BA Job losses

[Steven JC]

Can any body confirm this?

I hope this doesn't sound insensitive to anyone the losses will directly affect but, does anyone 'in the know' have any ideas how this will affect the BA CEP sponsorship scheme?
:mad: :confused:

[Hand Solo]

In no way whatsoever would be my guess.

[InGroundEffect]

There are 100 pilots jobs planned to go, but these will be by stopping some DEP recruitment and by natural wastage - including some of the flight engineers on the 747 Classic fleet, which is being grounded in Jan.

The cuts will not affect recruitment via the CEP - and that's from a very good source. So if you're applying, keeping going.

[scroggs]

While I wouldn't expect BA's announcement to affect the current round of DEP or CEP recruiting, I wouldn't be surprised to see the targets for next year and beyond being reduced.
BA in particular have been hit by the double whammy of the downturn on the Atlantic and the low-cost carriers in Europe. Just at the time BA's policy of concentrating on the high-yield business and first class passengers was coming to fruition, the corporate travel departments are shifting their contracts to economy, or using the phone more! This is going to be tight for some time for BA - don't expect their much-trumpeted pilot pay dispute to achieve a great deal, either.
Britannia has also announced some job losses, I believe, and I wouldn't be surprised to see most airlines quietly adopting a no-replacement line to allow the people count and wage bill to reduce.
Watch Flight to see what's happening with aircraft orders and leases to get a feel for the pilot market in the nearish future. If you see orders being deferred or converted to smaller types, options not taken up, and older types being retired early, you'll know the accountants are getting uncomfortable. That will, in turn, have an effect on the pilot recruiting numbers. Make sure you have a back-up plan!

[RVR800]

Europe's largest airline British Airways has reported a sharp rise in pre-tax profits for the year from just £5m to £150m.

These actions will improve the bottom line

See
http://www.britishairwaysjobs.com/cc/pilots/deps/index.j sp (http://www.britishairwaysjobs.com/cc/pilots/deps/index.jsp)

[ 05 September 2001: Message edited by: RVR800 ]

[Pontius]

Well boys and girls, according to my little bird (wot tells me stuff) this ain't good news for BA pilot recruitment, come to that, any recruitment.

It would seem that DEP recruitment is going to come to a grinding halt. An informed opinion would suggest that those who have done the sim may be taken on and (with luck) those who have got their sims booked will be able to do them and, hopefully, get in as well. After that it ain't looking good. Even those who have passed the selection but not not had the sim sorted out will (and I do hope I'm wrong) find themselves in a new and unimproved BA holding pool. Those people who have recently been putting off selection dates etc are probably going to be kicking themselves for a couple of years.

The TEP program will probably (and these are my thoughts only) not be affected as badly. The courses that have been booked will probably go ahead (after all, BA still does have all those pilots retiring). Apart from that, I reckon once those courses are under way we will see a bit of sucking-back on the TEP front. I'm not a betting man, but it wouldn't surprise me if we saw the non-renewal of WMU & Jerez contracts and just the 'trcicking' through of Oxford TEPs.

It seems very strange that one day BA is so desperate that the selector pilots (a few of whom I might just know, hence info) are doing 3 selection days a month, instead of their normal 1 or 2 and the next minute we are being told that there will be no more places. Surely they still need those numbers. The only thing I can think of is that some BA pilots will be 'released' from other places eg a base closure. I hope I'm wrong but I guess we'll know soon.

Keep everything crossed,

Chin, chin,

Pontius

[InGroundEffect]

Pontius,

I heard the same thing about DEP - that the number of DEP recruits will be cut back. Not sure how BA will decide who not to recruit though. But TEP will still be going strong, unless there are indications that BA aren't going to need more pilots in 2 to 3 years time. This is pretty unlikely, even now. As you said, with all those pilots retiring, I doubt you'll see the recruitment slowing for very long.

IGE

[scroggs]

Pontious/IGE
I think BA sees the TEP/CEP (what's the current term?) system as their core recruiting vehicle at around 100 pilots a year. The remaining plces are filled from the DEP pool, which allows BA to fine tune their intake at relatively short notice. I wouldn't expect to see any sudden changes in the CEP numbers, as CEPs make up only about 60% of this year's planned intake. That gives BA a lot of scope to cut back recruiting without affecting the CEP scheme and the long-term contracts with BAE Systems and OATS.

[RVR800]

So the BA web info below at 0922 UTC 06/09/01 is out of date?

Direct Entry Pilot Scheme - Hold Pool
(London, Heathrow) Closing date: No closing date

Our scheme offers a world of opportunity for experienced high-calibre pilots who are seeking to develop their careers with one of the most progressive airlines in the business. In an increasingly competitive industry we are looking for ambitious people who have both business awareness and a sustained commitment to the provision of exemplary customer service. We are currently offering positions as a First Officer on the A320, B737 and B744 at London Heathrow. It is likely that we will have B777 positions available towards the end of this year. Preference will be given to type rated pilots and to those whose flying experience and qualifications are most suitable to the positions available.

[ 06 September 2001: Message edited by: RVR800 ]