Merry X-mass to all!
I have take the discussion about what I witnessed offline. No point in debating that here. I am sure the Finnish captain and I will clear this up.
Having had two days to (rather unsuccessfully) recuperate from my jet lag I decided to at least share one more observation.
I agree with our Nordic Captain that my last 3 post or so where a bit more confrontational (and dare I say: positional) than those before. That may have been partly to do with jet lag but also with the phenomenon that I started to look at the crew through a different set of eyes due to recent events. Admittedly a less positive set.
Far be it from me to call myself the voice of reason (in fact, some of my friends would die laughing if they heard that!) but I do believe that I am normally a more unbiased observer than most. If this manages to affect me, how would it affect other pax?
Well, I asked that too and forget to report back on that. Short haul pax I spoke to were all business men, some of them downgraded (sorry, could not resist
) and they had a sort of defeatist attitude. "Ah well, I have given up being angry at BA. My company will simply book me on another airline.". No real anger, no understanding, no long term effect either, since their business depends on others.
Long haul was a different matter. About half the pax I spoke to did not even know about a strike... (how??). Those who did universally blamed the crew for being indifferent to the state of the economy and most found them greedy and vindictive. Mind you: observation here, not my opinion.
All of them would fly BA again after a possible strike but would be more careful booking in the next couple of months, especially since insurance won't cover the cost anymore. A new strike would really hurt people financially.
One pax explained it to two crew members. His story:
He had booked 4 WT+ return tickets with BA for February, but after November 2nd (I believe that is the date that insurance companies say that a strike is no longer covered). He did not know about any threat of a strike. He also booked a non-refundable safari and several hotels. None of them are covered by insurance anymore since any strike coming is now exempt from coverage.
If BA would go on strike this would cost him (excluding the tickets that would be refunded) around GBP 4000. He told the crew that was about 6% of his annual income. He asked if they found it reasonable to hurt other people this hard. Although they seemed shocked that insurance no longer covers the damage of a new strike for people who booked after November 2nd, the universal reaction was to take this up with WW since it is all his fault. They took no ownership at all. That is what bothered me most.
I am looking forward to reactions from the pro strike community to this story. He probably is not the only one affected.
I think the crew are open to reasoning though. They show every sign of being brainwashed. That is not their fault, it happens. History and the rise of populist political parties teaches us that. It is also something that can be easily (though skillfully) countermanded. Again I urge for a strong voice of reason to stand up within the CC. Most of your colleagues are ill informed and have no clue what is really at stake. BASSA is leading them down a very destructive garden path. There is no acceptable outcome of their strategy...