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British Airways battles on in historic pensions dispute

British Airways has said it will continue to fight its former employees battling to recoup money from the airline’s pensions fund, after the first of the cases to come to court has been judged in the employee’s favour.

A British Airways aircraft taxis past other parked British Airways aircraft at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in west London. British Airways appoints Go-Ahead's Nick Swift as chief financial officer
Captain Mike Post, a former trustee of the Airways Pension Scheme, says around 50 claimaints will pursue cases against BA in the “first wave” of pensions complaints Credit: Photo: AFP

BA was this week ordered to pay Ian Fullerlove, a retired captain at BA, £1,200 to settle his claim brought as part of a two-and-a-half year fight over payouts from company’s Airways Pensions Scheme (APS).

Captain Fullerlove is the first of around 50 claimants that Captain Mike Post, a former trustee of the APS, says will challenge BA in the small claims court in the “first wave” of complaints over the next three months.

But BA is now applying to have Captain Fullerlove’s claim set aside, and said it “will defend that claim alongside all other claims”.

A spokesman for BA said: “British Airways hasn’t settled any of the claims, and will continue to contest them all.”

The pensions dispute dates back to 2011, when BA switched the APS index-linked pension fund from the retail prices index (RPI) to the lower consumer prices index (CPI).

The change has typically left APS members worse off by about £1,000 a year. Losses are calculated by the annual difference between RPI and CPI increases in September each year.

Captain Post said: “We hope the RPI increases that BA promised in 1984 are honoured.”