BA Management (Split From T5 Thread)
 

It also looks suspiciously like there is a spot of sabotage from our dear loaders taking place at T5. I am talking about the number of times loading equipment has been left dumped behind a parked aircraft such that it cant push back until someone moves it and the its not my job guv is still alive and kicking!

Oh, God, please spare us such stupidity.

And people wonder why other people emigrate to get away from Glorious Britain.

Stupidity
 

I agree, Frangatang, what on earth are you talking about? As if the loaders would sabotage the operation. That is a very perilous accusation to make.

Hey why don't you post it on the internal 'intranet' chat rooms and see what IR problems you cause.

You should retract your unfounded statement:=

.

BAeng, perhaps some frank and open discussion amongst BA staff is exactly what is needed right now, instead of threatening those who are willing to speak out. To call a spade a spade, any reasonable man can see that part of the problem in getting T5 up to speed is the rediculous demarcation situation that exists.
Instead of berating management for the past week, perhaps BAeng, you should direct some of your fire to some, not all, of your colleagues over at T5.:ok:

BAeng
 

i ve posted here before. BAeng must either be retired or has an office of his own...

Anyone going to Heathrow can see that the problems are not only managerial but that there is still an "us and them" attitude. Rantings about MBA's?

How about agreeing it seems BA has a fundamental cultural problem, which starts off with incapable management, apparantly a lack of middle management, BA suffers more than most from the 'ole British disease where the capitalistic management exploits the socialistic workers....? Time for all to grow up and all levels to look at where THEY themseves failed.

I m sure there were those BA employees who went to T5 early the first day, fully intent to help make the opening a success. I applaude you!
Then there were those who went there with the customary wait and see attitude and who revelled in the initial chaos, thinking they found themselves some bargaining power for an additional break or two. Well done to you to, i hope you loose your jobs
Finally there was the incompetent management which failed on all counts including planning and PR. I hope you loose your jobs too

So it s a mess all around which is sad for those with honest intentions and it s not just a management issue or an MBA issue

poor man...... Hope the pension fund won t suffer when BA collapses.....

One got away ok
 

Basil - your mates wife must be one of the lucky ones, did she write into Willie to let him know of her Terminal satisfaction? He'd love another letter..

Schoolkid - the name pretty much sums it up, whilst not wishing to be goaded, how on earth is a threat to suggest a BA staff member puts a serious accusation up internally within BA? That way those he has levelled such serious accusations will have a right of reply. That my dear child is called a level playing field. My main concern with the Frangatang's accusation is it comes from a 'troll' management poster. The concern is obvious, left with little to explain their continued performance issues, they are looking to start blaming a section of the staff community. I repeat, he should retract his posting or make an official complaint to the respective persons, union etc. Now be a goodlad and run off and finish your homework.

Public enemy No1
 

Petley - Didn't see the paper, would love to see the article about deadwood if you can post it. Don't know about him being public enemy No1, I know he ain't too popular amongst BA. Just goes to show, when you keep someone on who may well be extridited to the US as part of the price fixing scandal, you get all that you deserve.

I will emphasise, Mr Gareth Kirkwood is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. There is a vast chance that he may face charges in the coming months for his part in the price fixing scandal that hit BA and cost scrillions of shareholder monies!! In that case BA won't have to sack his arse for the VAST Terminal chaos that is ongoing at T5. If he does end up doing time, for heavens sake, don't put the bloke in charge of the mail bags... He has form with bag mountains you know.

Link to article here....

Pension funds
 

Vanhorck - are you smoking weed in Rotterdamn? Is that the sort of flying experiance you bring to these hallowed forums? Please concern yourself with your own financial arrangements, like how your going to pay for your next bag of scragg! But please enjoy your current trip, bet your pleased you never carry bags.

As far as the BA pension is concerned, we are in good hands. As of January 2007 we have become the proud 'landlords' of Tesco stores. :sad:


Another fiasco of BA's, (though another thread) buying into property just as the property market is on the way south. Nice one trustees. So as you see, after successfully screwing 2.1 billion out of the pension members in Spring 2007 they have also squandered another chunk of the fund. I am very much unconcerned with the BA APS or NAPS pension fund, I am long past that point.

BAeng,
You missed the crux of my post. Demarcation issues amongst elements of the workforce at T5 form at the very least , part of the diffilculties encountered since 27/3.

As for the pic of the baggage truck,accompanying a Alitalia machine on the previous page, I feel it's misleading. Chances are, being T2, its heading for a venerable 757 or the like....containerisation hasent taken over all of LHR yet you know!


As for my name on here,all I'll say is appearances can be deceptive...:E
I wont reduce to slander on these boards.

Sadly, Frangatang speaks the truth and this is known about at the highest levels of the company. Sorry if the truth hurts.:sad:

Ah but if your not a schoolkid, why do you spell and write like one? It's either that or you are an MBA holding superwhizz BA manager. Or maybe your Willie himself, West Coast of Ireland, schoolkid refering to his pint sized stature?

frangatang,
Recollect in the 70s as BA FO, manager asked me to move a luggage tractor intentionally left behind our aircraft. I declined but politely suggested that he remove the offending machine.
The vehicle remained and the flight was cancelled. I was astonished that our manager did not just jump in and move it. In his position I would have done so.

The truth
 

Frangatang, Hot Wings et al, the truth is a rather deceptive beast at BA. If what you are saying that the baggage/ground handling staff are deliberately sabotaging Terminal 5 than I suggest as before this is raised at the highest levels, formally.

If it turns out to be true and not more BA PR spin, then those responsible should be brought to book. But seriously I do not think that is the case as most, including myself, wanted to see T5 a success. That way after the serial basket case BA is becomming, our futures may have been saved. As it stands the unmitigated disaster that T5 has become, I am sad to say I think this is no longer the case.

If what Frangatang is saying is fabrication then of course this is an irresponsible statement to make and disparaging to a hard working group at BA.

Oh, the truth is far from painful. Its why a full and independant investigation into what happened should be commissioned.

But BAeng, you gotta remember , an awful lot changes in 7 years!:D

Getting rid of Willie right now would be a complete knee-jerk reaction....do we really want somebody like Kirkwood stepping into his shoes in the short term at least.:E

Yes, this is how "Roger the Cabin Boy" worked his way up, right? :}

While I've seen your point being made, I've also seen various people's biographies posted, and when they've listed having an MBA, the resulting comments are that the person must be an incompetent idiot, etc.

I agree that one must gain the prerequsite experience before being put into positions of authority. If they are putting newbies into positions of authority, then they get what they deserve.

Luckily, in my company, most people I know who have an MBA only decided to get it after a few years or more in the trenches, and usually end up getting it by taking classes after work, so their experience builds as they are gaining the MBA.

Basil,While such blame matters to some degree to those of us on this forum, to the general public, all they see on the front of the building is "British Airways". It's their cock-up, plain and simple. If the place wasn't ready for prime time, they should have delayed the launch till it was.

I thought this was a contact sport

No longer ATC and BAeng

If this is true..... only a few rats can make the dyke unsteady......
Time for some cameras airside....

(from a stoned Dutchman)

A good sense of humour
 

Vanhorck - very good response 'touchette', very funny. On the serious note, I do not believe this to be the case, and of course your correct, Heathrow is probably the most covered by CCTV area in the UK.

Hence the loaders would be crazy to be playing such defective games. If the rumour proves to be true, I promise I will resign my membership and refrain from posting. that'll give the BA mangers watching something to get on with.

I think our loader colleagues are more honest than that.

Anonymity
 

Herald Tribune - Are BA press office suddenly becomming shy? Company policy to maintain anonymity? That'd be why so many of them are on here!

Have you ever heard such immature nonsense in all your time at BA?

BAengineering, well please resign your membership status and stop posting because it IS happening.

no-one is best pleased with our performance and indeed I feel mightily ashamed whenever I get a question about T5. You've done more than enough on this forum by your incessant postings (as shown by others).

However don't blame the loaders either way, they have had to do with major cost cutting in the manpower department and I'm sure the way our 'managers' have communicated it hasn't really empowered them. Knowing that they talk to us like children.

Hopefully there will be a big mop up in 'middle management' who have to communicate to up above that their departments were ready for the big move.
It's a great new home for us though and I'm sure it can work properly.

Re the BA spokesman comment stuff.. Many firms don't as a matter of rule have their spokespersons quoted by name "just a BA spokesman, " "BT spokesman etc" but the IHT and some U.S. papers have a style that they must quote a name OR say why they don't.

ditto for government.

I have no insight into BA's press team, but I guess it is that.

Please don;t blame the loaders
 

Shaka Zulu - what on earth are you saying? confirming the loaders are sabotaging the Terminal 5 operation (i'd like to know your source/proof as I've not seen it) yet state 'don't blame them'.

Now that really is a VASTLY ridiculous proposition to make.

If they are sabotaging the operation then it needs to be properly exposed and the persons responsible brought to task. As I have repeatedly stated these allegations and supporting evidence (which you must have) needs to brought immediately to the attention of senior management. I still don;t believe its true and stand by my promise to resign my membership on demonstration of your allegations. I am still waiting.

As for incessant posting, there are a number of PPrune members who enjoy my musings. Additionally with a thread that is running at nearly 1000 posts of which only some 70 are mine, the VAST MAJORITY are other peoples postings. Indeed many of my postings are in direct reply to BA managers who wish to spin their PR on this thread.

19th century Mill owners
 

BA Eng,
Congrats, 100 posts.
BA.... been there, done that, won't make same mistake again.....

Racasan
 

My word Racasan ol bean, I'm mighty chuffed you noticed, 100 posts, it's gone so quickly, almost effortlessly. I still stand by my statement that the VAST MAJORITY of posts have been made by BA managers!:}

Still i have made 10% of the postings, so by BA standards, when 90% of flights are classed as being the VAST MAJORITY of the operation. Though when you think that the longhaul Op hasn;t moved over from T4 the portion of flights cancelled just from T5 is shocking.

Oh and you definately must be an x engineer with a name like Racasan, beautiful stuff, covered in it many times from my classic days!!:yuk:

Pot, Kettle
 

@BAengineering

Perhaps you should correct your own spelling before criticising others' efforts.

Spellin problims
 

Sorry SallyAnne,

I was being funny, I don;t really expect everyone to proof read all their posts or to expect such precision in ones posts.

I will endeavour to provide accurate and precisely spelt posts from here in. Thanks for correcting me, as I said I am just human and in my walk of life, spelling is not a prerequisite, just a nice to have.

BAA - a building provider that like BA serves its shareholders to maximise profit. LHR is a mess but some of the regional airports they own are just fine, such as stansted.

don't have much of an opinion about them, as an earlier poster said, BA is on the door, when it cocks up it's BA customers look toward.

SallyAnne, can you proof my post for me? PM me any changes, save me the embaressment. Cheers.

Care to offer any proof to your comments 5Bells? or are you merely expressing a "company" opinion?

Honestly, how can u "prove" that or any other post on pprune?

And for all you know, it just might be the truth. As inconvenient as that may be to the massed ranks of anti BA posters.

Viewfrom5bells - you changed your post. I will reanswer. If that is correct then I am shocked. I think BAA should pay BA lots of competition and I take back all I have said about BA mismanagement of the situation.

Meantime, back in reality, what utter tosh. I love the way BA managers, looking to save their thickened hide get on here with their fanciful 'plots'. Trotskiite baggage teams sabotaging the operation, mistery BAA persons unknown deleting 1 cell on an xcell spreadsheet which throws the building into chaos.

Indeed how can BAA fail to load BA's schedule? No one knows BA's schedule, is that the Plan A, B C or D schedule?

The 'weak links' should have been identified and contingency planned for, what happened to turning up before the show a little early, make sure everything is running as expected. BA should of offered an incentive to get staff on the first day at their posts well in advanced.

Like a previous poster, I have just had mail from BA telling me how they are about to move into T5 and how wonderful it will be - received after the event.

Also have an email asking me to complete a survey on why I am flying less often with the worlds favourite airline.....

I am flying with them less often because I am tired of being treated with total contempt whilst paying premium prices for a sub-standard product. There was no way to communicate the good news on the survey form.

I guess they will have to work it out for themselves.....

Independant investigation
 

L337 - yes of course things can be proved, the call from parliament for an independant investigation should be welcomed.

Personally I am concerned about the allegations related to the baggage staff. Maybe if there are any viewing they may want to jump in and provide a comment.

When I'm next in work I will make my own investigation into the matter, tip off a couple of senior managers who might have some influence and have the balls to do something about it.

If it;s going on, which I very much doubt, it has to be stopped.

He is asking for proof to be displayed on this forum. Clearly that cannot happen.

ROFLMO

SLF3b - That is exactly why I am so angry about what is going on at BA. Good people like yourself are leaving in droves.

those people who post the 'good news' on here have been reading and believing the BA news or are BA PR dept. Stop sticking your head in the sand, wake up and smell the coffee.

BA is a spent force, something big will have to occur before it turns around, but like the proverbial super tanker it'll take sometime. Sorry to have let you down SLF3b, and in response BA is too arrogant to work it out for themselves. If you can be arsed you may wish to let them know directly, let us know the response or lack of that you get back.

BAengineering

Do you think maybe you're becoming just a little bit obsessive about this?

Seems kinda strange to me if you work for BA that you keep knocking the company on this public forum. I guess their PR folks are doing their best in difficult circumstances, but you're doing your darndest to persuade potential customers on this high profile website not to believe them.
Wouldn't you like to see BA get over this problem as soon as possible and keep its customer base and win back any who got put off by this chaos? :confused:

B.

Laughing heartedly
 

L337 - what on earth is so amusing about that? If it's going on I'll have a look, no problemo. (as BAA would say)

I know enough people in baggage that'll give an honest answer to prove or disprove the allegation. That's a positive step, what do you propose to establish the facts being submitted on this board?

Bronx:

BAengineering is the classic rogue employee that works for BA. The majority of the thousands that work for BA are dedicated hard working and committed people. Yes poorly managed, but 98% are out there day in and day out trying to make a cr@p system work. Some do nothing but complain, and see bad in everything. You work with them, and all they do is bitch and moan about everything. They see no good in anything. Some even spend there free time complaining in public, to the largest audience they can find. If, and that is an if, BAengineering works for BA then I am deeply embarrassed to be in the same company as him.

He is here on PPruNe trying to do as much damage as he can to BA. Irrespective of any truth, he has his agenda. He hates BA. It shows, and it is sad, but it shows.

That you have such a high opinion of yourself.