UPDATE 1-BA open to union talks, plans for 2nd strike

* BA expands flight schedules for the second strike period

* BA to run full operation at London Gatwick airport

* Shares in BA close 2.7 pct up

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LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - British Airways BAY.L is open to holding further talks with the Unite union to avert a second wave of strikes by its cabin crew but has made plans to cope with a fresh walkout this weekend, it said on Tuesday.

"BA is available to hold further talks with Unite, but wants customers to have advance notice of its flying schedule to remove uncertainty and allow sufficient time for alternative travel arrangements to be made," BA said in a statement.

Cabin crew returned to work on Tuesday after a three-day stoppage the airline said had cost it an estimated 7 million pounds ($10.5 million) a day, but which had not broadly affected its profits outlook. [ID:nLDE62L22U]

Unions plan a second, four-day stoppage from Saturday, grounding flights before the busy Easter holiday period, in a dispute that centres on cost-cutting plans and staffing levels. BA said it had expanded its flight schedules for the second strike period because of an "increased number of cabin crew wishing to work as normal."

The British carrier said it would run a full operation using its own aircraft at London's Gatwick airport for the second strike period and that all flights to and from London City airport would remain unaffected.

At London's Heathrow airport the airline said it hoped to run about 55 percent of its planned shorthaul flights and 70 percent of longhaul flights.

The airline will supplement its shorthaul schedule by leasing up to 11 aircraft with pilots and crews each day from six different airlines based in the UK and Europe, it said.

BA's shares closed 2.7 percent up on Tuesday at 247.6 pence, valuing the business at around 2.8 billion pounds.

(Reporting by Rhys Jones; editing by Paul Sandle)

($1=.6672 Pound)