Go to BA if you want more pay, Branson tells staff

Sir Richard Branson has told Virgin Atlantic staff to quit the airline if they want more money, as cabin crew prepare to strike next month. The Virgin Atlantic founder warned in a letter to 4,800 cabin crew that "dangerous" pay demands would not be met and disgruntled workers should look elsewhere if they want a bigger wage packet.

The 48-hour strikes by staff on January 9 and January 16 will take place in the same month that workers at BAA, Britain's largest airport owner, also plan four days of industrial action. Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic, said: "For some of you, more pay than Virgin Atlantic can afford may be critical to your lifestyle and if that is the case you should consider working elsewhere."

Referring to the most likely destination for disgruntled Virgin Atlantic crew members, Branson admitted that arch-rival British Airways often offered a better basic salary but did not provide the benefits that came with working for a "smaller, more friendly" company.

A spokesman for the Unite union, which represents Virgin Atlantic cabin crew, said the letter was "insulting". He added: "That sort of language will only harden resolve." Cabin crew voted to strike after rejecting a 4.8% pay rise. Meanwhile, Unite and PCS union representatives will meet BAA's chief executive Stephen Nelson today in an attempt to break the deadlock in a pensions dispute that threatens to close seven of the UK's largest airports on January 7, 14, 17 and 18.