Ah, the Gentlemen's fleet at last to see some recruitment.
Almost everybody on the fleet seems content with their lot. At the moment it's a fantastic mix of sunny long haul destinations, mostly African, and a little east coast States/Caribbean as well as European and Domestic short haul.
Some of the short haul 76's are currently being converted to long haul which will increase the percentage of long haul work, however with the change will come a change in route structure and more east coast/Canadian destinations are being mentioned.
Aircraft numbers mean rostering is rarely as severe as one or two of BA's other fleets. Most long haul trips require a 'heavy' crew which makes life far more comfortable, with the added bonus that long haul trips make it all the way to the bottom of the FO's seniority list. Short haul ranges from day trips to 4/5 day tours. As we do th e higher density flights we leave the very early starts to our friends on the Airbus.
All in all the majority on the fleet consider it to be the fleet to be on, and thus commands this year went very senior.
BA has recently invested a considerable sum of money in the cabins but believe me this doesn't stop the long haul crews moaning about them, on the upside the long haul cabin crews on the 76 are usually more junior are more sociable than some of the more 'senior' fleets.
Medium term Ba has stated that it will be the first fleet to be replaced, but with current lead in times I think we are safe for the moment.
Welcome and for the moment consider yourself a lucky man, things this good rarely last.
