British Airways shares gain 4.5%

Shares of British Airways Plc, Europe’s second-biggest airline, gained as much as 4.5% after the carrier reached a pay accord with unions, averting a strike planned for the British holiday weekend starting Friday.

British Airways agreed on Saturday to pay a £1,000 bonus to 11,000 baggage handlers and check-in employees in return for a pledge of support from the unions for a new policy that targets £30 million in savings a year by cutting worker absentee rates.