saturday and Sunday. That compares with the average 75,000 for a normal weekend day in March.
Any passengers with canceled flights from Saturday through the end of the second planned strike on March 30 will be allowed to rebook on another BA flight within 355 days at no extra charge, but no refunds were being offered , the airline said.
The airline on Friday offered a compromise on a proposed pay freeze this year, offering a 3 percent rise next year and the year after and then an inflation-linked increase in 2013/14 capped at 4 percent.
Walsh said on Friday it was "deeply regrettable" that the union rejected the airline's proposals. BA says the disputed changes are critical to the airline's survival.
Unite joint general secretary Tony Woodley, which has warned it will schedule more strikes for after the Easter break if the dispute is not resolved, said BA "does not want to negotiate and ultimately wants to go to war with this union."
Unite argues it was not properly consulted on the changes, which also include a switch to part-time work for 3-thousand staff and a reduction in cabin crew sizes from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights from Heathrow.
