Damaging day for embattled carrier
The news that cabin staff at BA have voted to strike was no less damaging for being widely expected.
The scale of the vote for stoppages, nearly 90% of those who voted, may have shaken the airline but it is also an indication of how low relations between staff and airline seem to have got.
It is more than 12 years since the last time cabin crew walked out so they cannot be painted as itchy-footed militants looking for any opportunity to stop work.
But pinning down the exact reason why the vast bulk of the 12,000 strong cabin crew which belongs to the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (Bassa), part of the Unite union, opted to strike is more difficult.
The background is straightforward. BA, along with most other airlines, has suffered a significant drop in demand, particularly from its lucrative premium class passengers, during the recession. Altogether it has been the worst downturn the aviation industry has ever experienced.
To survive - and some airlines have not - drastic cuts in costs need to be made, which includes job losses. Each side knows this but they have been unable to reach a reasonable compromise which acknowledges the airline's needs for savings and the union's desire to preserve as many members' jobs as possible. Both are understandable goals.
The talks have been going on for months. During that time, each side must have made its position clear. The long running negotiations have also involved the UK arbitration service, ACAS but to no avail. Willie Walsh, BA's ceo, has met the Unite union leaders, Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson at least twice. Again to no avail.
When a lack of agreement arises after this range of discussions, the instant feeling is that one, perhaps both sides, lack the willingness to compromise. Now Mr Woodley and Mr Simpson are a pair of experienced negotiators and good old bruisers to boot. Strikes do not scare them. A look at the Unite website suggests ballots and strike action are part of the daily round. It is just that BA is a far more high profile company than most in the UK.
But if the two union men are tough cookies, then so is Willie Walsh. Ask anyone at Aer Lingus where he called the union's bluff on more than one occasion while ceo. In this dispute, he has regularly upped the stakes, first in the negotiations by declaring that BA is fighting for survival (up to a point Mr Walsh) and by announcing, in Thatcheresque mode last month, that he is not for turning.
It has created a feeling that jobs will be lost come what may, despite thousands of cabin crew willing to leave voluntarily or switch to part time work. This surely was a time, if compromise was sought, to act positively, rather than to try and push through other changes through for comparatively minor gains.
The feeling is that if the union was relaxed about reaching a compromise, then so was BA.
There were reports in the UK press over the weekend that BA and Mr Walsh were ready to see the strike through, that if it were coming, then sooner rather than later. This may be good tactics but it seems to leave out the requirements of BA's customers, thousands of whom face the prospect of a ruined Christmas holiday.
Both sides say there is still time to talk, resolve the dispute and stop the strikes. It will be interesting to see just who moves first and how quickly. If BA is fighting for survival, strikes may not be the best remedy. If the unions are playing power games with people's well earned breaks, that is not going to go down well either.