Originally Posted by
GS-Alpha
There are C744s in the CRS who bidded aspirationally for absolutely everything and therefore, together with most of the P744s, were beaten to a seat by the Gatwick pilots. BALPA are suggesting otherwise and it is untrue.
Devil’s advocate here (and vested interest) but because Gatwick and Heathrow were split into different fleets you were going to end up with more senior pilots getting shafted either way. The Gatwick fleet is moving up the road to Heathrow to form part of an expanded LHR Airbus fleet. It would be a complete nonsense to move the aircraft and the routes but tell Gatwick pilots that they weren’t allowed to fly them. I think the P&P word for that situation occurring would have been displacement.
More senior Gatwick pilots were originally going to be told that they couldn’t displace junior Heathrow pilots flying the same aircraft. Yet in the same breath they should sit quiet whilst being told that more senior 747 pilots were not only being retrained to fly their aircraft but being pay protected into the bargain? That would have utterly shafted the Gatwick Airbus pilots, who let’s remember are type rated on a BA fleet in operation and currently flying from Heathrow. The 747 lot are not. I’m all for seniority but it didn’t apply when it came to displacement we were told. You can’t have your cake and eat it.
The whole thing is an utter buggers’ muddle.