Crockpot,
As for research, I did some before posting, as it happens; I compared BA's last published profit figures with certain other airlines'. On none of the many ways of interpreting the description "the most profitable airline in the world" does the assertion that BA is "the most profitable airline in the world" stand up.
BA has consistently been one of the most profitable airlines in the world for the last two decades. In fact, I believe it was off the back of this profitability that they coined the phrase "Worlds Favourite Airline"?
Try:
http://www.atwonline.com/channels/da...eport_2006.pdf
Only KLM/Air France, Lufthansa & FeDeX were more profitable in 2006.
It seems to me important that BA's pilots, if they really think that BA is "the most profitable airline in the world" and thus able to suffer large losses with impunity, are gently told that this is not the case.
Anyone who works for BA knows that its ongoing profitability in lieu of how much inefficiency there is in the system is staggering.
Giovanni Bisangani, IATA CEO said recently that in 2002, airlines needed fuel to be < ~$20/barrel to scrape into profitability. These days they're profitable at $70/barrel.
Somehow, the airlines have managed to cope with a 400% rise in one of their principal costs. I figure we're a pretty adaptable bunch inspite of the fact that
interpreter thinks we're fossilised.
BA is hedged 50% for 2008 @ $81/barrel I believe?
BA paid up £350 million in fines recently without batting an eyelid so to speak.
BA pilots do not wish to see the profit their company makes squandered (unlike, it must be said, some BA managers, who are willing to potentially gamble away 40,000 people's livelihood by indulging in some after hours "price fixing"....perhaps over a bottle of 1900 Chateau Lafite Rothschild?) and neither do they believe that their T&C's are the difference between liquidation and profitability.
So, BA is not about to collapse in a heap if OS pilots were to be paid BA Mainline pilot wages....especially if we're only talking about 6 airframes worth of pilots.
There is still lots of fat in the system.
In fact, I personally am not even convinced that BALPA & the BACC should have conceded that there exists a defensible argument for OS pilots to have a different set of T&C's either...but then I haven't seen the propaganda they've pedalled on that basis.
But, tell me, who exactly are OS's competitors?
And on what T&C's are their pilots flying those routes?
The argument for inflated City salaries is, that good money makes good money. Why exactly doesn't that apply in the case of pilots then?
And as for customers who still can't quite see that BA has been defrauding them and that maybe the pilots are doing them a favour....
