By JANE WARDELL, AP Business Writer Jane Wardell, Ap Business Writer

–
25 mins ago

LONDON – British Airways sought a court injunction Tuesday to prevent a 12-day strike by cabin crew that would cause havoc for one million travelers over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

British Airways PLC said it was seeking to stop the planned walkout on the grounds that the Unite union ballot of some 13,000 members contained “irregularities,” including votes from people no longer employed by the airline.

The carrier said that was a “clear breach” of trade union and labor laws, rendering the strike vote invalid.

The case will be heard in the High Court “as quickly as possible,” the company said.

“We are absolutely determined to do whatever we can to protect our customers from this appalling, unjustified decision from Unite,” BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said in a statement. “We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined.”

The planned strike, from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2, follows a dispute with cabin crew over job losses and changes in work practices. BA plans to cut 1,700 jobs, freeze pay for current staff and offer lower wages for new employees.

BA has said sweeping changes are necessary to cut costs after the airline was hit by a downturn in passenger demand due to the global economic crisis. It posted a net loss of 208 million pounds ($346 million) for the six months ending in September, its first-ever loss in the period, as revenue fell 13.7 percent.

Analysts estimate the strike will hurt company profits even more, costing the airline up to 30 million pounds ($49 million) each day during a time when it normally operates 650 flights and carries 90,000 passengers a day.

BA said it had sent three letters to Unite since last Friday “highlighting irregularities” in the ballot and had given the union Tuesday deadline to call off the action, but had received no reply.

Unite announced Monday that cabin crew had voted nine to one in favor of the strike in a ballot with 80 percent turnout.

Walsh added the airline remained open to resuming talks with the union “without any preconditions.”

BA also revealed on Monday that its pension deficit has risen to 3.7 billion pounds, from 2.1 billion pounds in 2006, and said it would talk with employees about a recovery plan.

The union says the work changes, introduced in mid-November, have prevented members from doing their jobs properly and were imposed in breach of contract.

Cabin crews agreed last month to fly with reduced staffing after failing to win a court injunction banning the changes until a High Court decision on the dispute is due Feb. 1.

If cabin crews do go on strike, it will be the first since three days of strikes in 1997.