banewboi.....there are no straight answers to any of your questions. Nobody knows how long it'd take to get to LHR after you start at EF LGW. There have been ppl who did it in just over 2 years, people who did it in 5-6 years, people who have just transferred after almost 8 years.
I always say, if what you want is WW LHR and you want it quick, avoid coming here, as there's nothing worse than coming to work being upset because so and so got the transfer last time and I didn't ,now it should be my turn but there's a new list and now I have another 30 ppl in front of me etc.
All of this has also been putting down people who couldn't care less about moving but get depressed at hearing colleagues moaning all the time!!! Thankfully it's only a minority, but when that happens my book suddenly appears and becomes my best friend during the trip.
Nobody knows anything about the changes at LGW. Before proper talks between company and unions had started there was lots of gossiping around. Now that things have become more certain, and definitely closer and more serious, we hear nothing. Whether it is a good sign or not, nobody can guess.
You can put your name down for transfer as soon as the new list opens. I think it will be Sep-Oct 2006 as the last one opened in september 2004.
You have to have 2 years at LGW before being considered for transfer anyway.
I know nothing about commuting to EMA but there're lots of ppl here at EF LGW who commute to spain, france and a couple of ppl even to canada, so I guess it won't be a problem for you.
Bidding? It's very effective if you "REALLY" know how to bid. The system takes into consideration a million and one things, when you think your satisfaction is zero for carmen it might be the opposite as the criteria used are many and vary a lot depending on lots of factors. It's quite complicated and even the trainers sometimes can't really give an answer to some of carmen's behaviours. I can only say that if you have a very good knowledge of the system you can get maximum satisfaction almost every month. It's normal to get one roster of crap in a 12 month period.
Our pilots use the same system and they have proper carmen guidelines (as opposed to cabin crew's "carmen for dummies" guide) which tells everything you want to know. So if you do well with computer technical terms (and maths) I would suggest you went to the fleet office and asked for the pilot's carmen guidebook. I did it and found out so many things that helped me bid more efficiently.
Average pay: starting basic is 9,700 p.a. like at lhr. Average allowances per month between £300 and £700 depending on the trips you do. Hourly allowances are totally tax free. Longer trips bring more money of course.
As for affect and effect I would suggest a good dictionary - prices from £14.99 in WHSmith in the North Terminal.
Hope I could clarify some of your doubts, but unfortunately nothing can predicted in BA, so all we can do is wait and see, and possibly take a few chances.
Enjoy your training and welcome to the fleet of the craziest crew in BA.....you'll work your socks off, but you'll have a ball.
Good luck
FBW
