British Airways strikes gold for Gulf airlines

As you read this, a series of strikes by British Airways cabin crew will finally be drawing to a close. The disruption, which started in the middle of last month, has been a gift for Emirates, Etihad and all the other carriers looking for a greater slice of business out of Heathrow – the world's busiest international airport.

However, it appears that this may not be the end of the disruption for BA. Unite, the union that represents the airline's 12,000 cabin crew, is about to present the Gulf carriers with more good news as preparations are made for yet another strike ballot.

British Airways will put in place contingency plans to cope with further industrial action and will feel reasonably optimistic having run a surprisingly full schedule in recent weeks. But just because BA has been able to get 60 per cent to 80 per cent of its flights off the ground does not mean that the strikes have had limited impact.

The airline revealed last week that its passenger numbers during May were down nearly 400,000, or 14.2 per cent, to 2.3 million. Hundreds of thousands more passengers will have abandoned BA this month.

Anecdotal evidence from BA's rivals suggests that passengers have switched carriers to ensure that they are not caught up in the strike chaos. Virgin Atlantic is running load factors over 90 per cent this month and the Gulf carriers are also benefiting.

A chief executive of one of the Gulf's bigger airlines grinned when I asked last week what he thought of the BA strike. "Great isn't it!" he said.

- The author is business correspondent of The Times of London. The views expressed are his own

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