Virgin UK - Crew Discussions
Join Date: Aug 2005
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hey loopy
the payrise is an absolute disgrace !! as a new crew member the payrise would not affect you in the short term anyway as your pay is frozen for a year at £10851 which is terrible. this was never the way before after six month you use to get a pay increase this however is nolonger the case. my advice for you loopy is to join the union the minute you have the opportunity whilst you are doing your training as i can see these pay talks getting rather nasty in virgin after all we did get screwed over in the last talks and to be honest crew moral is at an all time low with crew down shortages and the introduction of variable manned flights.
the payrise is an absolute disgrace !! as a new crew member the payrise would not affect you in the short term anyway as your pay is frozen for a year at £10851 which is terrible. this was never the way before after six month you use to get a pay increase this however is nolonger the case. my advice for you loopy is to join the union the minute you have the opportunity whilst you are doing your training as i can see these pay talks getting rather nasty in virgin after all we did get screwed over in the last talks and to be honest crew moral is at an all time low with crew down shortages and the introduction of variable manned flights.
Join Date: Mar 2007
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ha, even less than that, its £10,185 I think.
union ? do u have to pay for this lol ?
so, is this def going to happen then ? the weekend thing annoys me a bit, the non guaranteed thingy.
union ? do u have to pay for this lol ?
so, is this def going to happen then ? the weekend thing annoys me a bit, the non guaranteed thingy.
Join Date: Jul 2005
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Tell you what guys and girls, at least you get the chance to vote. Other departments in this airline get given the 2% like it or lump it - theres no vote.
Weekends - whats a weekend? When the flightcrews break the plane, people often lose their days off to come and fix it. Try working 16-20hour days for four days in a row, then a couple of days off (if you don't end up coming back in to help out due to shortages - eg crew check in at the moment). If you guys go crew down out of spite, you cause problems for your colleagues. If we don't go to work, our aeroplanes don't fly, we don't make any money, airline stops, people lose jobs.
Be thankful you have a union on your side, you work in a very fragile industry, don't make it harder than it already is. If you don't like it then leave and stop causing problems for the others that are there to pick up the pieces.
Its the same throughout the whole industry, every company is in the same situation. We are lucky that we have as many extra perks as we do, some companies I've worked for don't even come close.
For the work load that is asked for us all under normal circumstances, we are well looked after, when people start to be bitchy, thats when it falls apart and gets harder. Today I heard nothing but complaints - but they were all caused by your colleagues trying to be militant - its called teamwork - if you all turn up to work, your job will get easier. If flights go to plan we'll make more money therefore we all get rewarded each airshare. Cause problems, we lose money, things get cut back, people lose jobs - I've seen it happen before.
If you feel strongly enough to strike, then you'll feel strongly enough to leave. I'm sure there are plenty of youngsters out there willing to take your place instead.
Weekends - whats a weekend? When the flightcrews break the plane, people often lose their days off to come and fix it. Try working 16-20hour days for four days in a row, then a couple of days off (if you don't end up coming back in to help out due to shortages - eg crew check in at the moment). If you guys go crew down out of spite, you cause problems for your colleagues. If we don't go to work, our aeroplanes don't fly, we don't make any money, airline stops, people lose jobs.
Be thankful you have a union on your side, you work in a very fragile industry, don't make it harder than it already is. If you don't like it then leave and stop causing problems for the others that are there to pick up the pieces.
Its the same throughout the whole industry, every company is in the same situation. We are lucky that we have as many extra perks as we do, some companies I've worked for don't even come close.
For the work load that is asked for us all under normal circumstances, we are well looked after, when people start to be bitchy, thats when it falls apart and gets harder. Today I heard nothing but complaints - but they were all caused by your colleagues trying to be militant - its called teamwork - if you all turn up to work, your job will get easier. If flights go to plan we'll make more money therefore we all get rewarded each airshare. Cause problems, we lose money, things get cut back, people lose jobs - I've seen it happen before.
If you feel strongly enough to strike, then you'll feel strongly enough to leave. I'm sure there are plenty of youngsters out there willing to take your place instead.
Join Date: Feb 2005
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Like it or lump it???
Fournier Boy... we had this same debate between ba crew and groundstaff and to be honest why shouldn't crew get the pay rise they deserve like it has been said 2% is not even close to inflation. Now I don't know how the pay scales on the ground are at virgin compared to ba but I know ba groundstaff where paid alot more than crew(oh and i'm at lgw not the golden runaway) so therefore crew are probably paid alot less. I know Virgin crew and compared to the amount of work they do they don't get paid alot.
Oh and this whole attitude of well if you don't like it leave.....WHY??? what has happened with the fighting spirit of getting paid the amount people should... we are all in the same fragile airline industry regardless of what job we do..however the one's that seem to be in pocket are the managers.... i'm sure it's the same at Virgin..... and why haven't you got a union??? why don't you get out there and fight for one as opposed to sitting back and saying at least the crew have one.... form one your in your right to do so in the meantime I would suggest you try and support your colleagues as one day you might just need them to do the same for you!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and this whole attitude of well if you don't like it leave.....WHY??? what has happened with the fighting spirit of getting paid the amount people should... we are all in the same fragile airline industry regardless of what job we do..however the one's that seem to be in pocket are the managers.... i'm sure it's the same at Virgin..... and why haven't you got a union??? why don't you get out there and fight for one as opposed to sitting back and saying at least the crew have one.... form one your in your right to do so in the meantime I would suggest you try and support your colleagues as one day you might just need them to do the same for you!!!!!!!!!!!
FB,
I am afraid I have to disagree with your sentiments. Not all of the industry is fragile. Only the companies that are poorly run i.e. companies like VA. Virgin is a shadow of its former self, and that is because of very very poor management. An example of this is the shockingly high lease rates on the ex-Alitalia aircraft. Why should the crew or even you pay for their ineptitude. In fact standing upto them may result in a deadwood clearout, and possibly an improvement in how the company fares.
I myself remember fondly the once proud airline that was a trendsetter. I fear VA has become the type of airline it was designed to usurp.
I am afraid I have to disagree with your sentiments. Not all of the industry is fragile. Only the companies that are poorly run i.e. companies like VA. Virgin is a shadow of its former self, and that is because of very very poor management. An example of this is the shockingly high lease rates on the ex-Alitalia aircraft. Why should the crew or even you pay for their ineptitude. In fact standing upto them may result in a deadwood clearout, and possibly an improvement in how the company fares.
I myself remember fondly the once proud airline that was a trendsetter. I fear VA has become the type of airline it was designed to usurp.
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Our NEW head of cabin services is obviously after a nice fat bonus from her boss, id actually prefer she came and slapped me in the face for working EVERY flight this year crew down! Cheers for your thanks its REALLY NOT! appreciated!. 
oh and fournier_boy are you for real?
oh and fournier_boy are you for real?
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As a Senior CCM for VAA, I decided to post my first reply to a thread on here in response to the very emotive topic of the pay discussions.
I don't expect this to go down v well but as am employee of the company and a reg member of this Forum, I am entitled to post my opinion.
I earned what I consider a decent basic salary last year (just short of £20k + about £5k trip allowances). Now as a mid 30's guy who used to work as a Recruitment Consultant, I consider that to be fair, based on the hours per month I work.
I agree with FB regarding our right to vote - other areas of the company simply accept what they are given in relation to pay rises. And they can see the bigger picture.
Crew down has been a major issue, but we should not lay all responsibilty on the company - we all know that people call in sick with great ease - and in a large proportion of cases, trips are fully rostered, it is sickness which results in flights going crew down.
Whilst I would never tell someone to simply move to another company if they are dissatisfied with their employment conditions, it has to be pointed out that we all knew the rates of pay and conditions of employment when we signed our contracts. What has changed since then??
Comparing us to other airlines will not achieve very much - charter work longer hours and don't really have the lifestyle we do in terms of trips away and days off. BA is in a league of their own in terms of size, schedules and route networks, and VAA cannot compete with them on a fair basis money wise. They simply make a lot more money so have more to dish out.
VAA is still a great place to work - I dont know of any other airline which gives employees the benefits we have.
I just thought I should perhaps be the lone voice on this post stating that we have to look at the bigger picture - we are paid fairly for our roles, and negative crew who do not enhance a customer's experience really only damage their own prospects as that person will not fly with VAA again, which obv equates to reduced profits.
Perhaps if some of the people who work for VAA were as vocal in their committment to providing excellent service to passengers on board, as they are on here, then we would not be in the middle of a slanging match regarding what they consider to be unfair conditions of employment.
I don't expect this to go down v well but as am employee of the company and a reg member of this Forum, I am entitled to post my opinion.
I earned what I consider a decent basic salary last year (just short of £20k + about £5k trip allowances). Now as a mid 30's guy who used to work as a Recruitment Consultant, I consider that to be fair, based on the hours per month I work.
I agree with FB regarding our right to vote - other areas of the company simply accept what they are given in relation to pay rises. And they can see the bigger picture.
Crew down has been a major issue, but we should not lay all responsibilty on the company - we all know that people call in sick with great ease - and in a large proportion of cases, trips are fully rostered, it is sickness which results in flights going crew down.
Whilst I would never tell someone to simply move to another company if they are dissatisfied with their employment conditions, it has to be pointed out that we all knew the rates of pay and conditions of employment when we signed our contracts. What has changed since then??
Comparing us to other airlines will not achieve very much - charter work longer hours and don't really have the lifestyle we do in terms of trips away and days off. BA is in a league of their own in terms of size, schedules and route networks, and VAA cannot compete with them on a fair basis money wise. They simply make a lot more money so have more to dish out.
VAA is still a great place to work - I dont know of any other airline which gives employees the benefits we have.
I just thought I should perhaps be the lone voice on this post stating that we have to look at the bigger picture - we are paid fairly for our roles, and negative crew who do not enhance a customer's experience really only damage their own prospects as that person will not fly with VAA again, which obv equates to reduced profits.
Perhaps if some of the people who work for VAA were as vocal in their committment to providing excellent service to passengers on board, as they are on here, then we would not be in the middle of a slanging match regarding what they consider to be unfair conditions of employment.
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Moderator - why merge this into a thread about Virgin in general ?
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But in doing what you have done, Tight Slot, you have removed the impact factor of the original post. I believe it was made to draw attention to the alleged plight of VS cabin crew, but it appears that you have decided that it should not be seen in that way.
Only my opinion though!
Only my opinion though!
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Not sure your getting the right line, jcdcon are you a CCM as in Cabin Crew Member or CCM as in Cabin Crew Manager. I would guess the former if you earned £20k+!!!
Somebody mentioned the leases on the B744's that Alitalia cancelled, worth checking up, but i think VS bought these & subsequently made a few million US$'s by selling them to a leasing company & leasing them back. Short term gain!!!!
Somebody mentioned the leases on the B744's that Alitalia cancelled, worth checking up, but i think VS bought these & subsequently made a few million US$'s by selling them to a leasing company & leasing them back. Short term gain!!!!
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Guys, is part of your crew shortage down to the 900 hours rule too? We have had quite a few problems with it at BA and (we are lucky in that) our rest periods seem to be longer than some of your's. 2dmoon said that you are working more and more, surely you would be reaching that limit?
Get right behind your union and I hope that they will come up for the goods for you.
Good luck to you all and see you down route for a pint!
Get right behind your union and I hope that they will come up for the goods for you.
Good luck to you all and see you down route for a pint!
Denzil,
Spot on. The upshot is that "Virgin Atlantic" who now plead poverty are paying way over the market rate for these aircraft. Meanwhile the "third parties" made a killing on the "sale" of these aircraft.
2dmoon,
You are correct about the delayed report, you can only be delayed at home. I would suggest next time you you send in an ASR.
Spot on. The upshot is that "Virgin Atlantic" who now plead poverty are paying way over the market rate for these aircraft. Meanwhile the "third parties" made a killing on the "sale" of these aircraft.
2dmoon,
You are correct about the delayed report, you can only be delayed at home. I would suggest next time you you send in an ASR.
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hi everyone.
I love our fabulous airline but Im frankly shocked by this very cheeckie offer by our managment. To me the worst thing by far is 6 standby months every 3yrs. Starts again if move rank( which is highly likely) with just 2 guaranteed days off in those months, so basically the whole month is screwed and u can plan nothing!
And Im really dissapointed Ive just worked my arse off preparing for my CSS interview for the last 6 weeks after finally meeting the required performance monitoring scores and getting the job and now gonna have to wait for months and months for a course and then dont qualify for any new pay deal increase. WHAT A LOAD OF OLD ****!
I love our fabulous airline but Im frankly shocked by this very cheeckie offer by our managment. To me the worst thing by far is 6 standby months every 3yrs. Starts again if move rank( which is highly likely) with just 2 guaranteed days off in those months, so basically the whole month is screwed and u can plan nothing!
And Im really dissapointed Ive just worked my arse off preparing for my CSS interview for the last 6 weeks after finally meeting the required performance monitoring scores and getting the job and now gonna have to wait for months and months for a course and then dont qualify for any new pay deal increase. WHAT A LOAD OF OLD ****!
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Hi to answer the above question, VS have crew based in PVG,HKG,SYD,LOS,DEL,BOM,MAN and of course LHR/LGW. Generally on NRT flights we only have one or two western CC members plus a couple of SCC members, normally one CSS a western FSM although this isnt always the case and of course the IFBT is western. The NRT crew are based in LHR and not NRT and they also sometimes operate EWR/JFK flights!
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New to this monthly stand by lark and having a mare with it. Have not yet been given a flight a few days or day before. Everything is a mad dash to the airport. Anyway, quick question.........
Can I call crewing at say 5am to see if thay have a flight for me or is this a big no no?
Just that that extra hour would help enormously. Ta!
Can I call crewing at say 5am to see if thay have a flight for me or is this a big no no?
Just that that extra hour would help enormously. Ta!