R.I.P. So what exactly did BA get for £75m?

[Mike Oscar]

This week has seen the final departments within CityFlyer closed down. The company has now vanished.

So that was a wise investment for BA........
1. Take over a good profitable airline for £75m and integrate into a loss-making operation.
2. Get rid of nearly all of the key CFE managers who really know how to run a profitable LGW short-haul operation.
3. Put all remaining staff on higher salaries, and increase other costs to BA levels.
4. Drop some of the (profitable) routes. (Use Sept 11th as a great excuse.)
5. Get rid of the aircraft to the regions.
6. Hand back hundreds of slots for the likes of easyJet to pick up.

So what business benefits have BA actually gained from taking over CityFlyer? I am totally bemused!!

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT TURN THIS THREAD INTO A CITYFLYER/BA/EOG SLANGING MATCH....THAT IS NOT THE INTENTION. JUST A THREAD ABOUT THE BUSINESS BENEFITS WHICH HAVE RESULTED........

[vegas_jonny]

Perhaps BA were worried about CFE being bought by a rival operator??

[Mike Oscar]

Good point.....so they could have bought CFE and continued to run it as a separate, successful company, even taking over some of the loss-making routes run by BA at the time. That doesn't explain any of the other decisions regarding integration, or the other points made in my original post.

Mike Oscar

[Quidnunc]

Mike Oscar:

"NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT TURN THIS THREAD INTO A CITYFLYER/BA/EOG SLANGING MATCH...."

From the tone of your thread sounds like you should read your own advice.

[Hand Solo]

I seem to remember Virgin being interested in buying CFE, so by BA buying CFE they reduce the slots available to Virgin at LGW perhaps? They couldn't transfer some of EOGs 'loss'making' routes (and remember that loss making is purely a result of the accountants practices and has little to do with the real economics of the route) because BA pilots would not accept that and rightly so. It does appear that BA have wasted a large amount of cash on a badly handled takeover, but then why should that surprise you? The company has a history of costly and unsuccessful interference in other airlines (Air Liberte, Deutsche BA, Iberia.....) and its just another symbol of the shambolic running of the company.

[HectorPascal]

M O, There's only so many strikes and repaints BA's management could organize. In order to do real damage and get the overdraft to £6.5 bn it was clearly necessary to also go down the "takeover and f***up an otherwise OK airline" route.
That said, I sincerely hope that BA sort their **** out and don't go down the tubes, or the employment prospects for many thousands of UK pilots will change for the worse for a very long time.

[Shadowpurser]

Happier crews (well C.C. anyway) are a result, and that means happier PAX. We've all gained something out of it, although I'm sure this was not B.A.'s intention when they masterminded the merger. But I know not everyone's totally happy before you start assassinating me!!(pilot seniority lists etc) But surely we've all got SOMETHING good out of it, even if it's only a wider route network.

Heres to AMS layover days!!!!!!!

[fox_trot_oscar]

SP - I don't think you'll find that all the c crew are any happier at all. Sure the changes will always suit some, but having moved from an environment where there was 100% job security and rapid career progress in an exciting and ever expanding company, this has now been replaced with complete uncertainty, corporate red tape and much less of a team spirit. I'm not saying that there isn't any team spirit within BA LGW's cabin crew - of course not - but I just don't think that the ex-CFE guys and girls are necessarily fully included yet and this will obviously take some time.

It has, however, happened, and all credit to everyone involved who is getting the whole thing working more smoothly.

Here's to the future - no point looking back

[Tom the Tenor]

Lack of service to passengers has to be included here. This time last year there were three daily RJ100 flights from LGW to Cork. Now, this year there are none. I do not believe Cork was a marginal route like the way Shannon might have been. Whom ever came up with the decision to drop Cork was one genius. Does anyone feel there might have been some other influences from the Irish end to come off the route once BA took over, vis a vis, increasing EI's market share Cork - London and streamlining Oneworld connections with BA at LHR?

[jaz]

Don't forget BA recruited many fully qualified pilots without the usual vast recruitment costs assosiated with their usual screening process. Must have saved a packet.

[Ex Servant]

I wanted to post a picture of EA in original flyer colours here but couldn't work out how to do it. Anyway, good luck to all Ex CFE staff. I still remember some good times. If anyone wants a copy of the EA picture email me and I'll send a copy. It was taken at the old Echo hold for 08R some years ago, a rare trip this far down I seem to remember.
Regards
John

[staff west]

Sounds just like the ongoing process within Brymon and BRAL or should I say within BACE (?)