Strike-hit British Airways flying into turbulence

British Airways, which likes to call itself the world's favourite airline, flew into turbulence this week as pilots staged a costly and historic two-day strike, tarnishing its global reputation, analysts said on Wednesday.

Pilots walked out for the first time in the company's chequered 100-year history, sparked by a bitter and long-running feud -- which remains unresolved -- over pay.

Management at BA, which is owned by London-listed International Airlines Group (IAG), then faced the embarrassment of grounding its UK fleet on Monday and Tuesday with the cancellation of around 1,600 flights.

The move sparked travel chaos for about 200,000 passengers who had been due to fly in and out of London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports.

Yet BA's reputation will bounce back if it handles the industrial unrest in an effective way, according to Jane Bloomfield, who is head of business development at Kantar UK.

However if mishandled, the row could still spark more reputational damage for BA, which adopted "the world's favourite airline" as its tagline in a famous 1997 advertising campaign.

"It is absolutely possible for a brand to recover from such issues and events," Bloomfield told AFP.

"Timely and effective management of PR will be absolutely essential for BA.

"Mismanagement and poor communication may amplify the problem further and damage a brand well beyond the short term."
"The nature of our highly complex, global operation means that it will take some time to get back to a completely normal flight schedule."