British Airways

[champair79]

It’s with Lufthansa Technik.

I wouldn’t be so sure about it going to Chateauroux. I believe it’s going to do a few repatriation flights to and from South Africa along with the only 747 that’s active.

[VickersVicount]

Nice to see a 744 returning from BOH storage to LHR hopefully for pax action!

[FR8364]

Already some BA destinations showing new reduced frequencies on their July’s timetable... IBZ, AGP, PMI... from both LHR and/or LGW.

seems an announcement will be on the table next week!

[wub]

BA A380 G-XLEG out of Heathrow to JNB tonight

[Playamar2]

B777 G-YMMG & G-YMMK have been converted to makeshift freighters according to CH Aviation. All cabin features & passenger seats have been removed.

[jijpc]

These two 777s still have first class cabins with 12 seats in place. This is for carrying spare crew as cargo flights to China have to carry crew for the return journey.

[rog747]

I need to go to Yorkshire asap for a day trip - it is for business.
(ATM we cannot stay overnight under the current lock-down rules) and it is a bloody long drive from sleepy Dorset to go for the day.

No day trip flights are possible from my local at SOU, and British Airways have just announced last week they are dropping their LBA from LHR -

An almost continuous link since before my days working at BMA at LHR when we took over the LBA service from BA in 1980.

Ugh....bad news.

[Baltic Skies]

Have you checked the flight schedule of Yorkshire Airways

[rog747]

Originally Posted by Baltic Skies

Have you checked the flight schedule of Yorkshire Airways

Are they still doing the Saveloy and mushy peas for hot breakfast - Eh up?

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by rog747

I need to go to Yorkshire asap for a day trip - it is for business.
(ATM we cannot stay overnight under the current lock-down rules) and it is a bloody long drive from sleepy Dorset to go for the day.

No day trip flights are possible from my local at SOU, and British Airways have just announced last week they are dropping their LBA from LHR -

This sort of thing is going to blow up in Parliament. Willie Walsh and Alex Cruz have already had strong words only yesterday from the Prime Minister about their behaviour with staff conditions. Maybe they think he's not their Prime Minister, so it doesn't matter.

BA have scooped up huge government payments for furloughing staff, and also made sure they were first in the queue to scoop up government-backed negligible interest loans which seem to have totalled about £1bn. I guess this latter was justified wholly in meetings as being for "British Airways", but maybe once agreed the government were told "Oh, by the way, make the cheque out to a company called IAG, Madrid".

Knocking the flights to Leeds, centre of a lot of recent new government MPs, and cutting their BA connecting link through Heathrow, seems something from the wholly commercial-driven days, which we are no longer in. Just a morning and evening flight each way, the ones principally used by Yorkshire and other business travellers and generally the full ones, would be part of the least conditions that might have been imposed.

[LTNman]

BA is looking into taking legal action against the UK government over the quarantine rules. Seems BA thinks their business is more important than UK lives. This leads to the question as to why IAG has not taken legal action against other countries like Spain.

Maybe BA will now turn down taxpayers money seeing they have contempt for the British public.

[adfly]

Originally Posted by LTNman

BA is looking into taking legal action against the UK government over the quarantine rules. Seems BA thinks their business is more important than UK lives. This leads to the question as to why IAG has not taken legal action against other countries like Spain.

Maybe BA will now turn down taxpayers money seeing they have contempt for the British public.

That seems a little hysterical. It is quite clear that they are challenging it due to the absolute mess the Govt have made of not bothering with a quarantine when it was needed then chucking in a half arsed effort just as things are starting to get better, with most of the countries around the UK being a lower risk than we are. In other words they are needlessly penalising the travel industry no no appreciable gain in terms of Covid transmission risk. If this was implemented in March/April I'd be inclined to agree with your statement if BA were on about legal action then.

As for the taxpayers money/layoffs/new contracts, I am rather less on side with BA in that matter, I feel like they are trying to push things way too far in the cost savings department.

[LTNman]

I too would have liked the government to have taken action quicker but we can’t have a situation where BA and other airlines are putting their own interests first. The fact that we should have done it earlier does not mean we should not do it now.

[Yeehaw22]

Originally Posted by LTNman

I too would have liked the government to have taken action quicker but we can’t have a situation where BA and other airlines are putting their own interests first. The fact that we should have done it earlier does not mean we should not do it now.

I think BA are acting despicably during this crisis. But, they are making a valid point. The quarantine is a nonsense that if left unchallenged will ruin the industry. Not once have the government offered any justification as to why now. The home Secretary has been asked directly numerous occasions this week and point blank refused to give any scientific backup to this circus of a quarantine.

[Cloud1]

Originally Posted by Yeehaw22

I think BA are acting despicably during this crisis. But, they are making a valid point. The quarantine is a nonsense that if left unchallenged will ruin the industry. Not once have the government offered any justification as to why now. The home Secretary has been asked directly numerous occasions this week and point blank refused to give any scientific backup to this circus of a quarantine.

The government are chasing their tail all the time and this late quarantine measure is another example. They also are not innocent in the BA restructuring either. They made it very clear that they wouldn’t offer state aid or any packages unless an airline can evidence they have done everything to reduce their costs. Arguably that is what BA are doing whether we like it or not.

The cabin crew pay grades at BA vary significantly and I am not sure how they compare to other airlines in a similar market (I.e Full service mixed cabins long haul and buy on board shorthaul). Those high salaries and agreements at BA have developed over time and is likely to be cost that cannot be sustained in the short to medium term. The problem is though that it is what individuals are use to and factor in, in lifestyle, living arrangements and bills etc. So any cuts will of course be a big blow and take a large hit to those impacted as would be expected.

What I would like to understand better is what the proposed terms and condition changes are, and what costs would be sustained (and subsequent impact) over the next 2 years if these changes are not made. Unfortunately it seems the Unions are spending too much time in the media and publicising BA adversely rather than sitting down and laying out what compromises could be made to either reduce the proposed redundancies or maintain other benefits / conditions. That’s certainly the impression I’m getting from watching various interviews with the union and WW on the news channels.

[Asturias56]

It was thought up to give Priti something to say in case she repeated her remark about the fall in shop lifting cases, Cummings thinks it will play well to beat on "Johnny Foreigner" - once it was said Bojo had to back Priit just as hey realised they look ridiculous. If I had serious business sin Yorkshire I'd just go and stay overnight and tell them I was unfit to drive back if anyone asked

[DomyDom]

Originally Posted by LTNman

I too would have liked the government to have taken action quicker but we can’t have a situation where BA and other airlines are putting their own interests first. The fact that we should have done it earlier does not mean we should not do it now.

The border rule is a farce when you look at how many groups are exempted and that it is practically unenforceable. We should have a targetted ban on flights and travellers from countries with a high infection rate (we still don't) with exceptions made for those on essential journeys who would undergo quarantine in government allocated secure accomodation. A bit like we had in February before the UK government decided it wasn't necessary.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules

[Mr A Tis]

Not heard BA considering any legal action against other travel restrictions/bans in other countries.

https://www.kayak.com/travel-restric...-4SyQ2SCjHjcw0

[DomyDom]

Originally Posted by Mr A Tis

Not heard BA considering any legal action against other travel restrictions/bans in other countries.

https://www.kayak.com/travel-restric...-4SyQ2SCjHjcw0

Probably because the travel restrictions/bans in other countries are logical and timely.

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by DomyDom

We should have a targeted ban on flights and travellers from countries with a high infection rate (we still don't)

The issue with any targeting of individual countries is that it always comes foul of the Foreign Office, who regardless of the circumstances are terrified of any individual countries being singled out as they will commonly take the huff and impose reciprocal regulations that upset all their diplomacy. Global approaches to an extent overcomes this. The fact that it decimates the UK aviation industry is by the by to them.

It also is quite defeated by those coming through intermediate hubs. Emirates coming in to the UK from Dubai have probably got on board people who started in 30 or 40 different countries, but who if they come from one of the embargoed places will happily show their documentation that they are coming from Dubai, or alternatively have been sat next to someone from such a place for the last 8 hours.