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British Airways’ pilots Monday voted to back a new deal on pay and terms, bringing one of the most damaging disputes in the airline’s history to a close. Pilots voted nearly 9 to 1 for the agreement, which included changes to working conditions, rostering and flight bonuses, and an inflation protection clause in addition to the pay rise over 3 years they had previously rejected. BA welcomed the vote, which it described as “good for our customers, our people and our business”. The agreement ends an extended period of industrial action at the airline and more than a year of talks as Balpa sought improvements to pay and conditions. In September the pilots went on strike for 48 hours, the biggest walkout in BA’s history. A total of 2,325 flights were cancelled and more than 280,000 passengers were thought to be affected. <br/>

Qantas Airways plans to have more experienced pilots on board the world's longest non-stop flights than on its current long-haul flights for the first 18 months as it evaluates fatigue, said sources with knowledge of the matter. The airline said last week it could buy up to 12 Airbus A350 planes for the commercial flights of up to 21 hours that includes the Sydney-London route, but the deal depends on pilots voting to approve a pay agreement in March. "To be clear, we have not yet placed an order for this aircraft because we still have a gap to close in the business case," Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano said in an internal memo. Qantas said Australia's aviation regulator had provisionally advised it saw no regulatory obstacles to the flights, which could extend pilot duty times to as long as 23 hours to account for potential delays. <br/>