British Airways on Thursday dismissed a proposal by a pilots union to avoid strike action next week as "unrealistic," leaving it little closer to resolving a dispute over pay with its pilots that could disrupt its services.

Earlier the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) had said that BA pilots could call off proposed strikes set for Sept. 9 and 10 if the airline agreed to come back to the negotiating table.

But British Airways said the new BALPA proposal would cost an additional £50 million and slammed the union's "new and unrealistic demands." No further talks between the sides are planned at the moment.