Pilotstogether

[FredFlintstone]

On the surface this looks well meaning but considering the politics in the BACC and the NEC is this just a further attempt at splitting the union. Despite weak justifications on the forum this is duplication and has definitely have other aims buried in its depths. So many hell bent on self destruction at the moment, from CC’s fiddling while Rome burns to distract from their own mischief to sections of the NEC looking after themselves whilst banging empty drums and looking for backs to stab. What is going on?

[wiggy]

Well to quote something I've just read it's mission statement is along the lines of

"PilotsTogether is a recently formed registered charity established to help prevent financial hardship of professional UK pilots impacted by the devasting economic effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It is about pilots helping pilots."


What do you think is going on - presumably something more sinister?

[FredFlintstone]

Very BA centric for a start, BACC, NEC members threatening to throw their toys out the cot and play on their own pitch, depending who is running things today if not pushed, it undermines, not compliment the BBF and would be the way to start a breakaway under the guises of a charity. NEC permits it to be plugged on the forum for fear of not doing as told by BA troublemakers whist making sure they look after themselves, probably because other CCs like my own are running around in self destruct mode interfering in nonsense that costs the union money it can ill afford. There seems to be a movement of self destruct and foundation laying going on, with this pilotstogether thing being the latter. I’m so glad I came back to BALPA. Lots of good people in it but have a deeper look at the moment, this is just one more move on a destructive chess board at the moment but dressed up in charity and good will. Still next weeks BA chairman might have less transparent plans to share.

[Shaman]

Fred,

I don't know what you have been inhaling/injecting or drinking but you have been sold a bad batch - ask for your money back.

[FredFlintstone]

I guess I really should have put this in Rumours and News to be fair, but addressing the above, those behind it are reaching out to see who they can draw over but are largely being met with polite refusals for the reasons given above.
The Benevolent fund has paid out to help pilots qualify who have fallen on hard times, starting off with empty coffers to try and keep unemployed pilots current whilst seemingly a good gesture is an empty one. There are over 18,000 unemployed pilots across Europe right now, so unless this is targeting a small group out of that 18,000 (BA pilots) the numbers simply don’t add up. Mix that with the weekly BACC and NEC politics, then those giving this a wide berth are right to be cautious. It really is a way to start a splinter group in sheep’s clothing, when you hear about the politics and characters at NEC level it does give you pause, but of course if you just read the promotional material then of course it sounds great.

[Jumpjim]

I fail to see where you're going with this...

It is, as Wiggy has pointed out, been set up to assist UK pilots who are struggling as a result of the pandemic, and I believe they are doing a good job doing so.

This was never set up to look after the "over 18,000 unemployed pilots across Europe right now", so yes, this is targeting a smaller group, ie. UK based pilots. It is NOT BA centric and the only person trying to cause splinter groups is yourself FredFlintstone. A lot of us contribute monthly out of our pay to this charity to help our less fortunate colleagues. Stop trying to tie this into political machinations and your weird conspiracy theories and try and see it for what it is, professional pilots trying to help colleagues in difficult times.

[Busdriver01]

For context, if it seems a bit BA centric that’s because that’s how it started it’s life - the brainchild of a BA captain who wanted to help his fellow BA colleagues who were imminently to be made CR, with absolutely no redundancy pay and in some cases only one months notice. The simple idea was for all remaining BA pilots to give a small amount per month (c.£100) (nothing when you are still on 85-90% of your normal, pre-COVID pay) to go to the 249 who were made redundant - a safety net not afforded by the deal balpa did with BA for reasons I cannot fathom. That specific idea never materialised but I understand it grew into something much bigger and helps all pilots, not just BA pilots.

Sinister reasons? Perhaps, but I think not.