LONDON (AP) British Airways has reached a deal with the union representing its cabin crew to settle a long-running labour dispute that culminated in a series of damaging strikes last year.BA said it was pleased that the threat of industrial action had been lifted following the agreement announced yesterday with the Unite union, which will now be voted on by the wider union membership that is largely a formality with union leaders recommending acceptance of the deal.“British Airways cabin crew are rightly renowned for their professionalism and skills,” the airline said in a statement after the agreement was detailed to around 700 union members in a meeting near Heathrow airport. “Our airline has a great future, and everyone within it intends to move forward together.”The comments were a marked shift in tone in a dispute that began 18 months ago over cost-cutting measures by the airline, including a pay freeze and a reduction in the number of cabin crew on long haul flights, and grew increasingly acrimonious.Unite was incensed when BA retaliated for strike action by withdrawing travel concessions from staff who took part in walkouts.The union spearheaded a total of 22 strike days last year, forcing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights and costing it around £150 million ($240 million).The airline successfully pursued court action twice, delaying further walkouts by forcing the union into reballoting members because it failed to correctly follow strict voting procedures.Under the new deal, the travel perks will be restored to workers from July and workers will receive pay rises over two years worth up to 7.5 percent. In return, the union has accepted the structural changes to cabin crew operations as permanent.“We have also agreed changes that will modernise our crew industrial relations and help ensure that this kind of dispute cannot occur again,” BA said.Unite, which agreed not to use a current legal mandate from workers for strike action, said it was happy the dispute had been settled by negotiation, but acknowledged that BA’s reputation and brand had been harmed.“We look forward to working with the company to repair the wounds and to make sure that BA has a strong reputation as an iconic British company, going from strength to strength,” said Unite general secretary Len McCluskey.The deal followed direct talks between McCluskey and BA Chief Keith Williams, who took over from Willie Walsh last year following the British flagship carrier’s merger with Spanish airline Iberia.Workers at yesterday’s meeting cheered when McCluskey pointed out that the cabin crew had outlasted Walsh, who moved on to head up the new parent group, International Airlines Group.