Chief Brody posted...
"I think you'd be mad to grab a short haul command at the first opportunity as there is so much to explore within the BA framework".
I have to agree....
I've just been told that I have a LGW command in September after just over 4 years in the company... After a long Chat with the wife, friends & family I've decided to turn down the offer. Some reading my decision may think I'm mad but serveral reasons come into play...
The phrase 'only Bid for what you want' couldn't be more true in my case. The bid was put in May 14 before SH became as tough as it is becoming, at the time I would have grabbed it with open arms. That's not to say I hate SH but I don't want to commit to another 5 years when I need to give BA LH a go first.
By turning down a course normally you could expect a 5 year freeze on your current type, but a once in a lifetime offer has been granted to anyone who didn't originally get an 'OK' bid to be frozen till the end of the training year (Dec 31st). I'm frozen until then anyway for a change of type so won't affect my LH bid next year. Being completely honest I'didn't think it would get to my 'Juniority' so was no harm sticking the commedy bid in as it was all acheademic! I should have 'only bid for what I really wanted'! I won't make the same mistake in the future... You have to be happy to accept all the course you bid for! I hold my hands up, I made a mistake!
We moved half an hour up the M40 in Feb so driving to LGW 19-20 days a month would be a hard commute, yes there are a couple of layovers but not enough to make it regular. Again this wasn't quite the case last year & on the 737. Hopefully starting a family too so other priorities. When one day I do get a command I want & should give it 110%. Not worth getting cat C'd early on in your career, if not only for your personal pride.
Normally in any other company I would agree with the 'always take any command offered to you' but BA is different. I enjoy being an FO, obviously there's always a chain of Command but I really do feel part of the team at work. My sector is my sector & unless I'm wanting to do something crazy or dangerous 99% of Skippers let you get on with it. There is certainly no rush just to get to any Left seat opportunity! I'd say one of BA's best attributes when flying as an FO on the line. Makes the job easy!
But the biggest reason for me is this..... It would be great to have a command now but I'm at least 20 years from a LH command so staying SH for this amount of time scares the hell out of me... Not because I hate it but I think I would need a Change so the noggin doesn't freeze! Or the other option is to give up the Command which being Honnest with myself I don't think I'm strong enough to do!
The other elephant in the room is why has LGW Command gone so Junior.... There is always a reason & I think many are slowly waking up as to why... I'm not sure of all the reasons but the 3000 plus senior to me can't all be missing the point!
If your thinking about BA it is a great place to work! It's a great time to join & there is plenty of opportunities for everyone. Yes you may have to do 5 years on SH but that's not too bad considering most will probably have a 25-35 year career ahead of them. As I've said before it's not everyone's cup of tea but you can make it work for you. The job security is like no thrive ever experienced in other airlines... I accept LOCO's are also great in this respect! Yes it's not as good as it used to be but it's far better than my previous 2 companies even with the recent changes! Unfortunately some of my colleagues don't realise that. I do think the rate of change is a bit unhealthy but it's the same in all airlines.
Best of Luck to those who are applying!
Rgds BASHLH.