British Airways Wants to Use Qatar's Planes During Strike

British Airways is planning to avert the effects of a planned crew strike by using Qatar Airways' planes and crew. 

According to a report in Reuters, the airline applied to Britain's Civil Aviation Authority to wet lease nine Qatar registered Airbus A320 or A321s during the strike, which is set for July 1-July 16. 

"The application has been made on the grounds that the lease is justified on the basis of exceptional needs ... to enable British Airways to continue passenger operations in light of planned operational disruption by its mixed fleet cabin crew," a Civil Aviation Authority document said.

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The deal could be a potential win for both Qatar and British Airways: 

Several of Qatar’s planes have been grounded as diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have been cut off. 

"Our priority is to fly all our customers to their destinations. We are looking at a range of options and are speaking with a number of airlines," said a spokeswoman for British Airways. 

The plan for the wet lease—something British Airways usually does with carriers that are based closer to home—makes sense for other reasons, as well. Qatar owns a 20 percent stake in British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group, and both are also members of the OneWorld alliance.

READ MORE: British Airways Facing Two-Week Strike 

Unite, the union that represents the striking crew members, sent a tweet urging the CAA to block British Airways’ plans. 

In a statement, Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said: “The [CAA] must refuse British Airways’ application to ‘wet lease’ aircraft from outside the European Union as it is doubtful the airline can demonstrate it is compliant with aviation law covering safety.”

“British Airways should be focusing its energies on resolving the dispute instead of seeking to lease aircraft from half way around the globe at an estimated cost of £5,000 per hour,” Richardson continued.

British Airways says that it will release its full contingency plans “in the coming days.” 

The strike is set to begin on July 1 at 12:01 a.m.