Reports show that the union has reacted angrily to British Airways’ move to train its ground staff as cabin crew. This move by British Airways came out as the talks between the airline and Unite bosses broke down without any resolution to the ongoing dispute over contracts.

The Unite union has announced that it will re-ballot its members on Monday, January 25^th on whether to strike or not. This makes the threat of an Easter walkout still very possible. British Airways had just recently said that they were saddened but not surprised at the decision to hold another ballot.

British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh has written to all the airline’s 38,000 staff, offering them the opportunity to become volunteer cabin crew members. He said that he is asking for volunteers to back British Airways by training to work alongside cabin crew members who chose not to support a strike. He said that they are ready to keep their customers flying if the strike gets the go ahead.

It is the hope of British Airways that the staff can be trained and certified by the beginning of March. A spokeswoman for the Civil Aviation Authority said that British Airways staff would be allowed to work as cabin crew if they were tutored by accredited trainers.

Walsh’s request has reminded of last year’s appeal to staff to help save the airline when he asked staff to give up a month’s salary. It is also the latest attempt to stave off a strike, which would be disastrous for the airline. The airline is already on course to lose £1 billion this year.

In a ballot just last month, cabin crew members voted 92 percent in favor of a strike. However, British Airways contested the decision in the High court, and the strike was subsequently ruled illegal as the union had counted votes from staff who had left the airline or who had accepted voluntary redundancies.