Cathay Pacific's stand-off with its flight attendants intensified after the airline issued an internal memo saying it "welcomes the union's decision not to strike over Christmas and New Year".
The statement contradicted a decision reached on Monday by the Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union, which said a strike could start on New Year's Eve at the earliest.
A union representative criticised the note, saying staff were confused by the company's "unilateral" announcement.
Vice-chairman Julian Yau Chi-hung said: "We would like to reiterate the stance that we have not ruled out the possibility of staging any industrial action other than a strike, including a work-to-rule, before Christmas."
He added: "The statement has divided its staff and misled both the staff and the public."
A source close to the union said members might "speed up" industrial action in response to the memo, sent out on Tuesday.
The union said earlier that it recognised a strike would cause more inconvenience to passengers than a work-to-rule - doing only the minimum required of their contracts - or the provision of limited services.