This has developed into a classic Pprune thread when the moment someone disagrees, out come the flamethrowers, which become more thunderous with each individual who has the audacity to express a different opinion.
This thread clearly demonstrates the arrogance, selflessness and hypocrisy of those BA pilots who consider themselves above all others.
By all means fight your corner at fortress Heathrow and mount a strong defence of the T & Cs of BA mainline and any agreements in place should they be threatened. I suspect the T & Cs can only be changed/reduced/improved by negotiation between the company and the BA line pilots association.
Is it not hypocritical to ask for an IALPA recruitment ban unless BA capitulates and those who join do so at the bottom of the BA seniority list? The blatant perception and selfish expectation seems to be that those joining the new airline will guarantee that current pilots remain in their comfort zone and retain their T & Cs. It was only a few short years ago BA pilots (when their T & Cs were not deemed to be under threat), along with BALPA and the support of BA management connived to trample all over the Dan Air seniority list and allow those individuals who were employed to be on inferior contracts. They also gave authority to BA to employ US Air pilots during the summer that followed. Something that only the IPA was prepared to object too, and which resulted in the D of T withdrawing their support for the arrangement. The subsequent out of court settlement was in favour of the Dan Air pilots. It also enabled some individuals discarded at the time Dan was bought to be employed.
Some BA pilots may not have noticed the aviation industry throughout the world is undergoing substantial change and all companies are endeavouring to adjust and modify their business model. The new rules relating to open skies in Europe have forced every airline to review its income stream and costs by offering different products to the travelling public. In this day and age the passengers seem to be demanding both low cost short and long haul flights, while another substantial segment are still prepared to pay a premium for the full monty. Consequently we are seeing the start of the more established companies effectively running 2 airlines, using different business models and cost bases as they attempt to compete with, in the eyes of some BA pilots, the “upstarts” who have had the cheek to enter the fray and threaten their existence.
I just wonder what right BA pilots think they have to threaten industrial action that will not only affect all the other employees and passengers booked on the proposed strike days as well as the shareholders and possibly the future of their airline. It is not their decision as to the future business plans their management may wish to attempt to exploit. If the new airline’s T & Cs do not meet the aspirations then few will join and those that do will probably leave, whether they are on the BA seniority list or not and BA will have shot itself in the foot if it cannot recruit and retain good quality employees.
By all means try and persuade BA management why the pilots for the new airline should be on your seniority list but if you walk out the door over the issue do not expect any substantial support from any other quarter or the travelling public or the media. It would be extremely naïve and conceited to believe that any support could be ignored.
No airline has a God given right to exist, and there have been numerous examples of companies, both in aviation and outside, that have failed because they have not adapted to a changing world. BA pilots may disagree, but unless the airline they work for moves with the times the profits they are currently enjoying may disappear.