Union urges pilots to accept BA terms

PILOTS at British Airways have been urged by their union to accept pay cuts and productivity improvements to help save the struggling airline £26 million a year.

The move comes days after BA staff were urged to go without pay for up to a month as it battles for survival following record losses. BA pilots would have their basic pay cut by 2.6 per cent from October and see a 20 per cent reduction in flying time allowances under the deal with the British Air Line Pilots Association (Balpa), which represents almost all the airline's 3,200 pilots. They will vote on the plans.

Duty hours would also be increased, aircraft would spend less time at airports on short-haul routes, and there would be 78 voluntary redundancies.

In return, pilots would receive BA shares worth £13 million in two years' time if certain targets were achieved.

Jim McAuslan, Balpa's general secretary, said: "This is a unique agreement. We have always said that as a union we would share the pain if our members shared in the gain. BA is facing a real challenge and this is not the case of the employer crying wolf."

Mr McAuslan also urged the rest of BA's 40,000 staff to play their part after it posted £401 million annual pre-tax losses last month.