Two a penny

.Europe’s major airports are in the grip of strikes, with at least one more staff walkout now threatening services.
French air traffic controllers are threatening to strike for four days from today.
From today, strikes by air traffic controllers in France are set to affect services all over the country.
In the UK, British Airlines cabin crew have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, and Germany’s Lufthansa is now negotiating with pilots over a strike which affected tens of thousands of passengers.
Five unions are taking part. Civil aviation authorities will ask airlines to cancel some flights at Paris’ two main airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle.
The union’s Len McCluskey says work conditions are also a major concern for unionised British Airways cabin crews, who have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike. They are worried about how Europe’s single sky policy will affect their jobs.
In the face of big losses, British Airways this year cut cabin crew numbers on long haul flights and brought in a two year pay freeze.
“A clear indication of the deep sense of grievance that our members feel,” he said.
“These are people who fly together, these are people who put each other’s health and safety in each other’s hands, and to try to pit one against the other which the company has done and I have to say some pilots, not all, but a number of pilots have behaved in a way that I think when they look back on this in time to come when we have resolved this dispute, they’ll be rather ashamed,” he said.
Mr McCluskey says the airline is threatening to take away staff travel perks if they strike, and bringing in strike breakers to pit workers against each other.
“We are not talking about the death knell for the airline, but we are talking about a situation in which the airline will be severely damaged and long term damaged, and it would lose out to its competitors,” he said.
However, analyst Howard Wheeldon, of BGC Partners, says British Airways has nothing left to give, and the striking crew will price themselves out of a job. The company has just agreed to head back into talks with pilots, after a strike of less than 24 hours.
Mr Wheeldon says German airline Lufthansa is in a similar position. They don’t trust us anymore.
Lufthansa spokesperson Klaus Walter says the airline has already been damaged
“We have passengers that are now cancelling their flights even if they have tickets for a later date and they could fly.
The pilots’ union was planning a four day walkout, which Lufthansa says would have cost it 100 million euros. .
“I just came back from Afghanistan and want to go to my family in the United States.
The shorter strike was enough to disrupt the trips of 10,000 passengers.
Lufthansa’s 4,000 pilot strike has only been suspended for two weeks, putting extra pressure on talks. It is difficult,” said one affected traveller in Dusseldorf.

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