British Airways pilots have agreed to a pay deal with the airline. The news means that the pay dispute has been resolved, and with it, the threat of strike action discontinued.

Thousands were inconvenienced in September when pilots walked out of their jobs for 48 hours. The strikes cancelled all bar one British Airways operated flight across the two days. The strikes came about after a disagreement over a three-year pay deal offered to the pilots by the airline. Across the three years, pilots would've received a total raise of 11.5%. However, in order to voice their negative views on the deal, the pilots voted to strike.

New deal accepted

After a fairly tense few months between British Airways' pilots and management, it seems as though things have finally been resolved. BALPA, the British Airline Pilot Association said in a press release:

A ballot of British Airways pilots closed today following the dispute over pay and terms and conditions. Members of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) employed by BA voted nearly 9 to 1 to accept the final agreement which was proposed by ACAS and recommended by BALPA and its BA reps.

Meanwhile, A British Airways spokesperson told Simple Flying:

We welcome this news, which is a good result for our customers, our people, and our business.

The threat of strikes over

The threat of strikes by British Airways is now over following the agreement between BALPA pilots and the airline. Under the terms of the vote by BALPA members, British Airways pilots would have been able to strike until the end of the year, as long as they gave 14 days notice.

The strikes had a fair impact for British Airways' owner IAG, who estimated that the two days of cancelled flights attached a cost of €137 million, or around £115 million. During the two days of strike action, only one passenger flight was operated out of London Heathrow by a British Airways crew and aircraft. This was a flight to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.

British Airways also operated an empty Boeing 747 flight to Cardiff for planned maintenance. Meanwhile, the airline's wet-leased flights continued as the pilots operating them were not related to the British flag carrier.

During the strike, British Airways was required to book passengers with other airlines or reschedule them. Most passengers were also due compensation, adding to the costs. However, the airline had to cancel many flights upfront as BALPA did not disclose which portion of pilots would show up for work.

Are you happy that the pay dispute has finally been resolved? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!