The union representing British Airways’ (BA) cabin-crews could have its scone and eat it too, as it perpetually pursues the threat of a strike rather than just walking off the job. News reports indicated that Unite, the union representing BA’s cabin crews, would announce the dates of a rolling strike Feb. 25, but instead the union said it would continue talks with the airline.

Cabin-crew members voted for a strike Feb. 22, but in this case the union might be able to very gently tighten the screws without throwing punches. After all, uncertainty alone has to be hurting British Airways, with some passengers choosing to fly on alternate airlines until the strike talks are resolved. Successful negotiations would also mean the airline doesn’t have to roll-out potentially-embarrassing plan B—cross-training workers to replace experienced cabin crew.

We can only imagine that this is an empty threat, and one that has cabin-crew members scratching their heads and wondering who would volunteer for their jobs—baggage handlers? Office employees? Executive leadership? And is seven days, the required time between strike notice and industrial action, enough time to train on safety procedures, mediations regarding overhead bin space and the myriad of other issues the cabin crews handle each flight?

While the results might be reality-TV worthy, it’s not a scenario most travelers would welcome.