Does it occur to cabin crew tah there are some 30,000 other staff at BA, large numbers of whom have not had a pay award for over 18 months and who are unlikely to see one for at least another 6 months. So to hear cabin crew, who have refused to shoulder their share of cost reductions to date, being offered a two year deal with guaranteed increases plus top up guarantees on moonthly payments and then know that some crew think this a lousy deal, well, to decribe it as galling is a bit of an understatement. Yes, crew don't get paid a fortune, but you knew that when you took the job. If it pays that badly, get out and do something that pays better. I hear enough tales of crew with degrees and post grad qualifications. The union literature is awash with the detail of so-and-so who was a trained nurse or a doctor or a teacher before becoming cabin crew. With qualifications like that there should be no shortage of openings.
The brutal truth is that BA needs to reduce its costs if it is to be profitable. The two largest cost areas are fuel, which we have a modicum of control over by hedging and staff. Cabin crew represent close to 25% of staff. It will come as no surprise that they probably constitute the largest single block of staff costs. Now the company can footle with reducing the number of secretarial and admin staff, but that won't make major inroads on the staff costs. Nope, it's a penalty you pay for being the largest group, you become a very fat target. Look on the bright side. Nobody has talked about outsourcing your department yet. Talk to the call centres or some of the admin folk. Look at what has been shifted to lower cost base areas like India -we have a fair amount of work being done there. New Fleet may sound a grim prospect, but it's a damn sight better than what some areas face. There won't be a better deal than that on offer, because the longer this goes on, the less money there is in the piggy bank. Oh sure BA has pots of cash in loan guarantees. BA has to repay that money somehow. We haven't made a profit and the rainy day fund is drying up. One thing I promise. I will back this company to the hilt in the face of any industrial ation by cabin crew. I will do your job, if by doing so I make sure mine and the 30,000 other staff don't lose theirs. New Fleet expanding fast ? Of course. The suggestion that Unite might call a further walkout means that BA has to do somethng to protect the route network. There is a limit to how many head office and ground staff who can be puled off their day job to keep this place running. I'll wager that a further strike will only hasten the increase in New Fleet size. Instead of taking several years to reach 40% I think it will accelerate to several months. and will be targetting more than 40%. I could be wrong - want to take that gamble ?