Bags to Riches for BA's Strike Busters

BA plan to beat a threatened strike by training baggage handlers to be cabin crew.

British Airways plan to beat a threatened strike by ­training baggage handlers to be cabin crew.And the hefty handlers love the idea for ­hundreds have already signed up to ­become “trolley dollies”.

One said: “You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to work out that it’ll be more fun flying around the world than working ­in the bowels of Heathrow Airport.”

But angry cabin crew, who will vote on strike action over job cuts on February 22, ­described the move as “the final straw”.

One said: “People flying on BA expect a bit of glamour – and that includes some attractive young ladies in the cabin crew.

“What is it going to do for the image of the airline to have some hairy bloke squeezing into a cabin crew uniform.

“Imagine if you had paid thousands for a first-class ticket and you had someone who’d only been in the job a couple of weeks slopping wine into your lap.”

The Unite union is in an embarrassing position for it represents both the ­handlers and BA’s 12,500 cabin crew.

The handlers start their training at ­several secret locations tomorrow. BA ­refused to comment on the incentives ­being offered for them to swap jobs.

With stop-over perks, cabin crew make around £29,900 while handlers typically earn about £11,000.