The leader of the giant Transport and General Workers' Union will report back to British Airways cabin crew representatives on Friday after holding last-ditch talks with the airline's chief executive to try to avert a crippling two-day strike.
Tony Woodley, general secretary of the TGWU, held a private one-to-one meeting with Willie Walsh which lasted well into the evening on Thursday in a bid to break a bitter deadlocked row over sickness absence, pay and staffing.
He will report any progress to branch officials on Friday but time was running out for the strike to be prevented.
BA has already cancelled all passenger flights out of Heathrow Airport for the duration of the strike next Tuesday and Wednesday and has also grounded domestic and European flights to and from Gatwick.
There will also be disruption to services either side of the strike, which could be followed by two three-day walkouts from February 5 and February 12 unless there is a deal.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers will suffer travel chaos because of BA's decision to cancel so many flights and the airline was facing multi-million pound losses.
Mr Walsh said BA's customers were "innocent victims" of the strike which he maintained was "unnecessary and unjustified".
The airline said it had to announce contingency plans so that customers could make other arrangements such as switching to rival airlines or other forms of travel.
BA insisted it was not too late for the union to call off the strike and said it would do all it could to reinstate as many of the cancelled flights as possible if there is a sudden agreement.
