Originally Posted by
Enzo999
You seem to be completely missing the points some are trying to make. Not everyone that is Junior in BA is a “youth”. The man up boy I had to live through it attitude really irritates me. I joined BA with 16 years worth of Airline flying behind me, not because I wanted to but because I had to, not everyone who joins BA does so out of a desperate desire to wear the hat. To be told all you previous experience and time has been completed wasted is a bitter pill to swallow. Remember BA are not doing us a favour giving us jobs, they asked us to join, to be told you are less important and hence rewarded less and expepected to live with s#it jut because you have worked less time BA is offensive to me.
If you join BA in your early 20s then maybe you can afford to waste 10 years of your life, but when you are 35 and have young children it’s much more painful. Children only grow up once and missing out on their lives Is very painful to me, being told to “suck it up” or “leave” is not very helpful and in actual fact goes to speak of the toxic environment we work in. I for one don’t care if I get weekends off when my children are 20!
People on here constantly compare what we do to other high skilled professions and certainty expected to be rewarded as one. So tell me when a Surgeon leaves a hospital doesn’t he suddenly then become a junior doctor and is expected to work every weekend? Does a senior partner at a law firm have to start at the bottom on sub standard pay just because he goes to work at a new firm? Would love to see you tell those guys to “suck it up”.
Enzo, are you sure you joined BA with 16 years of airline flying behind you? Thought you were at flightschool with me back in 2005/06. Anyway, I completely agree with you. I joined BA longhaul from an easyJet command with a young family and cannot express strongly enough how difficult life can be joining BA in those circumstances. As a warning to anyone considering joining if you're married with kids - think long and hard. Money is of secondary importance and lifestyle is of primary importance. If you're single, enjoy the opportunities BA has to offer. If you're not, you may well end up regretting your decision. I did a 180 and returned to easyJet after a few months of fatigue and stress that would undoubtedly have lead to (and this is no exaggeration) being at best on the edge of depression and I haven't regretted my decision for a second. The introduction of JSS will only make things worse. I feel a different individual back at Easy despite the challenges of a shorthaul roster. The 3-4 days off between blocks of work and fixed roster are fantastic in terms of being able to recover.
Please try and resist the temptation to join BA to call yourself Speedbird or join because you consider it a 'prestigious' job unless you're absolutely sure it's what you want. Only when 5-7 years in as a LH FO or 25 years in as a LH Capt will you reap the lifestyle rewards. That said, my time at BA was a pleasure in terms of the training and the colleagues I met. Great bunch of guys and girls who treat you as an adult.