Originally Posted by
SuperBoy
Fare enough.
Don't get me wrong I'm not anti LGW I'm actually pro LGW. However the t's & c's are horendous. Ie. LGW is profitable, LGW saved money etc. etc. but Hotels are being changed to airport hotels. GVA Hotel is at the end of the runway and you might as well be lying on the tarmac trying to get some sleep. However LGW Flight crew, LHR CC and LHR Flight crew get coached into town to a nice little hotel. Why am I and all at lgw not good enough to be in the same hotel as everyone else?
Don't even get me started on the money side of things, one of the dom's tried to tell me that I'm earning the same as someone at LHR.
Super, I totally see your point. Many of the ex-LGW EOG crew that I fly with at LHR WW say they still miss the people from LGW EOG and that although the t&c's were bad, they had a great time.
I guess the problem with LGW is that it is often seen as an 'entry point' or 'stepping stone' to either quick-ish promotion or LHR. Crew down there don't seem to hang about as long as the BA average (120 years LOL), I know there are some exceptions but most people hang about til they can get transferred out or promoted.
There always seems to be a ready supply of young, enthusiastic crew down there whom don't kick up too much of a fuss and are just happy to be flying for BA.
As nice as the ex-EOG people I fly with are, once they are out of LGW EOG they seem to be quite happy to forget the conditions at LGW and what they have left behind. Whether anyone thinks this is right or wrong I guess is down to personal opinion.
There is also the 'numbers' issue. Now as the old saying goes 'safety in numbers!'. I have no idea what the exact split is of the 14,500 odd BA cabin crew. I know that WW LHR has about 8000 ish, EF LHR 3800 ish and the rest made up of ex WW LGW, LGW SF, EF MAN, EF GLA/EDI and ICC. So, around 12000 of the total are based at LHR. It sort of stands to reason that BA management would have more success chomping away at the benefits/t&c's of the 'easy game' (small bases) before starting on the jewel in their money saving crown, LHR. Whether they will risk pi**ing off the crew at LHR and potentially seeing their cash cow shut down for a few days is yet to be seen.
We DO know that the conditions are crap at LGW super. But, without sounding brutal, the crew at LHR tend to think there are a lot more bigger (on more personal to them) issues at hand than defending the t&c's LGW.
Unfair, YES. But at the end of the day, the general concensus is that those at LGW a) signed up for the deal, and, b) only need to 'serve their time' before transferring out anyway.
It is VITALLY important that you, your colleagues and Pursers stand up and be counted. Most of us in this profession are recruited as we are 'caring' and even with unrealistic crew compliments we still rush like mad to serve that last row.
DON'T DO IT
If 3 crew on a 737 or 10 crew on a LGW 777 aren't enough then don't break your back to serve everyone. If you miss out the last three rows because you are on a full 737 with 3 crew
TOUGH. Apologise to all the un-served passengers, explain that there are only 3 of you to serve 140-odd of them, give them a comments card each and encourage them all to send it back in with their thoughts. Likewise with passengers on the 777 that aren't happy. BA will have to do something to stop the tide of complaints. If no-one is complaining and the job is getting done, managers will think it works just fine! Likewise for crap hotels. Get
all the crew to fill out a report about the unsatisfactory noise/standard. And if any of your Cabin Managers think they are CSD's and can stroll around a 777 all flight leaving 9 working crew, again, stand up and be counted. Tell them otherwise!
I think the LGW SF situation is really an issue that can be sorted out by you guys down there standing together and having the conviction to stand up and be counted.