It gives me no pleasure to see BA in its current condition, but as one correspondent has already said, MG is a major player in BA equities and we might be forgiven for thinking that there’s a bit of propaganda going on here. Several employee groups are approaching pay round negotiations, and it’s standard BA practice to carry out its internal politics in the national press. The reporting on BA’s prospects has been selective to say the very least, but it does give the image of a cash strapped company to those who would ask for inflation busting pay rises. What better than for the suits to pitch up to the negotiating table looking thin and emaciated and threatening severed limbs to greedy union hacks.
Not surprisingly, we’ve seen it all before. The company turned over £9.25bn last year so there is cash flow, it’s simply that the company is as yet unwilling to deal with its massive and burgeoning administrative empire. The figures are much vaunted these days, but at 285 employees per aircraft, they out-strip Air France for state leviathans. If thousands of redundancies are necessary then so be it. It’s nothing more or less than they’ve been told since than Ayling Bob began his incumbency of ineptitude.
In the uncomfortable event of the company going bust, there would be no shortage of buyers to come along and manage the infrastructure and resources of this company in a far more effective and sensible manner. The only losers would be those such as the aliens from Waterworld with their tenuous grasp on reality and inability to understand the airline industry or customer service. Pay and conditions would have to remain competitive since the whole industry is suffering from a serious skills shortage, and the need to retain and recruit experienced staff will not be lost on an enlightened management.
As far as the pilot pay round is concerned, there is some serious catching up to be done. You’ll not have missed the Airtours pilots saying that they wanted pay-parity with Easy Jet and Ryanair, no mention of the ‘World’s Favourite’. We can expect all kinds of threats and ultimatums from the management, but if nothing is done to address the slide in P&C’s, then the trickle of leavers will turn into a steady stream, and the company will not be able to attract the right kind of applicant. Unfortunately for the ‘Havard Hardmen’, the market has changed and they’re now having to compete. The most recent attempt by the Prince of Darkness to do the training on the cheap has resulted in massive training costs, not helped by the Loons of the Lake buying lots of Eurobuses and having to convert/train hundreds of pilots.
I think that cynicism over the companys’ tactics has reached such a stage now where we simply don’t give a £$%^. Every pay round we’re told that either we’re just recovering and it would be a shame to spoil it, or we’re going down the toilet and we can’t afford it. The net result is they have abused our good nature for far too long and it stops right here. The current pay claim is carefully thought out and is quite affordable, and frankly if the company is on its uppers then perhaps they won’t have the stomach for a fight. Our new Chief Pilot – The Lord Protector is not known for his depth of understanding nor his loyalty to his colleagues. There is considerable speculation that his tenure and his thirty pieces of silver are dependent upon delivering the heads of his colleagues. That we’ll see as the order of battle emerges. In the mean time the watchword is as always – don’t believe everything you read in the press. There is more going on behind the scenes than may be immediately obvious.
One of the favourite sayings is that BA prospers despite its management. The company, or it’s offspring are here to stay. Let’s pray that its management is not.
