BA 'will not back down' in cabin crew dispute

British Airways will not back down in the year-long cabin crew dispute and is ready to run a near-full service in the event of another strike, the airline's chief executive Willie Walsh said today.

He said it was "entirely" the fault of the cabin crew's union Unite that the dispute had dragged on for 12 months.

And he added that changes to working practices should have been tackled 10 years ago.

Addressing the annual convention of travel organisation Abta in Malta, Mr Walsh said: "In the past I have seen managers and businesses ignore issues and back down in the face of industrial action. We are not going to do that."

He said that should there be further industrial action BA hoped to be able to run a full service at Gatwick and London City airports and all its long-haul flights at Heathrow, with the only question being just how much of Heathrow's short-haul programme could operate.

Asked if it was "entirely the union's fault" that no settlement had been reached in the dispute, Mr Walsh replied: "Entirely."

Speaking about a possible Christmas strike, Mr Walsh said that Unite would have to go through a number of procedures before such a strike could be called.

He went on: "I don't believe it's the intention of Unite to do that (go through the procedures).

He said that while BA hoped to reach agreement, it was also planning "for all eventualities" and had a "very robust" contingency programme in place.

Mr Walsh said he was not being critical of previous BA managers but added: "We should have faced up to these challenges 10 years ago."