A few days ago I tried to suggest to all of you "BA chaps" that you should bury the hatchet, but, as always, greed and avarice is coming to the top of the pile. War has now broken out within BA yet again, it would appear.
I seriously think that we are (within the next few years) going to witness the final collapse of the Imperial Airways/British Airways/BOAC/BEA/BA Country Club PLC. As an ex-GK employee (who was badly shafted by the likes of Lord King and Sir Adam Thompson and had my flying career totally f***ed for 13 months), I should really have little sympathy, but time is a great healer and strangely enough, I just cannot believe how much hatred you guys in BA still have for each other- you have learned nothing. I was "seconded" to BEA for a year on the Viscount many years ago and their (BEA) hatred for BOAC was amazing.
Being out of work is not fun. Certainly, I would suggest that you chaps in BA seriously consider your future. The UK government is not going to bail you out. If you stil need some confidence, just look at what happened to Equitable Life!
To Mr Solo; I have to apologise in advance (with reference to his RAF fast jet pilots); As I have already indicated, I was offered a position on one of the very early Hamble courses. (I recently found the BOAC welcoming blurb in the attic and was amused to read that "a Senior BOAC 707 Captain" could "possibly" earn £5000 per year).
Dear Mr Hand Solo, Not all of us in the Royal Air Force were fast jet pilots and to a lot of us, the alternative was by choice. In my case, I wanted to see the world and spent my entire RAF career on 4-engined transport aircraft complete with a good F/E.
I never did a ground tour and I managed 9000 hours on 4-engined aeroplanes. To my astonishment, I became a training captain on 4-engined aeroplanes at the age of 25. It must have worked out OK for I have never had a complaint.
I did my ATPL at Kidlington some 3 years before leaving the RAF. In those days a Seneca was £72 per hour but I had to start all over again despite my RAF experience.
Despite the fact that my wardrobe has more uniforms therein than the Imperial War Museum, I have had a good civilian career. Put simply, I got a DC-10 command within a year of leaving the Air Force and I have not had to move seats since. I have probably made a lot more money than I would have had I joined BA and I have had a hell of a lot more fun than the folk that I see squabbling on Pprune!
Be nice to one another or else your huge inflated bubble is going to burst!