British Airways will hold last ditch talks with pilots to avoid strike action over a pay dispute.
The airline will meet with the British Airline Pilots' Association (Balpa) from 3pm on Wednesday to continue negotiations after the Court of Appeal refused to grant an injunction to block industrial action.
The union has to give two weeks' notice of any planned strike, meaning the earliest possible timing of a walkout in the event talks fail would be mid-August.
However, Balpa's general secretary Brian Strutton said he was hopeful that a strike could be avoided after BA agreed to resume negotiations.
Strutton said he was "very positive" going into the talks at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) and that the union will not be setting any strike dates.
BA said it would "pursue every avenue" to find a solution to avoid industrial action.
The legal action followed an announcement last week by Balpa that its members had backed industrial action by more than nine to one, on a turnout of 90%.
The airline went to the High Court in an attempt to halt the strikes, which it claims are designed to cause "the maximum in disruption" and could cost BA up to £40 million a day.
