All BA Franchise deals will end shortly...
WW has no time for Franchise partnerships. Its not his business to ask 'outside' airlines to fly for him, using his brand, but when the whole thing started many years ago, it was acceptable as BA couldnt do the flights themselves and a different management structure was in place. Yes BA got the 'credit' and publicity as the public saw BA everywhere, but onboard and behind the scenes the product was being delivered inconsistantly and with some parts not delivering at all, and damaging the image of BA. This wasnt neccessarily the fault of the 'operator' or arm of the franchise as money always dictates the level of service you provide ie staff levels, training and investment etc. However WW sees no requirement for them now and is chopping the non-core (everything except LHR and T5) 'willy-nilly' and has no mercy.
Look at the UK Regions. We are facing a serious and critical review since the announcement that BAConnect is going to flybe.com. Justification to maintain the stations (EDI GLA ABZ and MAN) as BA Mainline stations with their own staff is currently being looked at by senior London based management and an announcement is due within weeks. With BAConnect making up the bulk of the regions daily work load, what future do we have without Connect? LGW is allegedly under the spotlight with loadfactors between the regions very poor although we are told that its easyjets fault... Really? Who said that Easyjet would never survive? A slap in the face for BA? LGW does its bit for the company and should be recognised accordingly. If LGW drops domestic UK flights then that leaves only LHR as a minline service. Can you honestly see BA keeping a full compliment of staff at the regional airports, with their terms and conditions and all the facilities (baggage office, ticketing desks, dispatch, loading section, check-in, restrooms etc) just for LHR? I dont think so. I would really like to beleive they would as I face unemployment through this. let me stress that NOTHING has been confirmed regarding our future in the regions yet, but the information we have, and from what we do know about WW then it does not look good at all. Oh, shouldnt forget our friends at Loganair. Guys, you will be next to leave the BA family - trust me.
Without the franchise agreements, the regions will suffer and sooner or later close. Handling agents can do the same job, for less. Give them a uniform and the public dont know the difference. By the way, Iam not having a go at handling agents. Ive been there and they work hard - looking after many airlines and provide the same service but at a lower cost than having in-house staff.
PS - The fuel surcharge issue, the pension nightmare, the move to T5 and the badly needed replacement for the B737/B747-400 (early models) as well as general fleet expansion issues, should keep WW in a job long after our futures are decided...
Last edited by tristar500; 8th Nov 2006 at 08:23.