:00:17. > :00:19.More trouble on the radar for BA as cabin crew prepare to strike,
:00:20. > :00:22.just weeks after an IT crash that stranded thousands.
:00:23. > :00:27.Are cost cuts taking their toll on the airline's image?
:00:28. > :00:30.Plus, from the sick man of Asia to one of the region's
:00:31. > :00:33.We report from the Philippines, 20 years on from
:00:34. > :00:47.We start with more problems for British Airways.
:00:48. > :00:49.Thousands of passengers are learning that their flights have been
:00:50. > :00:53.cancelled because of an unprecedented 16-day strike
:00:54. > :00:55.by some cabin crew, which begins tomorrow,
:00:56. > :01:00.On Thursday, BA said most flights will operate as normal but it has
:01:01. > :01:03.cancelled a number of long-haul departures to and from Heathrow.
:01:04. > :01:06.Short-haul and flights from other UK airports are unaffected.
:01:07. > :01:14.The Unite union says cabin crew who have taken industrial action
:01:15. > :01:17.over pay in the past have been blacklisted -
:01:18. > :01:24.losing benefits like staff travel, concessions and bonuses.
:01:25. > :01:27.BA estimates around 8% of its total cabin crew will walk out -
:01:28. > :01:32.To limit the damage, the airline is merging some
:01:33. > :01:36.It is also talking to other carriers such as Qatar Airways,
:01:37. > :01:41.which owns one-fifth of its parent IAG, about using their services.
:01:42. > :01:45.Well, upsetting its customers again is the last thing BA needs
:01:46. > :01:50.after a major IT crash last month stranded 75,000 passengers.
:01:51. > :01:53.The financial cost, some $100 million, but the cost to BA's
:01:54. > :02:02.The BBC's Richard Westcott spoke to BA boss Alex Cruz at the time.
:02:03. > :02:06.He suggested that since Mr Cruz took over just over a year ago,
:02:07. > :02:08.BA has had an image problem because of cost cutting -
:02:09. > :02:15.even down to charging for sandwiches on short-haul flights.
:02:16. > :02:24.There has definitely been a reaction from the buying on-board for example
:02:25. > :02:29.and certainly this event over the last two days have affected the
:02:30. > :02:32.image at we have also committed to over 400 million pounds of
:02:33. > :02:36.investment around the product and beyond and we are going to continue
:02:37. > :02:39.investing in BA, BA is a great airline and has always been a great
:02:40. > :02:43.airline and we are committed to making it an absolutely fantastic
:02:44. > :02:48.airline. Under quite a bit of pressure. Have you considered
:02:49. > :02:52.resigning? I do think it would make much of it is for me to resign at
:02:53. > :02:56.this particular point in time. I am working closely with my team to make
:02:57. > :03:00.sure, again, that we work on the rest of the disrupted passengers to
:03:01. > :03:04.make sure that we address all of their needs. That was Alex Cruz, the
:03:05. > :03:05.boss of BA. John Strickland is an aviation
:03:06. > :03:14.and airlines expert Thank you for coming in. British
:03:15. > :03:19.Airways does seem to be having an image problem. It was seen as one of
:03:20. > :03:23.the traditional carriers, a step above the budget airlines. Now all
:03:24. > :03:27.we seem to hear in the headlines and stories of cost-cutting and the
:03:28. > :03:31.consequences. Putting in a business context, they are very profitable as
:03:32. > :03:35.part of their parent group IAG and if they didn't satisfy customer
:03:36. > :03:40.needs to attract business in a competitive market they wouldn't be
:03:41. > :03:43.that strong. They have had to take on challenges because we as
:03:44. > :03:48.customers are looking more and more for good prices in our travels, also
:03:49. > :03:52.BA has to compete against low-cost carriers and equally have to compete
:03:53. > :03:58.at the top end of the market with premium customer brands like the
:03:59. > :04:03.airways and Emirates. They have to invest in the premium product if it
:04:04. > :04:10.means we get lower prices at the bottom end by competitors, and we go
:04:11. > :04:14.to the competitors if BA doesn't offer them, they have to make sure
:04:15. > :04:18.they do the same thing and they have to look at their cost efficiencies
:04:19. > :04:22.they can do that without losing money. This strike starts tomorrow,
:04:23. > :04:30.16 day strike. What is it about? As we heard, there was a strike or a
:04:31. > :04:35.series of strikes earlier in the year about pay and BA's mixed fleet,
:04:36. > :04:39.they said that a few years ago to deal with issues to make it more
:04:40. > :04:43.efficient in terms of cost levels for cabin crew and productivity and
:04:44. > :04:49.the union in fact agreed with the airline about his art as we heard,
:04:50. > :04:53.BA said to those who went on strike we will take away your privileges,
:04:54. > :04:59.that his travel concessions or bonuses which the management could
:05:00. > :05:03.not justify those who went on strike and the vast majority of crew
:05:04. > :05:07.including those in this particular fleet did not strike said the union
:05:08. > :05:12.is now taking BA to task about the issue, looking to take legal action
:05:13. > :05:16.if they will strike over the next fortnight. How far it is supported
:05:17. > :05:23.is difficult to tell what it isn't about pay. What about Alex Cruz? He
:05:24. > :05:27.was speaking after the OT meltdown a few weeks ago, 75,000 passengers
:05:28. > :05:34.affected. He was saying it didn't feel it will be a benefit for him to
:05:35. > :05:38.leave. --I T. Three weeks later, another headline grabbing story.
:05:39. > :05:43.What is the industry's view? The financial community look at BA as
:05:44. > :05:49.part of the group IAG and financially, if successful in that
:05:50. > :05:53.respect. The book to the management of the company to steer it in a
:05:54. > :05:58.tough and competitive market to make sure that it is continuing to
:05:59. > :06:01.deliver profit. He has the challenge of delivering the bottom line but
:06:02. > :06:05.without the bottomline of course there is no future for the airline.
:06:06. > :06:09.Others are ready to take their lunch or dinner or whatever, local
:06:10. > :06:13.carriers or remember at the other end of the markets are you still
:06:14. > :06:18.have to with that. He is someone who has a good reputation, having
:06:19. > :06:22.managed other low-cost airlines but other local airlines as well such as
:06:23. > :06:26.American airlines. We have to wait and see what the outcome is of a
:06:27. > :06:30.report which they had instigated into the eye teeth out there which I
:06:31. > :06:43.believe they need to show that publicly. -- IT. They need to get
:06:44. > :06:45.into the black ink rather than the red ink. Thank you for your time.
:06:46. > :06:48.As we have been reporting all week, it's been 20 years since
:06:49. > :06:51.the financial crisis that swept through east Asia and wreaked havoc
:06:52. > :06:55.For the last in our series, we are in the Philippines.
:06:56. > :06:59.When the crisis hit in 1997, in economic terms it was widely seen
:07:00. > :07:04.But, as Rico Hizon reports from his home city of Manila,
:07:05. > :07:06.the Philippines is now one of the fastest growing economies
:07:07. > :07:20.Manila. The capital city of one of the most dynamic economies in South
:07:21. > :07:24.East Asia. With the Asian financial crisis devastated the region, the
:07:25. > :07:30.Philippines managed to pull through better than its neighbours, so how
:07:31. > :07:36.did that happen? One of the crucial factors was its economy. Every day,
:07:37. > :07:41.hundreds if not thousands of people queue up here to try to get their
:07:42. > :07:44.permits to work overseas. The money they send back helps to drive
:07:45. > :07:52.consumption and keep the economy buoyant. 20 years ago, remittances
:07:53. > :07:59.made up 6- 8% of GDP. That is nearly doubled in 2005. Today, it still
:08:00. > :08:04.worth 10% of the national income. What other factors helped the
:08:05. > :08:09.Philippines ride out the crisis and recover quicker than everyone else?
:08:10. > :08:13.We were late in the game in the property sector is that we didn't
:08:14. > :08:19.have a property bubble just yet at that time. Compare to Thailand and
:08:20. > :08:25.Indonesia, you know, they had a property bubble which was financed
:08:26. > :08:30.by debt. And at the same time learning... It was a tough time for
:08:31. > :08:33.many. In 1997, this man watched his empire all but collapsed. His
:08:34. > :08:38.building technology company was wiped out and he spent years
:08:39. > :08:43.painstakingly rehabilitating the luxury car dealership he began from
:08:44. > :08:49.scratch. It came as a total surprise. We didn't know where it
:08:50. > :08:53.came from, we had no idea of how it was going to affect us. And then we
:08:54. > :08:59.just realised that it was in a financial holocaust, a nightmare,
:09:00. > :09:04.every day being so fearful of what is new problems will arise. And it
:09:05. > :09:11.was like eating broken glass for breakfast every day. For a living
:09:12. > :09:17.years. What do you think, guys? But the Philippines is looking forward,
:09:18. > :09:21.not back. Anna is a nurse and she is typical of the new generation. In
:09:22. > :09:26.her early 20s, she is the average age of the population. Like so many
:09:27. > :09:33.Filipinos, she sees her future abroad. She is preparing to move to
:09:34. > :09:39.London. Hopefully he and the Philippines, I don't get paid as
:09:40. > :09:47.much as I work for the job. I work around 48 hours per week and get
:09:48. > :09:51.only as much as 356 pesos. Expanding Philippine economy has its
:09:52. > :09:54.challenges. A slowdown in remittances, the need to improve
:09:55. > :10:02.infrastructure, and tackling the poverty gap. Still, and is excited
:10:03. > :10:09.and optimistic about the future and so too is the Philippines.
:10:10. > :10:14.But have a quick look at what the markets have been up to. They have
:10:15. > :10:18.been trading down following what was happening on Wall Street in Europe,
:10:19. > :10:22.Ben McKay and the Hang Seng are down and the story is in the currencies.
:10:23. > :10:25.A weakening of the dollar as it looks like more central banks are
:10:26. > :10:30.going to start tightening monetary policy and the dollar will be losing
:10:31. > :10:34.some of its appeal. Both the euro and the Stirling are up against the
:10:35. > :10:36.dollar. More on that throughout the morning.
:10:37. > :10:46.Don't forget, you can get in touch with me and some of the team
:10:47. > :10:49.Nurseries in England say local councils are failing to provide
:10:50. > :10:52.enough money to fund more free child care for 3-
:10:53. > :10:56.From September, children will be eligible for 30 hours free nursery