BA and union meet again

The airline's Chief Executive Willie Walsh is meeting Tony Woodley, joint head of the Unite union, for a second day of talks after they were adjourned shortly before midnight.

Woodley said he was confident a deal could still be reached to settle the dispute. BA cabin crew are due to start a three-day strike Saturday over cost-cutting plans that would reduce staff on long-haul flights and freeze pay this year.

"It is a very, very important moment now," he told reporters in London. "The important thing is we're talking. I am confident that if there is genuine goodwill and both sides put the public first and put the long-term interests of this company first, we can get a settlement that can see the strike stopped.

The cabin crew are due to strike again from March 27 to March 30.

The airline wants to save 62.5 million pounds to help cope with a fall in demand, volatile fuel prices and increased competition from low-cost carriers.

In full-page newspaper advertisements Friday, Walsh said a "significant number" of cabin crew would work during the strike and the majority of BA staff did not support the action.

"Unite has made the wrong decision and misjudged the mood of our times," he wrote. "My door remains open to Unite."

The union has said cabin crew will call off the strike if the airline reinstates an offer which was withdrawn last week.

POLITICAL FALLOUT

The strike would be embarrassing for Gordon Brown and the Labour Party, trailing in the opinion polls.

Unite is Labour's largest financial backer and the party's strong union ties go back to its foundation in 1900. Unite's political director is Charlie Whelan, Brown's former spokesman.

Conservative leader David Cameron has accused Brown of failing to stand up to the union and compared the situation to the 1970s, which saw periods of industrial unrest under Labour.

"When the crunch comes, he can only act in the union interest, not in the national interest," Cameron said this week.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said the strike was "quite disproportionate" and he rejected suggestions the union had influenced the government's response.

"Given the government's very clear position on this dispute, anyone would be able to judge that Unite or anyone working for this union is not dictating our policy," he said.

BA hopes to fly at least 60 percent of customers booked for the March 20-22 period after it trained staff to provide cover.

(Editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)