Willie swings his axe
A staff cut which starts with the management. Never thought I'd see it. I hope the idea spreads
And in response to M.Mouse, there are plenty of things that Willie can have a go at in flight and cabin crew. It is not just about flying 100 hours in 28 days. How's about:
1/ Moving to airport hotels for nightstops instead of usually more expensive in-town hotels which also incur transport costs
2/ Getting rid of the various additional allowances in the allowances scheme for silly things like sitting in Central Area for an hour or two between flights. Last time I looked, CSDs were paid £54 for this two-hour wait. Barking mad.
3/ Throwing bidline/carmen in the bin
4/ Crew food
5/ Taking out the chauffer-driven limos for LGW crews to get to the simulator at LHR
6/ Tightening up the crew and aircraft scheduling so that the ratio of flying hours to duty hours reduces, i.e. you conduct the 100 flight hours in less duty time and thus earn less duty pay. If combined with binning Carmen rostering, you could probably achieve this quite happily.
That's six things to start with which would cut costs and not require you to exceed the legal maximum on hours. Productivity and cost-effectiveness can be measured in all sorts of ways....
Join Date: Jun 1997
Location: 5530N
Posts: 845
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
some one said he wont go after the pilots/ cabin crew. The name BALPA was mentioned. Don't flatter yourself.
WW is the most cunning, sharpest and devious you'll find. He'll get a wave of support from the shareholders for this move. You've banned fox huntng in the UK but union hunting is open season now for young willy.
Once the managers issue has been dealt with he'll go for working conditions and especially ccm working conditions. He'll also bounce pilots/ccms working condts off each other when dealing with the unions. Again watch this space.
WW is the most cunning, sharpest and devious you'll find. He'll get a wave of support from the shareholders for this move. You've banned fox huntng in the UK but union hunting is open season now for young willy.
Once the managers issue has been dealt with he'll go for working conditions and especially ccm working conditions. He'll also bounce pilots/ccms working condts off each other when dealing with the unions. Again watch this space.
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: England
Posts: 730
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Someone mentioned Engineering earlier. The axe has been swinging there for a long time, shame no one else in BA noticed.
I'm never normally happy to see any jobs under threat but I do like the idea of a few Cheese Procurement Managers and the like getting the boot
I've never been to Waterside but from what i've heard of the place some serious questions need to be asked.
I'm never normally happy to see any jobs under threat but I do like the idea of a few Cheese Procurement Managers and the like getting the boot
I've never been to Waterside but from what i've heard of the place some serious questions need to be asked.
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Egcc
Posts: 1,695
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Flightrider
I don't work for BA, but;
All well and good and would make a great saving on hotac and travel costs, but just watch the other areas get impacted by crews not being fit for duty due to lack of sleep......
I'm sure allowances are always being pecked away at by successive management, but wholesale cuts without negotiation could be more expensive than the possible cost savings.
Again, could prove extremely problematic to just 'bin' the things that give lifestyle options. Lose the goodwill factor of 'onside' pilots and just watch the costs spiral with 'offside' pilots. You can't make BA into Ryanair, that's why the lo-co's try to start with a blank sheet of paper. Equally, you can't sustain a working career in the likes of Easy when the pilots feel they have no lifestyle, hence the turnover of pilots. Look at the retraining costs and all of a sudden retention doesn't look quite so expensive.
Don't feed 'em and they won't fly. Again, it's one of those areas that most other airlines have been chipping away at already for years. Staff morale comes into it and I refer you to the 'onside'/'offside' comments of a previous answer.
Many airlines provide crew transport (and rightly so) if they require you to report at somewhere that is not your normal base. This transport has to be of a certain standard and it is not acceptable to just call the local cab office and get a (possibly) uninsured driver in a car that is not fit to be on the road. Employer's Duty of Care comes into it and I guess you mean a company like Hallmark when you refer to 'chauffer' driven 'limos'? Many companies use them as the cars are half descent quality (Mercs or big Vauxhalls), not exactly 'limos', and the drivers wear a suit, but are not chauffers, just professional taxi drivers.
Don't think you'll find too many pilots complaining about an efficiency saving like this if it means they spend a little more time at home........
PP
I don't work for BA, but;
1/ Moving to airport hotels for nightstops instead of usually more expensive in-town hotels which also incur transport costs
2/ Getting rid of the various additional allowances in the allowances scheme for silly things like sitting in Central Area for an hour or two between flights. Last time I looked, CSDs were paid £54 for this two-hour wait. Barking mad.
3/ Throwing bidline/carmen in the bin
4/ Crew food
5/ Taking out the chauffer-driven limos for LGW crews to get to the simulator at LHR
6/ Tightening up the crew and aircraft scheduling so that the ratio of flying hours to duty hours reduces, i.e. you conduct the 100 flight hours in less duty time and thus earn less duty pay. If combined with binning Carmen rostering, you could probably achieve this quite happily.
PP
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Peoples Republic of EU
Posts: 436
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The name BALPA was mentioned. Don't flatter yourself.
WW is the most cunning, sharpest and devious you'll find. He'll get a wave of support from the shareholders for this move. You've banned fox huntng in the UK but union hunting is open season now for young willy.
All the usual stuff was trotted out "he's going to massacre you", "you're doomed - look what he did at Cathay".
End result he didn't achieve much. Why? Well Cathay although being unionised was in China which didn't have quite the same labour laws.
Willie Walsh got away with what he did at Aer Lingus because it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
BA is the most profitable airline in the world at the moment I think (I'm easyJet) so the case isn't as solid. In addition the unions are in a fairly strong position.
Anyway cost cutting in the short term makes the share price look good and creates an image of a ruthless Willie. But you can't keep cost cutting and he's going to have do some serious work to grow the company which is where more profit can be generated.
He's come in with a reputation and doesn't want to look like a damp squib so he attacking a fat and soft target to look tough.
Resident insomniac
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: N54 58 34 W02 01 21
Age: 79
Posts: 1,873
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
>A staff cut which starts with the management.
It's 'usual' to ask the seniors to justify retaining their subordinates (hurts their empire-building ambitions and frightens the seniors) before moving up and decimating the levels as they go. Last man to leave puts out the lights.
However, if you start at the top, who is there to decide what further 'wasteage' is possible and to issue the dismissal notices?
Unless, of course, it's an autocracy . . .
> All well and good and would make a great saving on hotac and travel costs, but just watch the other areas get impacted by crews not being fit for duty due to lack of sleep......
You mean that there's even MORE opportunity for socialising in airport hotels?
It's 'usual' to ask the seniors to justify retaining their subordinates (hurts their empire-building ambitions and frightens the seniors) before moving up and decimating the levels as they go. Last man to leave puts out the lights.
However, if you start at the top, who is there to decide what further 'wasteage' is possible and to issue the dismissal notices?
Unless, of course, it's an autocracy . . .
> All well and good and would make a great saving on hotac and travel costs, but just watch the other areas get impacted by crews not being fit for duty due to lack of sleep......
You mean that there's even MORE opportunity for socialising in airport hotels?
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: london
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
slick willie
According to the Financial Times business blog - "It cannot be entirely coincidence that Walsh is taking on managers before the move to Terminal 5"...
Of course, there will be more to come after the move..
Of course, there will be more to come after the move..
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Camp X-Ray
Posts: 2,135
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I love the way that every time the subject of cost savings comes up that people start talking about airport hotels. Perhaps if these doom sayers tried to book themselves a night at an airport hotel they would be dispelled of the notion that they are vastly cheaper than city centre locations. Perhaps if they tried to book 100 or more rooms per night as is required in some locations they´d find the airport hotels weren´t interested at all. They´d also find that many áirport´hotels still require transport to the hotel, and the transport firms don´t work on a ´per mile´basis like a taxi does.
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 197
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Pilot Pete - I think Flightrider means crews make their own way to the sim or get the bus....The perception amongst any airline Management or ground staff is that there is one rule for Flight Crews and one rule for the rest. At this stage the new CEO is going after Middle Mgmt, no doubt crews will be targeted sooner or later.
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: LONDON
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Please try to remember that whatever their job title, these cuts affect real people. Also that most managers such as TMG's are in place to do a real, technical job not just to sit back and watch others do the real work.
That said, this is probably the right move for BA if its serious about cutting £300m from its employee costs.
Just to correct a previous poster, we've been told that any senior manager who fails to secure a post by end of March 2006 will be out, no careerlink no BRS, just OUT!
That said, this is probably the right move for BA if its serious about cutting £300m from its employee costs.
Just to correct a previous poster, we've been told that any senior manager who fails to secure a post by end of March 2006 will be out, no careerlink no BRS, just OUT!
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: on the golf course (Covid permitting)
Posts: 2,131
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
BA-BEANCOUNTER
Don't get me wrong - everyone has commitments and family etc.... but I say GOOD, ABOUT BL00DY TIME. The company does not owe anyone a living, let alone people not contributing to the bottom line. Keeping people on, on gardening leave etc does the remaining employees no favours at all. I say give them their contractual notice and pay them the statutory minimum severance and thank them for their past service and wish them well in the future. This company has been held back by its lack of bollox in having a no compulsory redundancies policy.
Just to correct a previous poster, we've been told that any senior manager who fails to secure a post by end of March 2006 will be out, no careerlink no BRS, just OUT!
I Have Control
Join Date: May 2004
Location: North-West England
Posts: 49
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Quite right
Many BA managers are very lazy. And there has been little pressure for them to change their ways, just to hold onto their jobs. I should know.
Anyway, good luck to you, Willie.
Anyway, good luck to you, Willie.
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: FL, USA
Posts: 357
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hand Solo - you're absolutely right about airport hotels. When will this myth go away? I have worked in hotac bookings, and believe me, when the wx goes down you have a nightmare with crews at airport hotels. It's simply too irresistable for hotel managers to ignore a contract for a small penalty and sell some top-end priced rooms to pi$$ed-off pax.
Airport hotel myths spring from two management irrationalities:
1. Because you're nearer work they somehow think you'll be more available on a freebie 'reserve' - notwithstanding that crews refuse to answer the phone on layovers.
2. Envy. Pure and simple. The 'fun-detectors' have to bust-up the fly-boy morale. Why should crews enjoy Wanchai when they're stuck back at Waterworld?
No, you don't necessarily have to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but nor will a flea-pit by LAX porno-land do, either.
Airport hotel myths spring from two management irrationalities:
1. Because you're nearer work they somehow think you'll be more available on a freebie 'reserve' - notwithstanding that crews refuse to answer the phone on layovers.
2. Envy. Pure and simple. The 'fun-detectors' have to bust-up the fly-boy morale. Why should crews enjoy Wanchai when they're stuck back at Waterworld?
No, you don't necessarily have to stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel, but nor will a flea-pit by LAX porno-land do, either.
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Other Places
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I know how much my (airline) company pays for our hotel rooms, because the crew are required to sign the bill, on check out, at many of the them.
The price ranges from USD30 - USD60 between hotels. This is at hotels where the rack rate is double and triple that which my company pays for us.
These hotels usually provide crews with a free buffet breakfast (which is extra again, for John Citizen), to try to keep the crews happy in order to retain the contract.
A month or so ago, our usual hotel in one port was fully booked, due to regular seasonal group bookings (which pay close to the rack rate), and several crews were overnighted at an airport hotel for the month.
The cost to the airline was almost 50% more than our regular stay hotel.
Airport hotels generally have a very high occupancy rate at any given time, and by accepting an airline contract for their crews, are going to cut their profit margins considerably if they do accept.
Willy's actions are going to send a shudder through the ranks of many of the bloated middle "management" levels in many of the airlines throughout the world.
These people have delighted in reducing the levels and conditions of the average, hard-working, productive employee, upon whom revenue is dependant, whilst at almost the same time they have swelled the numbers of their "assistants"/secretaries to garnish their own sense of import - but WITHOUT adding any more income to the company.
It was well overdue in BA, and is still overdue in the majority of other airlines.
The price ranges from USD30 - USD60 between hotels. This is at hotels where the rack rate is double and triple that which my company pays for us.
These hotels usually provide crews with a free buffet breakfast (which is extra again, for John Citizen), to try to keep the crews happy in order to retain the contract.
A month or so ago, our usual hotel in one port was fully booked, due to regular seasonal group bookings (which pay close to the rack rate), and several crews were overnighted at an airport hotel for the month.
The cost to the airline was almost 50% more than our regular stay hotel.
Airport hotels generally have a very high occupancy rate at any given time, and by accepting an airline contract for their crews, are going to cut their profit margins considerably if they do accept.
Willy's actions are going to send a shudder through the ranks of many of the bloated middle "management" levels in many of the airlines throughout the world.
These people have delighted in reducing the levels and conditions of the average, hard-working, productive employee, upon whom revenue is dependant, whilst at almost the same time they have swelled the numbers of their "assistants"/secretaries to garnish their own sense of import - but WITHOUT adding any more income to the company.
It was well overdue in BA, and is still overdue in the majority of other airlines.
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Some of the very senior flying staff had better watch their backs now too. And a good few prima donnas. This is a big axe which is falling at a slow rate but it won't miss anyone who is surplus to requirements.
Call it big time Willie waving!
Call it big time Willie waving!
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: UK
Posts: 361
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Not nice before christmas, but SO overdue - even Ayling should have got to grips with this one ,let alone Eddington or Walsh. 
If just 600 managers are going to save £50MILLION , then some of them must be disgustingly overpaid.
I knew a senior manager in BA who took 3 months to do an Excel spreadsheet that would have taken anyone else an afternoon to do.
Being a large airline brings some safety, but it also means expensive people conveniently lose themselves in the system - this costs a fortune.
The frontline has suffered enough cuts already - hello - we are already suffering very poor ontime perfromance due to very tight turnarounds/insufficient resources , and just look at the catering fiasco which has left the best part of shorthaul with NO catering for 4 MONTHS now - ridiculous.
He's hit hard with his first action at BA , but he really should take a close look at what is important to BA's customers now , any impact his future decisions could have.
Airline customers walk very quickly and are not stupid.
Invest in your frontline Willie and don't let your farepayers down......
If just 600 managers are going to save £50MILLION , then some of them must be disgustingly overpaid.
I knew a senior manager in BA who took 3 months to do an Excel spreadsheet that would have taken anyone else an afternoon to do.
Being a large airline brings some safety, but it also means expensive people conveniently lose themselves in the system - this costs a fortune.
The frontline has suffered enough cuts already - hello - we are already suffering very poor ontime perfromance due to very tight turnarounds/insufficient resources , and just look at the catering fiasco which has left the best part of shorthaul with NO catering for 4 MONTHS now - ridiculous.
He's hit hard with his first action at BA , but he really should take a close look at what is important to BA's customers now , any impact his future decisions could have.
Airline customers walk very quickly and are not stupid.
Invest in your frontline Willie and don't let your farepayers down......