View Full Version : BACX Management
pilotatlast
6th Jun 2003, 23:15
Rumour has it that BA CitiExpress management have three months to turn things around or BA will takeover the running of the airline! Anyone else care to comment?
Land ASAP
7th Jun 2003, 02:25
It's my understanding that the Flight Ops director is ex-BA anyway.
Tandemrotor
7th Jun 2003, 07:07
Land ASAP
I know you know that he is not 'ex' at all!
Therefore the rumour should be, that BA will be taking over the running of BA Citiexpress, as they have been doing since the company's inception!
Isn't this a non-story?
But if it belongs to BA then they own it thus the management are part and parcel of BA.
Correct me if I am wrong but until they were absorbed into BA ? whilst at LGW they made a healthy profit. Things have only gone downhill since they cobbled together with the rest of the BA familly.
Tandemrotor
8th Jun 2003, 07:28
HZ123
Maybe I have got this wrong, but are you referring to City Flyer Express at LGW - A completely different company??
Incidentally, any operational part of BA would probably show a profit if it weren't for the awful Waterside millstones, and all the other parasitic hangers - on!
A LTD company that was one of BAs' first few franchisses and then bought in its entirity. But surely still counts as that original company and many of the management team came across with it.
BACX now encorporates BRAL & Brymon and it may also be that trying to co-ordinate so many differing outfits into one is near impossible.
Alt.cap
8th Jun 2003, 19:42
The lateral integration of the former entities now known as BACX hasn't been without it's problems. Given the similarities of the respective operations it's a sad reflection that many of these hadn't been anticipated. Most of these issues have now been resolved. Unfortunately all these pale when compared to the continuing series of base closures, and subsequent personal toll meted out by the mother ship.
Those that peered longingly into the GMFO's (analagous) tunnel have a continuing need to be very patient.
;)
Talking some weeks ago to BA BHX people that are part BACX part the new Maersk they stated that they iindeed feared the worst and forsaw the station being operated as offline probably using a GHA.
Many of the issues with BACX and the subsequent amalgamation problems have ocurred at the time of the vast rise in the LC market which has caused so many problems and as Alt Cap states many of these issues have compounded the problems.
CheekyVisual
9th Jun 2003, 18:08
No matter who runs Citiexpress they are going to have all the same problems. All of which have been brought about by the increasingly ill thought through FSAS decisions. These changes maybe necessary but the water is never allowed to settle before the next change is made. Chaos has followed with rostering, training and crewing fire fighting from one day to the next and the costs totally out of control.
Citiexpress was, despite what others think, a good idea (no matter what the PLY, CWL and BRS purists say Brymon and BRAL could not have competed with the LCCs without BAs backing as I have heard suggested) it was just implemented by too many people with their own agendas and no real idea of what they were trying to create.
The management who make the important decisions are all still attached to BA anyway so I don't see BA taking over making much difference except in further escalating our completely out of control cost base !
PetPilot
15th Jun 2003, 06:50
Well boys and Girls
Why dont we just bin off the current management and get Terry Liddiard and Uncle Norman back to run the show. They will show that lot how to run an airline properly, meaning, make a profit
False Capture
17th Jun 2003, 08:19
Three weeks ago the rumour at MAN was Eddington had given the BACX management team "2years to turn the company around or BA would look at disposing of BACX". Closing-down BACX at the moment would cost BA more money than BACX is currently losing.
On the positive side of things, the LCY operation has been a success over the last few months mainly due to the large Club loads. In 2year's time the RJ100 operation should have settled down and the long-term success of LCY should be evident.
Say what you want about the RJ100... have you ever seen pax faces when they squeeze inside an Embraer or walk out to a crop-duster? They look a bit like this :uhoh: or this :{
PetPilot
19th Jun 2003, 08:01
The Best possible thing that could happen to BA CitiExpress would be to have broken up and completely scrapped! After all, its been doomed since day one!
Lets face it people, when BRAL/MANX/BRYMON were all separate companies, they all made a reasonable profit and the staff were reasonably happy (cant please all i know).
I personally think that the above companies operated perfectly well as separate enterties, till BA decided they wanted a bigger input to them and decided to buy them.
Please BA, do not take over any more airlines! unless u make them more profitable, rather than the reverse!
PP
HZ123
19th Jun 2003, 15:54
Sadly the remarks are all to accurate. Yesterday BA threw its weight into more runways at BHX & EDI and more terminals at BHX,EDI and MAN. Then to compound some of their folly stated that if LHR gets the third runway they will permit an allocation of at least 60 extra flights daily inter-UK. Seems strange to a lot of you when they seem to spend their time closing inter-Uk routes.
Amazon man
19th Jun 2003, 16:53
With all due respect to the above replies unless you all work for CitiExpress you cannot comment about things you do not know about.
The comment about breaking up the airline and scrapping it is nothing short of stupid, this would involve making almost 650 pilots and over a thousand cabin crew redundant. For those of you still looking for your first job that would be 650 experienced pilots with plenty of jet time, I do not think you want these pilots on the dole looking for work, you might just as well pack your shiny new ATPL away and go back to your previous occupations.
Some facts from those who know, yes the integration of three airlines Brymon BRAL and BAR has been difficult without any doubt, with many changes and several final size and shape reviews for those of us concerned. But and it still is a big but at this stage the airline is starting to turn around all three airlines have come together and are working as one, fares have come down and load factors have gone up, now the trick is to start tweaking the fare structure in order to actually make some money out of each ticket sold. Our aircraft fleet is slowly being rationalised and will in the not too distant future consist of just jet types with quite possibly the Emb 170 becoming the standard aircraft alongside with which the Emb 145 would operate thinner routes.
Our salaries are quite reasonable given the work we do, we now have flying pay on top of our salaries, disruption payments a generous leave entitlement of seven weeks a year and a much better organised rostering system with recently introduced automatic checking in and out for flight deck and cabin crew, for many of us though not all we have final salary pension schemes very much a rarity in todays workplace. Most of us fly very pleasant jet equipment (for those of you who haven't flown or flown in an Emb 145 then no comment please, Embraer must be doing something right with over 700 sold in 7 years) with the chance of much nicer and bigger Emb 170/190 jet equipment to come in the future.
To sum up yes we have our problems along with just about every other airline in the world today with the exception of perhaps Emirates. We have had our moans about management but what employee doesn't in any industry. At the end of the day our airline is still in place as the largest regional airline in Europe with one of the largest and increasingly better run world airlines as our parent. Would BRAL and Brymon still be around given the events of September 11 we will never know but there is certainally some doubt. Given most of the other airlines in the UK at the moment I know where I would rather be.
interestedparty
19th Jun 2003, 18:43
Yes, Emb are doing something right - they are selling them cheap!
The aircraft is a liability at BRS in winter, because nothing is more annoying for passengers to see large aircraft landing and taking off in the fog and to be told their 145 flight cannot operate due to the weather. It could be argued that the airport is in the wrong place, but the equipment has to suit it. The customer rightly demands reliability. TdlF told me that it was not economic to equip a cheap aircraft with expensive blind landing systems!
And have they sorted out the door sealing problem yet?
Given that Amazon Man is correct in saying that in the not too distant future [2005 ?] the operation will be all jet, what other route[s], besides Sumburgh, will they cease operating?
Amazon man
19th Jun 2003, 23:54
Interestedparty
Before any money would be spent on updated blind flying euipment the airline would have to look at the number of times flights are cancelled or diverted, this I believe has already been done in the past and although Bristol may suffer a disproportionate number of cancellations the rest of network operates generally with no problems to Cat II standards.
It doesn't help of course flying into an airport 600' up in a part of the country with a poor weather record at certain times of the year.
Yes the Emb 145 is cheap compared to similar aircraft as will be the Emb 170/190, why do you think airlines have been buying the 145 and are starting to queue up for the 170/190 economics, it can be the difference between surviving and making money or going the way of a great many other airlines.
interestedparty
20th Jun 2003, 02:29
"(while) Bristol may suffer a disproportionate number of cancellations the rest of network operates generally with no problems to Cat II standards"
Of course that begs the question whether the rest of network can ever function effectively with aircraft locked in or out of BRS.
I regret to say that my experience is that when BRS is shut down due to weather conditions the whole network sustains irrecoverable damage. Aircraft and passengers are misplaced and the operations department reverts to low-grade fire-fighting tactics. I now avoid BRS like the plague in winter, at £500+ for a fully flexible ticket BRS/CDG/BRS one doesn't exactly relish a 2 hour coach journey from Birmingham at the end of a long day!
Any commercial activity at Filton these days?
Snigs
20th Jun 2003, 04:56
Unfortunately no, 'fraid the NIMBY's won't allow it. More's the pity! :(
MerchantVenturer
20th Jun 2003, 05:48
Going a bit off topic now, but the other problem with BRS is that only runway 270 is Cat III equipped. The reciprocal 09 is, I believe, to be upgraded to Cat II, but apparently the falling ground outside the perimeter prevents Cat III on this runway.
The airport management did not initially announce this and they also fudge the number of aircraft (the smaller jets and the turbo props) that are not Cat III compliant, preferring instead to talk about percentages of passenger numbers who will now be able to land in the Bristol mid winter soups.
Perversely, there are occasional winter days when BRS stands above low lying fog and takes diversions from the likes of CWL and EXT (that has a usually excellent weather record).
I think the weather notoriety can be overcooked. During the past twenty years I have flown in and out of BRS between 200 and 300 times as a passenger and have only been diverted once. Perhaps I am the exception that proves the rule. :)
Tandemrotor
20th Jun 2003, 22:50
Amazon man
Good post.
It's always better to get the view of someone who actually knows what is happening, rather than listening to the ramblings of people with a tenuous grasp on facts!
HZ123
Can you see the difference?
interestedparty
20th Jun 2003, 23:01
Regrettably "the ... people with a tenuous grasp on facts" pay your mortgages and will vote with their feet leaving your bank account looking the worse for wear!
Tandemrotor
21st Jun 2003, 03:30
interestedparty
An interesting prediction, but you are making many assumptions. Not least about me and my paymasters! Are you assuming I work for BACX?
Somehow I don't think I will be losing any sleep over your views.
Like I said, there are a few people on this site who know what they are talking about. Why not listen to them and learn.
Some people want a Rolls Royce service for Lada money. I hope they can tell us where they find it.
At the end of the day, it's a free country, I would expect you to take your business wherever you get best value.
Good luck.
HZ123
21st Jun 2003, 16:32
Lada are not in production anymore and Rolls Royce are owned by BMW aren't they. So if you do not work for BACX what is your point to all this.