Crew strike may affect BA service

Crew strike may affect BA service

HONG KONG (Reuter): British Airways service to Asia, including Jakarta, Beijing, Osaka and Nagoya in Japan and Kuala Lumpur, will be affected by a cabin crew strike starting today, BA's Hong Kong cargo manager Chris Chan said.

But BA passenger and cargo flights between London and Hong Kong will be unaffected by the 72-hour cabin crew strike, Chan added.

"The strike will not affect Hong Kong at all. Passenger flights will operate as normal during the whole period as will the freighters and our trucking operation. Courier and mail business will also operate as usual. There is no problem here and we have been able to reassure our customers," Chan said.

Hong Kong has escaped because it is a high yield route and non-union cabin staff are crewing the 15 Boeing 747-400 passenger flights per week, Chan added.

Wet-lease cargo operator Atlas Air operates three Boeing 747- 200 freighters a week between Hong Kong and London Stansted for British Airways World Cargo. That operation is also unaffected, Chan said.

Wet-leasing covers the hire of aircraft and crew and usually includes insurance and maintenance.