Union leaders have told British Airways cabin crew to “hold firm” against the airline’s attempts to cut their pay and change their contracts. In a message to BA’s 14,000 cabin crew, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), the union, said that this was was not the time to cut a deal.

“Hold firm and stay strong. We feel now the wind is behind us and before long everything BA have been plotting and scheming will be exposed as nothing more than an opportunistic and farcical scam,” the crew were told.

BA has been in talks since May over changes to the pay and conditions of cabin crew. It wants a two-year pay freeze, reduced holidays and cuts to the travel allowances for flying to long-haul destinations. BA also wants to cut 2,000 full-time equivalent jobs and it told temporary staff this week that their contracts would be terminated at the end of next month.

The airline is seeking drastic cuts because it has been hit badly by the recession. It lost £401 million last year and Willie Walsh, its chief executive, has warned that the company is “fighting for survival”.

However, BASSA told cabin crew that they should not bow to pressure to change their terms. It said: “The smash-and-grab raid on crews’ terms and conditions has backfired spectacularly.

"The business is turning around, the recession is in decline and all the devious plans hatched by the most unscrupulous management in a generation are unravelling with every day.”

Analysts have raised the prospect of industrial action if BA tries to force through its changes, which could have a devastating impact on the airline.

A spokesman for BA said: “The industry still faces extremely difficult trading conditions. We have reduced capacity for this winter by 5 per cent and have put in place a number of other cost-cutting initiatives to offset these challenges, but there are no signs of an immediate recovery from the global economic downturn.

"The International Air Transport Association has this week estimated total aviation industry losses for the year of $11 billion [£6.6 billion]. We are looking forward to making further progress in the more detailed talks [with the union].”

• Aeroflot, the Russian flag carrier, will cut 2,000 jobs in the next six months and might cut a further 4,000 if the slump in passenger numbers continues.

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