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British Airways cabin crew are to stage a further six days of strikes in February in a dispute over pay, according to the union Unite.

The latest strikes will begin on Sunday 5 February.

BA cabin crew have so far staged two stoppages, resulting in the cancellation of flights.

Unite also criticised BA for spending money on chartering aircraft to cover for striking cabin crew rather than resolving the problem.

In a letter, sent to British Airways on Wednesday, Unite representatives urged BA to take a different route, saying: "Your reluctance to offer a reasonable pay deal to our members, yet spend what we believe is now reaching millions of pounds in trying to quash strike action, suggests money is available and this is a question of ideology."

The proposed strike will begin on 5 February and run until Saturday 11 February but will exclude Wednesday.

BA said in a statement: "We have flown all customers to their destinations during the previous strikes by Mixed Fleet Unite and we will ensure this happens again.

"We will publish more details on Tuesday [31 January] once we have finalised our contingency plans in relation to the strikes called for 5-7 February. On Thursday we will publish more details in relation to the second strike period, 9-11 February.

"Our pay offer for mixed fleet crew is consistent with deals agreed with Unite for other British Airways colleagues. It also reflects pay awards given by other companies in the UK and will ensure that rewards for mixed fleet remain in line with those for cabin crew at our airline competitors."