Beleaguered aviation major British Airways is taking severe steps in order to prune its operating costs.
   
On one hand, British Airways has been asking its 40,000 workers to reach an agreement on a drastic package of cost-cutting measures and on the other it is considering over shuttering down its OpenSkies ancillary, which operates flights from Amsterdam & Paris to the US.

British Airways' current move of closing OpenSkies ancillary proves the continuing drop in business passengers on transatlantic routes.

It will be worth mentioning here that only last year British Airways acquired a French airline, L'Avion, for £54m as part of plans to increase flights between France and America. 

Open Skies is a treaty EU operators and U.S. that allowed EU operators to fly to the US from any European country.

Speaking on the issue, an airline spokesman said, "BA, along with all airlines, is facing the toughest trading environment ever. We are asking all staff to play a part. Part-time working and unpaid leave are designed to reduce costs."

It was informed that Pilots' union Balpa has suggested a 2.61 % cut in pilots' basic pay from Oct. and a 20 % cutback in supplementary money they are paid while flying.