BA "Owning our Future Day" - OOF
My non-flying girlfriend has just seen this "Corporate day", (compulsory days indoctrination for all BA staff), on my roster and asked:
"Whats this then? Some kind of Communist Ra Ra day?!"
Quite appropriate I thought, but on a more serious note, a source close to our new CEO designate, W Squared, states that he regards the whole thing as a total waste of money and wishes to stop it as soon as decently possible.
On a more serious note still, it is said that he regards rumours that he will be setting about the loaders, terminal staff etc etc for efficiencies in a major way as 'laughable'. He is well aware that they could bring the airline to a halt within hours, and so favours a more gradualist approach. Ditto with the cabin crew, who, he says, have been on strike before and who need the gradualist approach too for that reason.
His general view is that all flying staff are inherently lazy, some little better than 'scum' who dont know the meaning of a proper days work. His approach will be to start at the top with the pilots as a way of setting an example to all other work groups.
Bidline is seen as an anachronistic no-no to be got rid of in shorthaul as a matter of urgency. Longhaul to follow. Roster system is to be productivity driven to achieve CAP 371 limits as near as feasible for all flying staff. Medicals and uniforms to be paid for by the staff member, SH food to be on a "pay as you eat" basis, harder to do in longhaul because of 'duty of care concerns' (not sure how that works for LH but not SH, but this is what I am told), car parking to be charged for for all flying staff, new attempts to be made to 'buy-out' people from NAPS.
All LH crew hotels to be on a minimum cost to BA basis contract, SH nightstops to be drastically reduced and hotels for remainder on same basis.
Would like to charge crew for sim conversions to new types if this is as a result of an 'aspirational' bid.
Primary aim = to achieve significant cost savings from the start, begining with the easiest and weakest staff group, the pilots, moving on to Cabin crew next. Pilots = "the low fruit on the tree - easiest to pick-off".
Should be interesting times ahead!