Hey Jay Dubbya, well said. Why is it that all the common sense originates elsewhere than the mainline BA sources. It used to be instructive to have a read of their private forum, using the old Skippy6 password - certainly their guys were not shy about sharing access! And wow, if you had only read all the posts about needing a BA man at the top of BALPA!!!
However, being both ex mil and BACE, sense must prevail. As JW said, the final collapse could be imminent. Who do you think is most vulnerable - the lower or the higher cost elements of the operation? Don't need a Flight Engineer to work that one out! We in BACE are very well aware that pilot salaries are not the be all and end all, either in terms of proportion of operating cost, or in relevance to a good quality of life; - but on the other hand, in security of future and tenure, the answer might look a little diffferent???????. Remember how a certain Mr A. Scargill thought he was invincible because of the might of his union, and the skirmishes he had won previously against previous opposition.
We all have a pretty good deal by anyone's comparison. As Sheryl Crow sings,
"It ain't about getting what you want, it's about wanting what you got....."
So, let's not fall out. Negotiating and compromise is the way forward, not bully boy Hand 'Mick McGahey' Solo dictating what we will and will not get, whilst expecting his own cosy little world to continue unaffected. I've flown with some of our BA kaydets and kaydettes, and mostly they're just as good as the usual new entry, and they're mostly just glad to have a job, and be doing some interesting flying. One might think too that a grounding in the world of the ATP, Dash 8 and Jetstream will probably do them far more good in terms of a career foundation than jumping straight into a Scroggs wundajett!
Hoping for a more friendly way forward................(but not holding my breath).
Last edited by Baron Harkonnen; 20th Apr 2002 at 06:20.