do i not like fizzy pop

Just keep getting this nagging doubt they will somehow get away with it. In what form and by what reason i don't know but i can just see them weaseling some sort of stay of execution.

If anything it relating to Markus it would have to be MALI Group

It's the use of double negatives that winds me up; "I ain't done nuffin" - so you've done something then? (Triple checks spelling, grammar and punctuation before clicking on 'submit post').

She was very important to me my Grammar I'll get my coat........

You're right In BA's case however cynical, false, nasty, vindictive, etc, etc - there is always a reason. Good Luck FF!

Still, these companies probably are offering a better price than Gordon Brown got when he flogged off the Uk's gold reserves (around 1999/2000) when gold was at its lowest price for 50 odd years (sarcastic smiley thing)

Like everything there are two sides to this debate and it has been very one sided on here and in the media.

Until this month my Mrs had worked 12 years for BA - LGW & LHR short haul and LHR Worldwide so i have a similar insight to yourself. Ths means i have been able to read all the communications she has been sent from BASSA and all those from BA Management. We also have other friends that are crew, not only from BA but Virgin, Qatar, the now defunct Excel. I am also forunate to know ex staff from senior management within both BA and Virgin. I beg to differ on whether Virgin crew were/are more commercially aware - maybe they haven't the same strength in numbers of union membership? There is a small element of staff still on old contracts - sure, there always is in intergrated businesses. This is more than just about pay, i am sure your Mrs can tell you some horror stories about hotel security for crew accomodation in locations such as Detroit or Johanessburg for example? Yes the world has changed 2007, however if your employer had failed to implement an agreement reached almost 3 years ago amid deteriorating relations, would you be inclined to trust them more? Again these old contract holders are now in the minority and any new recruits will be on the new contracts as you say. However the majority of those effected would have been like my Mrs and stand to lose out by virtue of being 'managed out' of the routes that earn any decent allowances which we be given to those on the new contracts - possibly up to a point where you would have to resign. No BA are not rolling in it but the agenda against its cabin crew does exist i assure you (and has done for years). If other airline staff feel they have stronger grievances then they should be pressuring their union to do something about it - oh, they don't have strong union representation do they? Pay rises have very little to do with this - there is a bigger picture. I have not heard the one about Ryan Air and no water for their crew and if true i would think this puts them legally on very dodgy ground certainly under HSE requirements. Only the business customer holds any sort of sway, the rest of Joe Public are seen by most scheduled airlines as a pain in the a**. Remember as a PLC the only responsibility BA has is to its' SHAREHOLDERS. Everyone else can go hang.

Of course these dates are emotional blackmail - all dates chosen by any union or body for industrial action are designed to cause the biggest outrage in order to get the employer back round the negotiating table by maximising the potential for disruption to business/turnover. It is also the unions legal right to call a strike at this time having balloted its' members. Maybe the axe needs to be wielded over a bloated mangement structure rather than front line staff - but this hardly ever happens does it? Staff at BA have already taken on job changes, cutbacks, not taken rises etc so it's not like this is an issue in isolation - more like the straw that broke the camels back. Yes everyone is happy they have a job in a recession - but we are all constantly looking over our shoulder seeing where the axe is going to fall next. I work in the construction industry so you can imagine the last twelve months i have had - first to feel the pain, last to recover. You are right - we British workers take it all on the chin and carry on - perhaps that is why we are right royally sh@t on while the likes of the banks continue to make billions and an ineffectual government saddles our grandchildren with a mountain of debt while we have no manufacturing industry to help us out. Maybe if we were a bit more militant like some of our european cousins we might have thimgs a bit better? Anyway, last post - can't afford £5 - there's a recession on

Just another thing to consider; BA narrowly avoided the pilots union BALPA taking strike action this year. Pilots are treated like gods - so how bad do industrial relations between the employer and your top front line staff have to be to reach this point, how big does the 30 pieces of silver need to be to get them back onside and what does it say about the reationship with the rest of your staff?

Good to see all the BA pr spin is being swallowed by all. Maybe those spouting stupid unresearched comments and vitriol calling the crew 'Scum' did a bit of personal research they may find they have a bit of sympathy for the BA Crew and be less inclined to believe what is printed in the Daily Mail etc? A few points to start; 1. A number of these issues relate to agreements BA made with the union back during the threatened action of 2007 which BA have failed to come good on 2. BA crew are better paid than other carriers crew. There are reasons behind this - many have a second or third language, or a professional qualification in nursing, degrees, are ex-forces personnel - and to attract this kind of staff costs more. However some of the figures quoted in the press are wildley exagerated - Junior Crew earning £29,000 pa - i don't think so! 3. BA management have been trying to secretley implement massive sweeping changes to staff T&C's since 2007 which will not only effect the crew but ultimately the passenger experience. And they now have the ideal opportunity to bring them in under the effects of the recession and a sob story. 4. Maybe, just maybe this action is a last resort and one of complete desperation by staff that have had any relationship with their employer tossed to the scrap heap over the last few years and are seen as trained monkeys by the management? Ultimately Willie Walsh needs to decide if he wants BA to be a Premium Carrier or just another Easy Jet?