British Airways pilots (BALPA) have reportedly backed a deal with management to open a new low-cost short haul subsidiary at Gatwick airport.
British Airline Pilots’ Association said on Thursday that,
Its members have backed the proposal, two weeks after pulling a vote when it hit a disagreement over terms and conditions with the airline’s management, and its members had approved a revised offer on pay and working hours after an initial proposal was rejected last month.
However, the decision does not imply a quick action or the new subsidiary will definitely go ahead, as BA is yet to reach agreements with other parties such as cabin crew.
The carrier said in a statement,
“We will now further develop our proposal to provide a full-service short-haul subsidiary operation at Gatwick, offering competitive fares to our customers.
“We will continue discussions with our colleagues, trade unions, suppliers and other stakeholders, following this positive result, and if we can agree a way forward with all parties, we would hope to begin operations next summer.”
When it materializes, the subsidiary would operate as a separate entity to the main British Airways operation, but would retain the airline’s normal branding and service, similar to BA CityFlyer, that operates from London’s City airport.
'Balpa' acting general secretary Martin Chalk said the deal with pilots was “an important new agreement”.
He added: “This agreement is now BA’s preferred option in relation to the future of short-haul operations at Gatwick.
“We understand BA is continuing its discussions with other stakeholders with a view to relaunching operations next summer. “We expect BA to reach a final decision shortly.”
Ground reality is, most of British Airways' short-haul flights from the West Sussex airport have been suspended since March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline said the flights were loss-making even before the virus crisis, and they would only restart if there was “a competitive and sustainable operating cost base”.
