statement . `` Passengers who turn up expecting to fly BA , a brand they trust and have paid a premium for , will now be shipped onto carriers they 've never heard of . '' British Airways and Unite have been at odds for more than a year over changes the airline wants to make to cabin crew pay and work practices . BA says the changes will save the company more than 60 million pounds -LRB- $ 90 million -RRB- a year . Unite has said the plans , which call for longer work hours and less staffing , will damage customer service and the BA brand . At least 51 British Airways flights leaving Heathrow Sunday were listed as canceled on the airport 's Web site , and at least 79 arrivals were listed as canceled , as of 10:30 local time -LRB- 5:30 a.m. ET -RRB- . Destinations in the UK , United States , Europe , Africa and the Middle East were directly affected by the cancellation of BA flights . And other airlines such as American Airlines , Cathay Pacific and Iberia were showing flight cancellations because of code-sharing . The union claimed half
London , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- British Airways was able to get three out of four planes to their destination this weekend despite the ongoing strike by cabin crew , the airline 's CEO , Willie Walsh , said Sunday . Walsh told CNN he was `` clearly disappointed for customers who have had disrupted travel plans but I 'm really pleased that we have been able to do so much and we are determined to keep this going . `` We have had high numbers of cabin crew turning up for work . We would n't have been able to fly such a significant operation if we did n't have cabin crew supporting us , '' he said . But the assistant general secretary of the Unite union , which represents the cabin crew , said BA was losing money and shifting customers onto other airlines in a `` con trick . '' Are you worried about the strike ? `` BA is claiming that it can function but it is doing so by throwing away millions of pounds every day as it dumps its passengers on other carriers , '' Unite 's Len McClusky said in a