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London - British Airways said it would resume talks later on Friday with the union representing striking cabin crew in an attempt to avert a further 10 days of industrial action planned by staff over the coming weeks.
"We expect talks will resume today and hope that a peaceful resolution can be found," a BA spokesperson said.
Cabin attendants are in the final day of a five-day strike, protesting over reduced staffing levels and cuts to benefits. The stoppage follows seven days of walkouts in March, which cost BA £43m.
Unite, which represents the bulk of the airline's cabin crew, has threatened another 10 days of strikes if the dispute is not resolved.
A new five-day walkout is due to begin on Sunday, with a further five-day stoppage set to start on June 5.
The stoppages come at a difficult time for BA, which last week reported a second straight year of record losses and is battling a global economic downturn and industry-wide recession.
Ongoing industrial action, coupled with further disruption to flights in April caused by ash from an Icelandic volcano, could scupper BA's hopes of avoiding a third year of losses.
Unite said it would resume talks on Wednesday in a bid to end the dispute, which it claims could cost as much as £152m if the extra ten days of stoppages go ahead.
However, the loss-making carrier said that in the event of another 5-day strike next week, its longhaul schedule at London's Heathrow airport would be increased to more than 70% of flights, from 60% this week.
It aims to increase the shorthaul schedule at Heathrow to 55% of flights from 50% and operate a full schedule from London's Gatwick and City airports.
BA, which flies around 90 000 passengers a day, said about a quarter of its passengers would be affected by the strikes, but that they could claim a full refund, rebook or reroute their journey.
Previous negotiations in the long-running dispute have been acrimonious. The last round of talks ended on Wednesday with little sign of a breakthrough.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh and leaders of Unite blame each other for a breakdown in communication.
The issue of travel allowances for cabin crew has become a major sticking point in the conflict. Unite had offered to postpone the strikes if travel allowances for cabin crew are reinstated.
Shares in BA, which have risen 10% in the last week, were 0.9% up at 206 pence by 08:30 GMT, valuing the business at around £2.2bn.
- Reuters
