BA cabin crew start fresh five-day strike

British Airways' (BA) cabin crew has kicked off another five days of strikes after talks between the airline and Unite union negotiators broke down late last week without a deal being reached, Dow Jones reported.

BA said it hopes to operate more flights in the coming days than during the previous disruption last week.

The carrier is increasing its long-haul schedule from London's Heathrow Airport to more than 70 percent of flights and its short-haul schedule to more than 55 percent of flights during the strike period. BA flew about 60 percent of its long-haul and 50 percent of its short-haul flights from Heathrow during the previous round of strike action that ended Friday.

BA is using so-called 'wet leases,' which come with pilots and crew, as well as booking customers onto other airlines to help ensure travellers get to their destinations.

BA and Unite have been in dispute for nearly 16 months over changes to working practices.

(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)