Considering leaving BA

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I was a British Airways European Division apprentice aircraft mechanic in the 1970s. I left during the severance scheme in the early 1980s along with my father who was BEA from 1949. My mother was also BEA when they first formed at Northolt after the war.
I got my PPL and IMC rating at Booker and went to The United States in 1981 to get my FAA Comm/Inst/Multi as I saw no future in Britain for me.

I have been flying for a very large American cargo airline for over 30 years and Captain for 26 of them. I can honestly say that I have had the absolute best career imaginable. They have been fantastic to work for. The pay and conditions are brilliant. There are 13 28 day pay periods a year. I work two blocks of four nights a pay period, and drop five blocks for vacation and one for training a year. How many people do you know who made themselves deca millionaires from doing this?

The person I started flying with is a Captain on the 747-400 with British Airways. When I look at his schedule I cringe at the thought of doing that much flying.

One of my dearly departed friends was British Airways Channel Islands Division co-pilot on the Vickers Viscount. He was having an affair with the wife of a prominent politician. Upon the discovery of it he was fired. He then went to British Island Airways on the Hanley Page Herald. Again let go, because of the consensual affair. His next stop was British Air Ferries on the ATL98 Carvair and later the Viscount out of Southend.
He then threw the towel in with Britain and came to the United States where his first job was as Captain with Go Leasing who had the largest fleet of Vickers Viscounts in the World. They were leased out to rock bands for tours. Nobody cared who you had affairs with. We flew together for a few years before he retired.

I was once in the American Airlines simulator doing some contract training for another airline. I met a former British Airways Lockheed Tristar pilot who had an American wife. He much preferred his new life with American Airlines to his old one with British Airways.

Now that British Airways is run by Vueling's management team, it is just another a low cost carrier with a big sounding name.
Same problem at Emirates. Once they took the bail out money from Qatar they were slaves to the lender, and they cracked the whip on the employees. I understand it's now intolerable. We have hired several Emirates Captains recently.