Itsonthebox, brilliant! This thread needs a bit of light relief.
Originally Posted by cargo boy
.........where I currently earn my living is irrelevant but as you were asking, yes, the Caribbean this time of year is very nice thank you and being in a company that has almost total Balpa membership has its benefits.
Cargo Boy,
I think it IS relevant. Pilots who are part of an established structure where 100% BALPA is the norm cannot understand why it is so difficult for the rest of us to get there.
But it is difficult, very. Ask an original 1980's VS guy how long it took for BALPA to get a real grip. From Virgin's start, my guess is 10 years plus. You've arrived with it all set up for you.
Once you've got the membership, the biggest headache is actually convincing management that the union is the expected medium for communication - and that's even without the personalities at Jet2.