BahrainLad
Why is it that BA Concorde pilots (as an example) fly a LHR-JFK sector (3.5 hours) and then have an overnight stay in NY?
We fly when our passengers want to fly, as simple as that, and over the years they have made their wishes very plain.
Westbound - in order to take best advantage of the time change - they want to fly mid-morning (arriving in New York in time for a day's work), or late evening (after a day's work in London, in time for the evening in New York).
Eastbound - with the time change now acting against them - they want to depart JFK early morning (arriving LHR around tea-time, in time for an evening in London), or as late as possible from JFK, arriving just before the night jet ban at LHR (to give them a morning at work in New York, with a full night's sleep in London).
Much as BA would like (and they have tried over the years), there is no way reliably to schedule flight crew for a two sector day on these timings.
And why do SST captains get paid more?
They don't!
They take a
drop in income when they go on Concorde, as do the F/Os, most of whom give up, or pass up, commands for the chance to fly Concorde. Whatever their reasons for bidding on to the happiest fleet in BA, it certainly isn't money.
All of them could be earning
substantially more on other fleets in BA, and currently the re-deployed ones are doing exactly that!
