More BA strikes possible after Easter

British Airways passengers face the possibility of more strikes after Easter as the dispute between the airline and cabin crew intensified over the weekend.The cabin crew union Unite said no further action will be taken until after Easter, but more strikes are likely from 14 April."We are very clear that we will be announcing further dates and this dispute will go on after Easter unless an agreement is reached," said Steve Turner, Unite's national officer for aviation.BA chief executive Willie Walsh upped the ante on Friday by stating that travel perks withdrawn from striking staff will not be reinstated. Unite said there could be no settlement until the cabin crew's perks were given back.The war of words over the strike's effectiveness also intensified. BA claims it flew 70% of its scheduled long-haul flights from Heathrow and 55% of its short-haul flights in the first 24 hours of the current strike, which runs until Tuesday.The airline claims two-thirds of cabin crew turned up for work and it cut the number of leased planes to 11 from 25 during last weekend's strike. "At Heathrow we are flying our increased schedule and dozens of flights have departed, many very full with customers looking forward to their Easter holidays. The numbers of cabin crew reporting at Heathrow are currently at the levels we need to operate our published schedule.""Our operations at Gatwick, where we aim to fly our entire normal schedule, continue to be exceptional with a large number of flights departing early. Cabin crew are continuing to report as normal at Gatwick, just as they did last weekend during the first strike period," it said.Unite countered that most flights leaving Heathrow were leased from other airlines, despite BA's claims."BA is claiming that it can function but it is doing so by throwing away millions of pounds every day as it dumps its passengers on other carriers. Passengers who turn up expecting to fly BA, a brand they trust and have paid a premium for, will now be shipped on to carriers they've never heard of," Len McCluskey, Unite's assistant general secretary, said.British Airways said last week that the first three-day strike had probably cost it £21m. Bay Capital