BA Press Statement:
British Airways is very disappointed that the employment tribunal, which heard the case involving First Officer Jessica Starmer during January 2005, has found against the airline.
This case is about safety not gender.
Jessica Starmer currently works part time on a 75 per cent contract and British Airways has consistently said that the decision not to allow her to cut her working hours in half, to an average of just eight days a month, until she completes the required amount of flying hours was based on safety not sex discrimination.
British Airways will therefore be launching an appeal against the tribunal’s findings.
The tribunal rightly found that it is for British Airways to establish its own safety standards. These standards are above the minimum required by the Civil Aviation Authority. We are concerned and therefore puzzled that by reaching the decision it has the tribunal appears to interfere with the airline's right to set its own levels of safety standards and procedures.
British Airways believes that its pilots should have at least 2,000 flying hours experience – approximately three years of full time flying – before it is acceptable for them to work at 50 per cent levels, which equates to only eight days a month.
This safety threshold is applied equally, whether the pilot is male or female.
Safety has always been and will always be the top priority in everything that British Airways does.