British Airways (BA) cancelled some 1,300 flights next week after a breakdown in talks with its largest union pointed to a threatened 48-hour strike by cabin crew going ahead.
BA Chief Executive Willie Walsh said the airline was "bitterly disappointed" the union had rejected a solution on pay "out of hand".
"It has chosen instead to confirm a 48-hour stoppage for next week that will wreck the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of customers," he said.
Flights will be disrupted on Tuesday, January 30th and Wednesday, January 31st.
BA said: "The airline remains committed to pursuit of a negotiated settlement before next Tuesday but wants customers to have early warning of its flying schedule."
The Transport and General Workers' Union (T&G) has threatened two further 72-hour strikes in February unless there is agreement on issues that include sick leave policy and pay.
The union said it was "dismayed and saddened" that BA "failed to hear the voice of common sense". It had cancelled the first day of the planned three-day strike on Wednesday as a "goodwill gesture".
The strikes would be the third major disruption to BA's passengers after last August's security scare over liquids in cabins and the wave of cancellations and lost luggage caused by fog at Heathrow before Christmas.