BA Strike [Merged]

[Simster]

15 to 14, in line with most other carriers I believe.

Quite where this idea that cabin crew only get to fill empty seats comes from is a mystery, I know plenty of people, connected with BA who have travelled on BA peak season dates (eg xmas to Cape Town for example) at very low rates. The whole family, whether they work for BA or not can also travel at low rates also and on guaranteed seats not standby.

My sister in law worked at BA for two decades - I think she was given something like 4 transferable FREE seats a year, plus any number of heavily discounted seats.

And you can also throw in the fact that BA staff often get the upgrades to club class too (sometimes even first class), as long as they are dressed appropriately.

These perks are a massive loss. I BET Irvine offers an amnesty to the strikers next week. i.e. promise to return to work immediately and these these perks will be restored. Then we'll see what happens to the principals of the cabin crew!

 

[NS Herald]

Whatn most people forget is thaty staff travel at BA is not free and is 100% profit. If Willie Wlash wanted to use staff travel and a full fare paying passenger wanted the seat the paying passenger would get it. Mt brother has just been to Thialand with his wife on his 'freebie' which cost £275 with fuel taxes etc, cheap yes but not free. That £275 is all profit to BA except for any meals that they may have had, which would have been disposed of at the end of the journey if not eaten so again no cost to BA. What hasnt been said by Willie Walsh is that yes they are flying 80% more planes than expected but most are empty and are being flown with just cargo. There are 2 sides to every argument and Willie Walsh has cost BA an absolute fortune since he has been chairman with fines etc.

BG check your facts - what about APD and other departure taxes and security charges - BA and other airlines do not make money from staff travel. It is a major perk full stop

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I personally hope the workers win as Walsh is a idiot and a poor business man in my mind. But, at the end of day it's just a dispute between a run-of-the-mill airline (it ceased being anything special years ago) and its employers. Let them battle it out. To a degree it is not our business. It's not like it is an essential public utility impacting us all. If you have a flight booked with them you'll get your money back and there are plenty of other airlines providing the same service, or a better one.

and if you want a recommendation Virgin are much better and much more fun.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I personally hope the workers win as Walsh is a idiot and a poor business man in my mind. But, at the end of day it's just a dispute between a run-of-the-mill airline (it ceased being anything special years ago) and its employers. Let them battle it out. To a degree it is not our business. It's not like it is an essential public utility impacting us all. If you have a flight booked with them you'll get your money back and there are plenty of other airlines providing the same service, or a better one.

and if you want a recommendation Virgin are much better and much more fun.

 

[Icy Gull]

BG check your facts - what about APD and other departure taxes and security charges - BA and other airlines do not make money from staff travel. It is a major perk full stop

Airport taxes on a BA flight to Bangkok are a total of £225 so BG's brother paid BA the grand sum £50 for his return ticket.

 

[BensGrandad]

I am told that 1 year during the 80s BA made £4m profit from staff travel but that figures have not been released about this profit since then. I am only quoting as told to me by my brother who works for BA and I said about the 'perks' and he mentioned about the fact that they make a huge profit out of staff travel so will not discontinue it completely. I dont know I may be wrong as he may have mislead me.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I think there is always 2 sides to any dispute and I think that the Cabin Crew are getting some bad press as the Willy Walsh Spin is working. BA stated that most planes were flying, that was not true, if you see the airshot of Heathrow over the past few days, it was covered with BA planes all over the place. Also it is not all about money, the long hall crew have been cut by quite a bit, which means that they do not get a break on board, that could effect safety. Some Air Crew earn more that other companies, some dont , but I am sure that some people in all proffesions get more, I know that happens in my industry, that is a fact of life.

Also the biggest pain for the stopping of cheap flights is more for the crew to get to work, a lot of air crew live all over the country and will have to pay full price on flights just to get to work ?, which is not fair in my book. Also yes they do get cheap flights but only to fill up empty seats, so it does not cost BA much to do that.

As far as reducing numbers on long haul, Gatwick Crews have already accepted this (15 to 14) which now brings them on a par with Air France, KLM and American Airlines etc for Transatlantic Flights.

It does NOT affect their beaks (or indeed safety)

 

[bhaexpress]

Oh those were happy days. I would do my night shift in ops and then pop over to Frankfurt - collect a few cases and then back on the return flight. The look of people as you came thorugh arrivals in the South Terminal as you had no luggage and just a trolley piled up with cases of beer was priceless

You do have a point, it was amusing. People would ask me from time to time how often I went to Germany, I would say quite often. They'd say what do you think of it ? I would say. don't know, never got off the plane which at that tiem was perfectly true.

 

[VeronaSeagull]

BG check your facts - what about APD and other departure taxes and security charges - BA and other airlines do not make money from staff travel. It is a major perk full stop

Agreed the staff have to cover the taxes on the seat as this does not change even if you are not paying an air fare. You also have to take into account the extra (ok relativley small) fuel needed per extra person/bag on board. I had a mate who worked in the commercial team at Virgin and he told me the cost to the company of staff travel and needless to say it was huge!

BA is not contractually obliged to give these extras and therefore can withdraw them at any time. Given the financial situation of the company I'm surprised they haven't just suspended it for all cabin crew and see how pressure from those who didn't strike works out

 

[BensGrandad]

Airport taxes on a BA flight to Bangkok are a total of £225 so BG's brother paid BA the grand sum £50 for his return ticket.

Assuming your figures are correct , which I dont know,that is £50 for nothing as the seats for him and his wife would have been empty. How many people use staff travel at BA using in most cases empty seats?

 

[Uncle C]

Wait till their pensions become under threat when BA starts to collapse. The strikers deserve all they get.

 

[Icy Gull]

Assuming your figures are correct , which I dont know,that is £50 for nothing as the seats for him and his wife would have been empty. How many people use staff travel at BA using in most cases empty seats?

You are twisting the point, which is that BA staff get free or very low fares. It's irrelevant how much it costs the airline isn't it? How many people wouldn't travel extensively if they could pay £50 plus airport tax and travel anywhere in the world?

If BA succeed in removing this perk from striking staff it will impact the strikers big time, assuming the airline survives this turkeys voting for Christmas strike.

 

[corkster]

Thats a bit of a myth, the older Heathrow based staff are on a great wage, but Gatwick based staff are on a par with other carriers. My sister in law crossed the picket line to work.

blimey she must be old & have a tash

 

[casbom]

I think there is always 2 sides to any dispute and I think that the Cabin Crew are getting some bad press as the Willy Walsh Spin is working. BA stated that most planes were flying, that was not true, if you see the airshot of Heathrow over the past few days, it was covered with BA planes all over the place. Also it is not all about money, the long hall crew have been cut by quite a bit, which means that they do not get a break on board, that could effect safety. Some Air Crew earn more that other companies, some dont , but I am sure that some people in all proffesions get more, I know that happens in my industry, that is a fact of life.

Also the biggest pain for the stopping of cheap flights is more for the crew to get to work, a lot of air crew live all over the country and will have to pay full price on flights just to get to work ?, which is not fair in my book. Also yes they do get cheap flights but only to fill up empty seats, so it does not cost BA much to do that.

You need to get your facts straight mate,
- The figures from BA are FACT. This is because it would be ILLEGAL for BA to report false facts.
- BA reduced crew on longhaul from 15 to 14 at Gatwick ages ago without any dispute, it's only when this was introduced to LHR that the strike threat when up. Even then the unions and crew knew this is what BA wanted to do as BA had been in discussions with Unite since FEBRUARY last year!
- Current cabin crew will not lose any pay. BA propose a lower salary in line with other carriers plus 10% for NEW recruits only!
- Willie said a few weeks ago that if any cabin crew went on strike, they would lose their perks. So now they've gone on strike and Willie has gone through with his threat, they start crying about it.

-Everyone within BA has had to make sacrifices whether people volunteering to leave/work part time or even without pay, everyone apart from LHR cabin crew who think they are above all this and don't think they should be touched.

Like someone else said, if they don't like the changes then LEAVE!

 

[bhaexpress]

Assuming your figures are correct , which I dont know,that is £50 for nothing as the seats for him and his wife would have been empty. How many people use staff travel at BA using in most cases empty seats?

All staff travel is supposed to be 'sub load'. An airline like BA, being a scheduled airline, has far more empty seats than a budget airline or a charter airline, that's the big difference.

Try to remember that in order to take BA public the tax payer gave them £100,000,000 to get them out of debt. I remember that well as I was working for a rival at the time.

 

[corkster]

not so long ago Virgin removed a member of the crew on all flights, didnt see them strike. BA is stuck in a time warp............ always has and always will be

 

[Geriatric Seagull]

Tax?

Interesting this morning to hear two BA cabin crew claim that they had to pay tax on their free travel - i.e. airport tax, fuel charges etc. No, said the interviewer, I mean income tax as it's a perk! Shock horror and deathly silence!!!!

 

[beorhthelm]

its an interesting aproach to negotiations, if you dont like whats on offer we will take some perks until you decide you need to take the offer after all. I read BA staff get a £50 subsidance (aka lunch money) when overseas for a day, i expect to see this go or reduced next.

 

[Tooting Gull]

I am genuinely surprised by the number of people on this thread who seem to be of the general view that if you are about to be shafted by your employer, you should just bend over and drop your trousers. Grow a spine, it might be you tomorrow.

The staff have every right to use whatever means are at their disposal to protect their pay and conditions, and how anyone's sympathies can be with an odious little thug like Walsh is totally beyond me.

And if I was an employment lawyer, I'd be licking my lips at the prospect of taking him on over the removal of those perks. I'm sure they would fall into established 'custom and practice'. But as Simster says, the bullying may well work, serve its purpose and get them back.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

You need to get your facts straight mate,
- The figures from BA are FACT. This is because it would be ILLEGAL for BA to report false facts.

I think you will find the law courts beg to differ. BA have a history of illegal activity. Dirty tricks and fuel surcharge are the main ones.

I used to work at the CAA/NATS and BA were the biggest pain in the arse there was. One of their tricks was to systematically and spuriously oppose any rival's applications with the authority, to cause a delay, and then withdraw the opposition at the last minute.