Saad Hammad (FlyBe CEO) is a very clever man. He knew he had to make some drastic changes to FlyBe in order for it to survive.
First and foremost he needs to get rid of the very people that got FlyBe into this mess in the first place - the upper management....Tick.
Next he needs to address airport , handling , A/C lease, and other non staff related operational costs and get a better deal than the previous management.....Tick
Next came the staff costs - the most expensive being the pilots - hmm, this one's tricky as they have a union. If he just instigates a cut across both pilot fleets/rank he could increase the strength of BALPA and have a mutiny on his hands. How can he save a large sum of money and keep the rest of the workforce sweet ?
Having taken the time to talk to his staff, he then discovers an answer. The Dash crews are fed up with the fact that they do more sectors than the Jet crews and get paid 10% less for it. As many of the Jet crews are still (although more senior) relatively young, they also feel that their prospects of getting on a Jet is a long way into the future.
Hmm, Saad thinks....If I ground most of the Jet fleet, make most of the Jet pilots redundant, that would solve my salary saving problem. I could also put the word out to the Dash crew that the company is in big trouble (even though we made a profit last year) and is close to going bust. That way the Dash crews will be fearful of their jobs and BALPA would have to accept it. I could also give the impression that after these cuts and after the company gets back on its feet we will be expanding - possibly with new routes, new bases and new Jets. Now that we have got rid of most of the Jet guys and with them the Dash pilots barrier for career progression, they could be flying a nice shiny Jet much quicker than they thought.
So the Dash guys - although feeling a little guilty for their more senior colleagues, accept that this is best for them. They keep their heads down and allow it to happen, after all if they fight for Policy F they may put themselves at risk as well. The UNION between the pilots is dead.....TICK
And now the future.
Once the dust has settled, Saad needs to make even more cuts to make even more money...after all his reputation is at stake here !
The pilots that have survived the cuts have proved that seniority is dead, the Union is dead and the contract isn't worth the paper it's written on, therefore lets have no seniority list....TICK
Next without seniority and loyalty we don't need a loyalty pay...time to get rid of increments ....that saves a lot
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Next without a higher jet salary to compare themselves to, the Dash crews are left with comparing themselves to other European operators....but wait Saad thinks, they are the highest paid turboprop pilots in Europe....Hmmmm........ Mowaa ha haaa
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