Thanks for the welcome Tightslot......
To answer you in short, I do agree with your point that the crew members broke company regulations...I have no argument over that fact. They were actually 1mg over the limit.....so they were not drunk as was reported. Despite ot being drunk, they were however over the limit and therefore subject to arrest under Finnish law. I think whichever airline you work for, all crew shold have some form of manners. All of us, however can tell a story of fellow crew members with bad attitudes and bad manners.......that is just put down to personality.
I do not think the BA crews on a whole have a problem with Hotel staff, it just seems to be an issue from time to time in Helsinki.
On the media withchunt issue, it is a case of certain papers always trying to give negative press about BA. It is simply a fact of being the biggest Airline in the UK. It does sometimes seem unfair, the (biased) criticism and blatant lying/exaggeration that these papers generate (I suppose that is how they make their money...). It would seem fairer if they were to report the issues that go on with other airlines on the same terms, but I am only voicing my opinion. I do understand that BA is the Biggest airline by far, but the fact is that we only have 14 757's....this is not a lot when you look at how infrequently they are used in comparison to the airbus, and how infrequently we as crew fly on these Aircraft. The comments in the papers made it seem like people were in danger of dying (crew included) if they set foot on one of these a/c. If that is not sensationalism, then tell me what is please.....
To answer your point regarding Uk airlines and Alcohol problems.....It is more a thing of culture...come into any flying job in the Uk and the drink culture is the first thing you hear about. For those of us lucky enough to nightstop/stop abroad...the rumours of infamous room parties abound. I don't look on it as a negative thing....it is a part of the bonding culture of Uk cabin/flight crews. The only issue really is control. You will always have people who lose control of what they are doing, it's a fact of life. Don't forget that the Uk media thrives off the errors of it's citizens...just open any paper and see this.
On a point of UK crews being a point of focus for scrutiny by police/customs/whoever....Can you imagine an Asian (Airline) crew memebr getting done for drinking too much??? It's not really a done thing in their Culture........I would imagine that US crews wold also not really bring too much attention on themselves. They are probably far to radical for that...i.e. tea totallers/fitness freaks/too old to be bothered....lol....In reality what I am saying is that the UK has some of the youngest crews and therefore seem as more outgoing, making them targets for unwanted attention. Just a sad fact that we have to deal with I suppose..........Anyway...that's my take on the matter....sorry about the essay.........
Hello Flyblue
I think you have taken my comments totally out of context
I did mention that the FA\'s were in the wrong for being over the limit in my first post. Guilty is guilty as far as I am concerned.
The fact that I already mentioned that they were 1mg over the limit is of no importance to me either, they were over the limit.
I do not think they tarnish the reputation of Air crew in general..that is taking thing a bit too far. They tarnished their own reputations, they also put their jobs on the line. I do not think the general public think ill of all Air crew because of this one incident. That is like saying a tesco\'s shop assistant shortchanged you, so all store assistants are bad.........a bit of a swweping comment methinks.
As for the hotel staff issue....I again only pointed out an general issue and fact amongst B crews..that there is some antagonism with the Hotel staff in Helsinki and the BA crews, and BA crews should behave in a polite manner to avoid undue attention. Nothing more than that.
I hope I made myself more clear now. I did not want you to think that I was totally behind these BA FA\'s. I am sort of on your side on this forum.