British Airways vs. BASSA (current Airline Staff Only)

[MrBunker]

Duggie,

Once again you're in danger of allowing your lack of facts to spoil your otherwise erudite postings. Tell me, and please, if able, with references where you have evidence that those taking up VCC posts will ultimately be replaced by agency staff. Or, dare I suggest, it's no more than fanciful supposition on your part? It's a very BASSAesque line to take isn't it? Endeavour to plant seeds of doubt or fear in a group of individuals in order that they see the world your way. Never, however, referencing to fact, precedent or any other form of actual evidence. It may only be a bugbear of my own but it's the longhand equivalent of using "FACT" in capital letters.

With regard to agency pilots acting as cruise pilots I'd really suggest that you check the regulatory and training requirements pertaining to this sort of action before you suggest it's a viable course of action for BA in the event of a dispute with flight crew. The costs and time involved are practically infinite in comparison to the VCC programme and, thus, we'd have to be costing them a massive amount of money, and be worth the sacrifice to gain the prize.

Sadly for your assertion, we don't conduct our business dealings with the airline in the same manner that BASSA do so, I trust, we won't have to encounter the hypothesis.

As for the hours towards CAP, you again demonstrate a lack of understanding. A cruise pilot would be in the flight deck for 2/3rds of the flight (on a 3 crew trip) and, as now, would log 2/3rds of the hours for 900 hrs purposes. Where CAP is concerned, the pilot is credited for the entire trip. CAP is not necessarily related to length of flight, indeed there are a number of methods for calculating the pertinent trip credit. But of course, you knew that, didn't you?

Marginally I'm pained to say that once one strips away the relatively sophisticated sentence construction we're not left with much more than another BASSA scaremongering exercise. It's particularly telling that almost to a man and a woman, not one has been able to come on here and dispassionately present a factual, rational and calm explanation of why they've felt driven to go on strike. As you yourself say at the beginning of your post, stick to the facts. Is that beyond anyone's capability on the pro-strike side of the argument?

MrB