The days are long, the sun is out (occasionally) and the RMT has declared a strike on London Underground later today — summer is here at last.

Transport chaos and the summer months go together like Pimm’s and lemonade and this year is shaping up to be a cracker. It appears that British Airways, too, is on a collision course with its employees and strike action is now a serious possibility.

The airline has already shed 2,500 jobs in the past year but wants to cut a further 2,000 of its 14,000 cabin crew.

The company has asked unions to accept a raft of changes to employees’ terms and conditions, including big cuts to the bonuses that staff get for flying to long-haul destinations and a two-day reduction in the number of holidays they get.

Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, has wanted to make these changes for years. And rightly so. But why initiate a confrontation now, just as the airline moves into its busiest months?

We have known for the past year that the airline sector is in trouble, which raises the question of why BA didn’t pick this showdown back in December or January, when far fewer people were travelling.

Not for the first time, the decision-makers in BA’s management also look unwieldy, inefficient and expensive.

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