oneworld

British Airways has lost its latest attempt July 31 to block pilots from staging a strike, as the likelihood of industrial action increased at the height of the summer holiday season. BA went to the Court of Appeal in London after losing its case in the High Court last week to bar the strike vote by members of BALPA, who are seeking an increase in pay. “BA’s attempt to defeat the democratic view of their pilots in court, rather than deal with us across the negotiating table, has sadly wasted huge amounts of time and money that could have been put into finding a peaceful resolution. Now the window for negotiation and compromise is closing fast,” said the union. BA said it was disappointed that BALPA “has chosen to threaten the holidays of thousands of our customers this summer with unprecedented strike action." <br/>

Qantas Airways said it had no plan to cut its stake in Alliance Airlines, after the competition regulator raised concerns over its acquisition of 19.9% in its rival. The regulator said Alliance competed with Qantas in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia states, and was Qantas’s only competitor on certain domestic passenger routes. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said Alliance was a “close, important and growing competitor to Qantas”, both directly and through citing its partnership with domestic rival Virgin Australia. “We consider this shareholding has the potential to impact Alliance’s future growth and its ability to be a strong competitor,” Sims said Thursday. Qantas said it was a “passive investor” in Alliance and rejected the commission’s concerns about competition. <br/>