The chief executive of British Airways, Willie Walsh, has just recently sent a very defiant message to all of his striking cabin crew. This message is that he is not going to back down from the Unite union. He is prepared to fight them for as long as long as it takes to win the battle.

While speaking at the International Air Transport Association annual summit in Berlin, Mr Walsh gave his clearest signal yet that he is not going to back down to the union. He wants to crush the union’s stranglehold on the struggling airline.

Mr Walsh said that he does not think that they have ever been brave enough in the past to stand up to the union and just say no. However, they are going to hold out for as long as it takes, and they will continue to build up the amount of flights that they are running.

The airline just recently announced that it has racked up a loss of about £531 million in the year to March 31. Mr Walsh said that it’s not about travel right now, that is not the issue at the heart of the dispute. This is about ensuring British Airways has a cost base that is on an equal footing with its competitors. This is an industry that needs to change. This cannot be ignored any longer.

The airline did note that it is losing about £7 million a day from the walkouts. Just yesterday, the airline suffered its 21 day of strike action. The latest five day strike ends as of today, but British Airways says that a record number of cabin crew members are already returning to work.