He ordered 26 BA planes at different long-haul destinations to be flown to their London bases, Heathrow and Gatwick.

ECONOMIST: The effect on business and leisure

And that would be cho-beri-ba (very bad) for the ko-gyaru.

CNN: A SOCK TO THE SYSTEM

Some parts of BA - mainly subsidiaries and franchise partners - will not be hit by the strike.

BBC: BA aircraft on the ground at Heathrow Airport

BA-AA deal has been put in the freezer by regulators, it should be easier to have a straight negotiation on open skies.

ECONOMIST: Open the skies

But what really worries BA, and other business-oriented airlines, is that the cyclical downturn may be coinciding with a structural decline in business travel because of advances in information technology.

ECONOMIST: Is it all over for the business trip?

There will be daily flights from Heathrow to all short-haul destinations, BA said, but did not give any numbers.

BBC: British Airways strike dates announced

But BA's Continental rivals are no longer the bloated, state-owned giants, they used to be.

BBC: News | The Company File | BA faces stiff competition

"We don't think it would be financially viable to build another runway at Stansted without cross-subsidy, " a BA spokesman told Reuters.

CNN: UK's Stansted expansion challenged