British Airways (BA), a subsidiary of International Consolidated Airlines Group (LON:ICAG), is on the brink of finalizing a long-term pay agreement with the British Airline Pilots' Association (BALPA), according to reports from Sky News on Thursday. The deal is expected to prevent potential strikes until 2027, a significant step for the airline amid the COVID-19 travel downturn.
Under the guidance of Corporate Affairs Director Lisa Tremble, BA has managed to negotiate a preliminary agreement with its pilots' union. The agreement comes after the airline reversed pandemic-related decisions to dismiss and rehire all cockpit crew members and rescind pay cuts. As part of this proposed deal, BA has introduced changes to pay and working conditions.
The agreement includes staggered pay rises for BA pilots and a one-off payment set for November. The proposed deal promises a 13.1% pay rise over an 18-month period. Alongside these changes, the agreement also introduces a new reward scheme based on BA's operating profit performance. This could potentially lead to substantial bonuses for pilots, a detail that was not mentioned in earlier summaries.
The British Airline Pilots' Association and 24,000 other staff members are expected to vote on this agreement. The proposed deal comes as BA's North Atlantic routes from London Heathrow airport (LHR) have led to better-than-expected earnings for parent company IAG SA. The company anticipates reaching 97% of pre-COVID capacity by year-end.
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