Industry watchers said yesterday it was 'almost unimaginable' Cathay pilots would call a snap strike as their union ponders the next move in the battle with airline management.
Pilots voted on Tuesday to escalate the industrial action over pay and conditions, but are refusing to say how their tactics will differ from the go-slow and sick-outs used for more than a month.
Their options range from walking off the job en masse, to simply walking more slowly to the cockpit. But observers said a return to negotiations was the only way either side could succeed.
'I can't see that there are going to be any winners here because even if they get what they want, it's not really going to solve the problem - there's been such a lot of distrust and so much bad faith on both sides,' said Steve Miller, managing director of the consultancy Trinity Aviation.
'You can't beat somebody into submission in this kind of dispute.'
An industry source said: 'It's a no-win situation for both sides right now. At the end of the day, they have to talk, no matter what.'
If the pilots continue their approach, they could spend longer on pre-flight checks and cause delays to departures.
