GB Airways (HELP)
 

Hi !!

At the moment im working for a long haul airline, and thinking about applying for GB Airways.

Can anyone give me an idea of how many sectors you would do a day, how many night stops etc.

Thanks in advance for your help

:ok:

GB AIRWAYS
 

HOW DO 35-42 SECTORS A MONTH SOUND? EVEN BETTER, FANCY WORKING A 50-60 HOUR WEEK? AND U ONLY CLEAR BOUT 1K MAX A MONTH. 6 DAYS ON GUARANTEED! BOUT 2 NITESTOPS A MONTH (IF YOU'RE LUCKY!)

ONLY NITESTOPS AT THE MOMENT ARE A NIGHTLY VLC SPLIT DUTY, FRI NITE ALC SPLIT AND 2 AGP NITESTOPS PER NITE. SLIP ONE IS NORMALLY LGW-NTE-LGW-AGP, ARR AGP AT 2320L, THEN NEXT DAY LEAVE AGP AT 1920L FOR AGP-LHR-LGW BY BUS. THIS ONE IS NICE, COUPLE OF HOURS ON THE BEACH IN TORREMOLINOS.

IF YOU'RE EVEN LUCKIER, THEN TRY THE 6 SECTOR, 2 DAY AGP!!!! IT GOES LIKE THIS.... LGW-PMI-LGW-AGP, ARRIVE 1820L, THEN AT 0910L NEXT DAY AGP-LGW-FAO-LGW!!! NICE AY??? 6 HOT MEALS IN 2 DAYS....BOUT 900 PAX IN 2 DAYS.......... STILL WANNA JOIN?

ON STANDBY? HA HA, YEAH RIGHT! ITS GUESS THE DESTINATION DAY.......COS YOU W I L L BE FLYING.......

I HAVE AVERAGED ABOUT 42 SECTORS (2 PLUS HRS EACH) LAST FEW MONTHS..... SO GOD HELP ME THIS SUMMER, MY KIDNEYS ARE GONNA END UP THE SIZE OF MARBLES...... APART FROM THAT, THE CREW (F.DECK AND CC) ARE BRILLIANT, VERY PROFESSIONAL AND FRIENDLY, CAN'T SAY THE SAME THE HIGHER YOU GO........... ROCK APES COULD DO A BETTER JOB!

GOOD LUCK IF YOU DO DECIDE TO JOIN, IF YOU'RE COMING IN FROM LONG-HAUL (12 SECTORS A MONTH MAX??), WAIT FOR IT, COS YOU ARE GONNA FEEL LIKE YOU JUST BEEN RUN OVER BY ONE OF OUR A321'S!!!!!

Jetset25
 

I have worked for GB for a few years now and I have to say, Rockboy is so right in what he says.
Things have been changing so much and its about to get worse.
We are starting Paphos in October, there and back in a day , 5hrs each way, usual charter passengers that we seem to have on all our flights these days.
How the times have changed since I joined.
Jetset- I wouldnt give up longhaul for GB. But if you do can I have your job!!!???
There is one plus point of GB. The cabin crew are amazing and you make good friends. We all stick together to make the unbearable days fun for each other.
Good luck in what you decide

MUST GET ON THE WRONG PLANE WHEN I GO TO WORK!!!!
 

GB is a great place to work for crew and flight deck are brilliant but like in ALL jobs you often get a few w******s at either end of the plane but we learn to live with it at 35000 ft

GB COULD be a really nice outfit....its small very secure but unfortuantley i have never worked for such a badly managed company who think nothing of their staff.......

All GB seems to be bothered about is how much money is being made and how to cut costs at every level.....Bars/catering etc ...regardless of crew...i got a suggestion for them ......sack 50% of the useless management team and thats more money in their pockets.....not mine thats a start ....i only get paid my 2.50 flight allowance...or probably less don't even know ....

We got a loverly bar now.....its so lovely i don't see half of THE STUFF by the time it gets on board the a/c ...... apparently we are losing thousands of pounds a month and its not acceptable.....another suggestions perhaps invest in proper padlocks rather than those plastic ones which are always broken ...in my experience i have had the same bar o 4 flights and the padlock still being broken ....if management can't take responsibility for that I AINT SIGNING NO 'FORM' ..........

Well thats part 1 for now of my winging so if you wanna joing the worlds favourite franchise airline....... think twice probably cheaper to work at McDonalds....and you get your STARS we get ****e......

how true
 

you guys are so right was there for about 5 month 5 months to long

GB Airways!
 

I would love to do a few nite stops every month! I currently work for a charter airline at LGW and all we do is nice long days, have scrum for passengers and have money taken from us when the bars are down! Hoorah!

At least GB has got the airbus, which I think is a great aircraft to work on! Are they still recruiting at the mo?

I have a few friends that are they and they seem to like it!

Enjoy flying high!

FMB x

NIGHTSTOPS??
 

Nightstops you mean minumum rest splits?

we do lgw vlc land at about 10.30L and then check in at 06.50 loca next morning....

also lgw/vlc/lgw//agp land at around 7.30 local and next day up at 08.00L for a agp/lgw/fao/lgw

Hot meal services on 2.20 flights full cabin normally minumum crew these days 4 on 737 and 5 on 320 and 321 6 or 7 if you beg hard enough........

and come winter rumour has it no nightstops at all and no splits.....we are doing paphos 5hrs their and back......

Oh yeah we have loverly airbuses...although ask the crew what they think of them? Air conditioning? QUality of Air there have been loads of incidents affecting crew...currently under investigation with CAA oh and btw if you work in the front galley make sure you bring a sweater...cause its a freezer...to tight to get galley heaters......best bet is to open the ovens and switch em on....does wonders ......

oh and yeah they also wanna start deducting oney from our comission for discrepencies in the bar ....and be prepared to have your property searched at anytime by a member of staff...although this applies only to cabin crew not flight deck even though flightdeck are the ones who are closest to the bars when anattended...(not implying that flightdeck to anything) just pointing out only crew have been advised of searches not flightdeck....we all work on the same plane different rules apply ....

Have to agree with flymeboy! I too work for a charter airline and we do a full service with hotmeals on a flight of 1:50 (BHX-REU). Also we are operating min crew a lot at the moment so that means on A320 - 4 crew and A321 - 5 crew.

As for PFO that's a normal days work, my roster in September is keeping my very busy in 1 week i've got ACE, ACE, FUE, LPA and DLM, and no night stops anywhere!

I would love to go a 3 sector day and have a nite stop, even if it is min rest!

The charter airline I work for, we do short flights (as well as the joyous long long flights), ie under 1h30 with a full hot meal, hot towels etc and we are going we with min crew all the time, 148 pax with 3 crew - its lovely!

I think the job is want you make it and various airlines suit different people! I personally like to have a laugh and fun when I am at work and I feel that some airlines might not like that - I used to work for a business airline and you cant really have a laugh & take the mikey out of those pax as much as you can with charter pax!

I fear the days have gone past when we used to have nice little days with loadsa rest downroute - if only they would return!!!!:ok:

FMB xx

i just can't waaaaaiiiiiiitttttt for this winter. If anyone goes into rostering, u can see my 'bids' for the winter programme. 6 on, 2 off. and it goes like this, ace, tfs, tfn, fue, ace, lpa and to finish off a paphos. Of course, not forgetting getting my bag check by cabin services at the end of every flight. I wonder if they will also be doin 'internals'?

And cos there's no i.f.e, well, i've already got my jenga, monopoly, twister and trivial pursuit for the punters (how much d'ya reckon? £2 an hour???) cos on a 5 hour paphos this is going to go down a treat (it does already on the canaries) i just luurrrrvvvveeee it.

I've done charter before (who the f**k am i kidding?) still doing it, but with the 'real' charter you just do a there and back, not a round the block a few times, squeeze the life out of you (and your breath if you're on the airbus).

By the way gash bag airways, can't wait to fly with you!!! As for getting rid of 50% of management, why not save some space in cabin services and put some of them on the atkins diet? we might get some light in too...... As for signing the 'form', i have made such lovely oregami out of it, it now has pride of place in my recycling bin............

OH, and i nearly forgot. Apparently there was bout £1k worth of stuff missing on a bar a few weeks ago which was allegedly 'there' on the sif. A bond error, apparently. xxxx So crew are also responsible for errors in bond then?.......... sigh...

Rockboy - check your Private Messages.

Rockboy and Gash Bag Airways
 

Rockboy, Gash Bag Airways PM me. I hope we fly together soon.
Oh my.... you two have made my laugh so much because everything you have said is so so so so so TRUE !!!
Anyone thinking about joining GB Airways needs medical and mental assistance ASAP because you must be INSANE!!!!!
I have worked for a charter before and I tell you... work for them was like being on a constant holiday...4 days off, 4 days standby (not called out), 4 days off. What a fun time I have had.
I had a great first year At G.B with all our nightstops (AGP,FAO,LHR,CMN,ALC,VLC) most of them 3 day trips. BUT, times have changed so so so much.
One crappy 12 hr nightstop a month if you are lucky. Bag searches and bar commission taken from us ( I haven`t signed my form either, as per my letter from my union saying not to).Some old office temp who now thinks she is the Queen of uniforms, telling us what not to wear and how to wear our underwear etc ( Notes put on our permanant file if you have a Beef and mustard stain our your person...anywhere).
6 Days on 2 Days off all the bloody time, even in the winter.
G.B is trying to be a posh charter airline. Dont get me wrong , it was when I first joined,. But know its just shell suits and fake designer labels everywhere ( especially on the Alicante!!!)

I have to say that the crew are 95% of the time briiliant to fly with. Had many a good laughs in the forward galley on the crew seat, trying to fight off the frost bite , whilst trying not to breath in the so called (acetone smell) fumes into my delicate non-smoking lungs.
I so look forward to the Paphos in October!!!!! 5 hours each way of drinks,wine,nasty hot meal,tea&coffeex2,duty free and ice creams that break your teeth because they are frozen like rocks, no crew rest and then thinking that the luck BA LHR crew do the same flight time but to Larnaca (2 hrs drive from paphos ) and get 2 days off by the beach, while we have to work ourselves into the ground. Only to be given a flight the next morning ( oh yes, that will happen).
Well all I can say to all you wannabe GB crew. Think very carefully about the choices you make. Yeah you may think it sounds great to do one nightstop a month, but after you first 3 sectors out, 12 hrs off, 3 sectors back, all with a full serivce, you may have made the wrong decision.I would love to do charter work again, but my days at GB have just about worn me out. I have actually gone off flying for a living and wish for a normal job.
Good luck in whatever you do. I am just trying to rest on my two crappy days off before going back to do 6 more days on.

So much vitriol from so many. So why stay?

Why not make the move back/to charter?

Why not get a ground job of some sort - that's what I did when I'd had enough of EZY running me into the ground.

Is it (misplaced) loyalty to GB? Are you hoping that somehow it will change in the near future, so will be worth staying on for? Don't bet on it.

If you're not happy in your job this will doubtless be rubbing off on your colleagues (however unintentional), which takes me back to my first question.

What is keeping you there?

cheers ;)
FF

If you guys and girls are so unhappy leave......If you reckon its much better elsewhere what you all waiting for ?? :sad:

BTW LGW-PFO is 4hr 15 -- Same, if not shorter than TFS,LPA

:rolleyes:

I LOVE MY JOB
 

I love my job like with any other job we have our ups and down, but hey we all learn to live with it....why should i be forced out of a job that i am actually PROUD off cause when i fly i don't take it on the pax.

If people like me stay at least a little difference is made to the working environment etc...... The sour apples are in management cabin services and a few other corners of our 10ft x 10ft crew room.......

And yeah i would love to fly with you guys i am sure we will get along just fine...as per my uniform ....just laugh mate....i am sure those in cabin services will soon get tired of running around.....its all a novelty with Cabin Services one days it one thing next time its another...... I've been on leave and have recently found out about the SPOT checks on our standards BEEN LEAVING MY SHOES SPOTLESS OF ALL THAT POLISHING......I'LL GIVE THEM SPOTS...SPOTS OF ****E..... LOL

I am workign today god only knows where i will end up and if I will get there.....either i will get CO2 either on the Bus or on the Airbus...either way they are both buses.......crap cheap buses that is......

WELL FOLKS SPEAK SOON


REMEMBER SMILE AND TAKE IT.....ONLY TO GIVE IT BACK EVEN HARDER :p

Ps i love my job and i have not said its any better anywhere else two wrongs don't make a right...it could be better for all i know elsewhere but i'd rather stay and hope and make sure we make our Airline the BEST to work for......

FormerFlyer and JetA1
 

I would like to thank you for your comments.
I do like my job and most of the crew I fly with.
As GASH BAG AIRWAYS says its certain people that run our airline, that seem to make up new rules everyday without taking any consideration of how it will effect the crews and our working enviroment.
Moral at our airline is the lowest I have ever seen and it seems to be getting worse week by week.
Yeah, I did say I have had enough of flying because if I carry working in this conditions, I will end up ill. Unfortunatley I have bills to pay and will not just take the first job that comes along that I dont really want. I am still in the process of finding my ideal job, but these things take time, like most important decisions we all make in our lifes. Also I would just like to say that my comments dont effect my collegues at GB because 99% of them are saying the same things, just not in a forum like myself.
I hope you are enjoying what you both do. And I hope I wont be so vitriol for very much longer.

baboy!
lovin it lovin it lovin it!!.... i agree 110% with what u have just said. Why should we let them win? give back twice as hard. Ever been to a banana republic? well, you check in at one......
Gb is a great little company with great people.
Gone are the days when an organisation existed to employ people, provide financial security, and the rest.......
Sadly, i have now been in the industry for more than 10 years and well, it just seems to be gettin worse.

R E S P E C T ! Is it too much to ask for? or have i had too many bananas fall on my head recently??

The general consensus at Gb is that things are just at an all time low, 'rudderless' some say. But hey, as long as the cabin crew courses come through, especially if you're an non-flyer (ie can be taken for a muppet), then 'we're alright jack'.

As for crew control, well, i really have a lot of respect for them. They are the first line of contact to us in one long monumental fiasco.
They take our crap (we vent our frustrations on them), but then, are they to blame? I don't think they perform a crewing function, more like '20 resignations this month, sort it out! They are more problem solvers than crew controllers.

Anyway, we all vent our grievances on a website where we are anonymous, and as human that we are, we all get carried away and do have a laugh, but hey, who doesn't slate their place of work? And if we do slate it, couldn't it be because we really care and are desperate for things to change cos we know what a nice place it would be.!!!

Anyway, chin up, keep dishing out that ****e, oops, my fingers slipped, lamb and mint, must be all that grease...........

see you all checking in at the asylum...........

Ps. I have a suggestion for cost cutting? Save a couple of thousand a year by employing (or trying to keep) the exact number of required crew, like that Gb doesn't keep staples in crawley in profit by ordering the entire brazilian rainforest in yellow paper for those luurrveeely yellow perils.....

byeee.........

Hey Rockboy
 

Thanxs for your support rockboy.
I totally agree with you about crew control. I have great respect for them and they do a job that I wouldnt wish on my worst enemy..... well maybe someone with stringy hair and plastic body parts!!!!
Yeah , we would all like to work for an airline that is perfect, and I cant really think of any that are off the top off my head.
But hey... we at GB are not happy (take 40 resignations last month,with most off them being new people that have only been there 2-3 months and cant stand it), what does that say to you about a company that only has 300 crew anyway? Well to me, it says there is aproblem somewhere!. But with all the new courses that come on-line that are to scared to breath without being called into the office, its hard to get people to say how they feel.
This is where a site like this helps, so you get things off your mind without being judged!!!! It certainly helps me feel better to say how I feel. Yeah it may put people off from applying to GB reading all this, but I am not going to lie and say its the best company to work for, because its far from that!!
Anyway, see you around the beesnest with all those nasty bees wait to sting you, for doing anything .

God ! Don't think you're alone at GB, EZY is just as bad!!!! Since the GO merger over 500 crew have walked out! both EZY and GO!! No one even bothers to stop and think 'why are all these paople leaving?' The **** we have to put up with is unreal! So believe me the grass centainately isn't greener on the other side!

easyJet certainly is a mess - it's not only the crew that walked out! Ray Webster really has no idea how to manage people, he probably doesn't even care about them. eJ say they base themselves on Southwest airlines in the States but one of their 'values' is to value your people, not make them redundant and to give them job security - 3 things the poor people @ easyJet don't have. . . :*

ROCKBOY/BABOY
 

I agree 110% with you guys, i have total admiration for the poor soles in crew control they are there 24/7 and yeah you are right they are faced everymonth with a 40 gone sort it out....there are flights to cover....what about ops....for god sake..our airline has one of the newest fleet in the industry i think 320 less than 2 years and 321 less than 3 ......and how many times do these planes go tech???????? they are tech more often than our old battered 737's.........


Gone are the days where a sby for clearly a day off...what about the TAS aint seen one of those for a few years now as for a NON OP well aint ever seen one.....i get sbys as short as 2 hours clearly taking the piss....these days we are scheduled/rostered on our limits.....minimum rests most days and yellow perriled every other day........i just got my sept rosta and already i have had about 6 changes......

Cabin Services are only interested in getting bums on seats like most of the rest of management.......what about those gpm/gb surveys??? they must be taking the piss...apparently the purser at BA gets extra commission/allowance for doing them....was told that by one of our union reps........also the company say we need to compete with charter thats why we have to do a full meal service rather than the BA Deli Bag....they are such hypcorites or should i say tight.......well if we have to compete with charter maybe the start of that would be having IFE at the end of the day thats clearly one advantage above us adn a good oen too......the amount of times they make a fuss for only doing one tea and coffee rather than the standard two.....i just have to laugh really :p

I recently did a LGW/GRO/LGW ........full A320 15 Club 142 Eurotraveller ....... 1hr 35 o/b 1hr 30 i/b god not even cattle get fed and watered as fast as we had too...we where 4 crew at the back 1 at the front......took over 30 minutes for drinks......then you have to take meals out then TWO tea and coffee whilst pax are still shovelling their meals....then clear in and then tax frees....the SURVEYS BUY HAND (you must be joking) what kind of service is this???? and remembering that now we have to check the bars against the cif exactly...... that in itself takes about 20 minutes (if done correctly) OH AND ONE MORE THING THOSE CALL BELLS OH AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TOILET CHECKS EVERY 20 MINUTES......so tell me........where do we get the time to do all this??????.....

OUR MAIN FUNCTION IS FOR PAX SAFETY BUT THERE IS SO MUCH PRESSURE TO COMPETE WITH OTHER AIRLINES I THINK THAT SAFETY IS UNDERMINDED IN TRYING TO DELIVER A GOOD SERVICE......WE ARE SO BUSY WITH THE SERVICE AND SO TIED DOWN AND RUSHED OF OUR FEET THAT WE HAVE NO TIME TO CHECK EITHER THE WELL BEING OF OUR PAX OR SAFETY OF OUR AIRCRAFT......AND THAT SCARES ME.......

I don't think our union is strong at all...at GB the most appropriate thing would be a cabin crew forum with representatives rather than the current union cause it aint working ....i am sure we could achieve much more like that and in a civilised manner....

Well guys i can't wait to fly with you....it would be such a laugh......

SIGNING OFF

Earl Grey
 

Hi There,

I will never forget this 1 from a colleague on a cruise flight for P&O.

Ther was an elderly lady with the Louis V hand luggage with vanity case on the flight to Barbados being the respectable pax on her umpteenth cruise for that year.1 of the stewards was doing tea's when he reached the lady she asked "IS IT EARL GREY YOUNG MAN". With a quick response he opened the tea pot and said "NO, IT'S MUCKY BROWN MADAM" with the straightest face.
This always makes me laugh when i think about it.:O

here i go again....... (as the great dolly parton once said)..... is someone in c.s trying to look like parts of her? or am i just imagining it?

baboy and gash, don't start me on the deli bag. As for the gerona, well, what a laugh they are...... The thing is, muppets that we are break our billy b's trying to get the service done.

Tea sir? no thanks, i'll have some later. Will that be in baggage claim sir?, sure.

Well, i can only say that catering just comes down to costs and a fresh deli sandwich is much more expensive than a frozen dolly the sheep. Did the press ever say where dolly went? (whisper: abela abela abela)

Wouldn't it just be great on say, palma, alicante, valencia, mahon and those flights that linger between the 1.45 to 2.0 hr mark to offer a deli bag, then drinks, then tack free, sorry, i am proud to say its tax free now. I would also be more than happy to operate these flights at 4 crew (u would only need 3 in e/t cos it would be much more relaxed). Btw, it just ceases to amaze me when punters shove an entire meal tray down their throats at most akward times of the day. Hell, plate the sandwich on a tray as BA do on their madrids, etc. The punters just wouldn't know. And you would free up a crew member.............On early flights you can still do a hot breakfast, it don't take that much time, and u can even cut drinks, just like ba have.

As for the excuse that we compete with charter airlines...... yes we do, we rely on selling seats directly to the public, but on what charter airline do you expect the world known brand of BA, 31" of seat pitch in e/t, convenient times, brand new aircraft, and all for the price of a charter ticket most of the time.!!!!! Hell, they get free drinks, 99% of them are happy just with that!

As for i.f.e, well, apparently (rumour mill) BA want to charge us something in the region of £1m per anum for the use of their omnia inflight package. To be honest, i think BA probably have GB by the balls in that one, and it's probably in the franchise agreement in the small print that i.f.e is to be omnia, and omnia alone. And to keep in line with BA (of course, as we do in everything.....) we would probably not be able to charge them for headsets. SO THAT WOULD BE OUR PROFIT SHARE ******RED FOREVER!!!! so, I HAVE A SUGGESTION....... 2 plastic cups and a piece of string! or even better, don't we have a veteran porn star in the ranks ????(a few probably).....

MEMO

PLEASE ADD THE FOLLOWING P.A JUST PRIOR TO THE I.F.E:

Ladies and gentlemen, in line with our sooooo popular article in the stunning and smashingly exciting 'medlife' magazine (we cut it from mediterranean to save some pennies on the printing cost) on our staff and especially our cabin crew, we are now continuing on the popularity of this article and we will now be showing our feature length film on one of our cabin crew called ' what i used to do before i got shagged myself'.

Anyway, gotta dash, just spotted a bit of minted dolly on my inflight jacked (don't know how a bit of lamb got inside my crew bag) and am just gonna run off to the dry cleaners because i don't want no letter in my file.

Anyone know a 24 hr drycleaner???????........

bye all xx

SOOOOO AGREEEE WITH YOU
 

I so agree with you comments mate...its so so true BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As for the franchise agreement we can break certain aspects of it like no ife but we still have to do those stinking greasy meals....anyone got any suggestions on how to take the lamb and mint sauce of the Inflight Jacket......even after its been to the dry cleaners.....what about the poor cow (now now its the food i am on about no one else before you get any ideas) .......BEEF HOT POT god it stinks your clothes hair and everything when you get home you need a well deserved shower.......

Oh it got me thinking all this and have you ever wondered who some people resemble?????? try this for measure and work it out yourselves......we've got Princess Anne, Myra Hyndley...Fatboy-slim, taxidermis and our very own Cindy Doll notice i don't say barbie...cause as always cindy wanted to be Barbie but never got there...not as popular failed miserably LOL :-)

GOD I JUST LOVE MY JOB ...honestly i do.... i just love goign into work and the first thing you are greeted with is CAN I CHECK YOUR BAG???????? OR A NOTE IN YOUR PIGEON HOLE......COME VISIT C/S AFTER A FLIGHT??? mmm i wonder why?????? probably forgot my tie clip it got mistaken in a HOT MEAL for a piece of frozen something.....god wake up and smell reality we are all humans and make mistakes as anyone else.....it often makes me wonder we are accountable to our pax and always get pulled in for the slightest of errors/mistakes what about c/s they are always ****ing about.....who do they answer to or do they ever become accountable for their mistakes which in my books are VERY MANY TOO MANY......

I think pprune is brilliant to vent our fustration or our love for our company.....i just wish our md or other management would read it as it think that we speak for the vast majority of the company (although these views are mine and not necessarily reflect those of others) thought i'd add a disclaimer just in case LOL


Well folks it 22.15 at night and i need to go out and have fun......hope to fly with you guys/dolls one day...who knows...we may become the next plasctic fantastic as C/S Management or the Next who knows what.......such a small airline and so many job titles to many chiefs not enough indians thats what i think.....well here i go again......

THATS ALL FOLKS KEEP YOU POSTED AND REMEMBER WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND....KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK SMILE AND IGNORE THE ****ERS....

Loving My Job Still
 

Hey there Rock and Gash. I still agree with everything you are saying.
Those bloody hot meals... I hate them so much. Got lamb and mint all down my trousers the other day....(sorry I should say lamb and mint gravy, because I dont see much meat in it, or any other of the cheap hots we do).
Seeing as we supposed to be so like BA .... everyone at the beehive must have there eyes closed....because I dont see us offering what BA do at all.
Anyway, just a short message because yet again feeling bloody tired and need the rest, before going into the nasty nest again.
Safe flying people

at the end of the day its all budgets and looking at ways of cutting costs at every opportunity, something which the entire company seems to do very very well, especially when our cost base is higher than ryanairs, but lower than easyjets!!!!!

the uphill struggle continues....... people will come, people will go. As long as the flights operate with the minimum legal amount of cabin crew on board, no matter how fatigued they may be, costs are kept as low as can be, until someone else comes up with another idea to cut them even further, the big wigs will be happy.

The sad thing is that the industry has become so competitive and cut-throat due to deregulation that this is becoming the norm, and it will only get worse. The pace at which airlines change will differ though, and the percieved 'good ones' are the ones that still haven't 'caught on' to cost cutting.

The black ink continues to grace the balance sheets in the world of gb (another profitable year, not the millions they thought, but still a profit).

The only red there seems to be is the tired, anaemic blood of their cabin crew, the face of the airline to the customer. A smiley, professional, yet deep inside, tired, frustrated and not much appreciated lot.

I NOW REST MY CASE!

GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY AT Gb!!!! WE'RE GONNA NEED IT!

AGREE TOTALLY
 

I agree totally with your comments rockboy in this competetive world due to deregulation all that seems to be important is keep pax coming back i.e bums on seats and also maintaining the balance sheet healthy for tha fat cats with their convertible mercs......

One thing i have to say in GB's defence is that at least our airline offers all of us Job Security...yeah after sept 11 a lot had to be achieved to maintain us at the forefront....lost of cutbacks where made....but everything possible was done by the company to ensure no one lost their job....i remember that only the last course was cancelled nearly towards the end but where still offered the opportunity to return in January and yes most of them did.......so its all not bad i have to say....BUT and the big BUT is at what expense are our Jobs Secure?

Cutting costs to the extent that we are rostered as i mentioned once on our flight limitations rather than on ethical grounds.....we work flat out day in day out...we are getting tired, fustrated and obviously over worked.....the airline has grown in the last few years dramatically....and crew levels have increased big time....but then again i have not seen the difference in flying hours i am working as much these days if not more than i have ever done.....summer and winter....i was comparing my rosta from last winter to this summer and i worked more hours in winter than i have this summer? .........and this summer i have worked really hard....

We work so hard day in and day out...but unfortunatly our hard work does not seem to be appreciated....even our profit share has once again not been achieved therefore nothing for us....what about all that hard work we have put in??? its not our fault that we had the sars, the war etc...those are factors which regardless of crew effort are beyond our control.....profit share is an unfair way of rewarding hard work its a false measure of the true efforts of the crew....

With this in mind I am gonna start a new topic regarding benefits, rewards and staff travel concessions check it out.....

Yawn Yawn !!! :zzz:

NOW AIRLINES
 

Baboy,
Saw your post. I was selected by GB Airways to join them earlier in the year but declined their offer. I was only in the Beehive for a few hours during my interview and I got the sense of everyone walking round on eggshells, no smiles, quite a lot of whispering to eachother in the cafeteria. I thought to myself, "something's wrong here" I saw one poor girl being openly told off for having a small chip on one of her fingernails. I thought, "Am I entering a Caucescu-style regime here?"I had heard how bitchy the seniors could be to other girls on board, and being a "temp" would have been a nightmare as they often make "temps" feel third class citizens. It took them three weeks after my interview to say I had got the job, which made me think, "No employer nowadays takes so long to decide if someone has been successful, I was obviously not the top of the list, and only got the job after they had been through the list of "maybe's" and had been turned down so many times by successful applicants above me in that list, they finally got to me."
That's not good enough for me. My 16 years experience with flying must have made them wary of the "temp" slot for me, and a fear of "young bimbo Seniors" feeling undermined by me on board as a "temp" lying in wait for their job. Most I saw at the Beehive buzzed around as if they worked for British Airways, the po-faced snobby faces I often saw at Compass Centre at British Airways, the reason I left BA-fake,people, two faced and over-paid, spoilt brats.

So come to NOW airlines, they will be recruiting again soon. A friendly bunch of people, no bitchiness and all eager to make a success of the new venture.

I think its always depressing to read the comments that some of your are making. GB Airways does work its cabin crew like pack mules but if you choose to stay in this industry post 9/11 then you have to expect changes have to be made to make an airline profitable and those of you complaining should be thankful that you are have not and are not likely to be aquainted with the DSS queue in Crawley.

As I have said I think GB Airways cabin crew are some of the best in the industry but it is also home to some of the worst and they are usually the ones who sit on there arses in the rear galleys complaining about how bad everything is. Look around guys......be grateful your not working for an airline that is struggling financially. I think if you stop and think about it the attitude you adopt is just naive. We all know how ****e and petty C srves are but lets face it they hardly shape the company.

Bag searches, why? You know why. Its because the company are losing thousands of pounds a month in lost stock. Yes some of it no ddoubt goes missing at bond but as ex crew Iknow that there are a great number of crew who every flight steal items from the bar. Im sure the ones who are complaining are regularly swopping used up touche eclait pens for new ones...........taking items out the bar and leaving the boxes behind in the hope that it will take a couple of flights to detect. Why object to bag searchs if you hav nothing to hide.

IFE. GB Airways cannot offer IFE on any route under 3 hours in length due to franchise constrictions. It can however offer them on the TFS flight etc but has to purchase entertainments licence for them. This cost $300,000 per aircraft per year then the cost of purchasing the programs. Unfortunately the IFE package was purchased as part of the order and is supplied as standard by Airbus and the is only ONE supplier of entertainments packages compatable with the system supplied and as you can imagine its expensive. Yes the lack of IFE is a cost issue but as you can see its a huge cost. Will you for-go more crew and accept more cut backs in order to accommodate these cost.........i think not.

There are so many more areas you have got all hot under the collar about andd your facts are so wrong.............instead of complaining how about you make a carreer change of you are that unhappy. Things have changed permanently now with the industry if you dont like it the leave.

Well guys I have been keeping myself posted with your comments over the last few months and its caused me much ammusement and cause to chuckle and whilst I agree with some of your comments I would like to throw in my bits and bobs!!!

We all winge guys, however we do have a union, but with less than 50% memebership there is no real majority so whilst our reps try their best for you they are fighting a somewhat losing battle, espeacialy as the delightful Mizz Gibbons and Mr Patterson are unable to conduct themselves in a civilised manner at a Union meeting anyway he shouts and she shreaks !! ( Thats not sexual either guys we dont want Mr Patterson to be confused with Slippery Bill )

The fact of the matter is we are realistic and to a certain extent at lot of things are never gonna change. It boils down to RESPECT!!!! which is something that Cabin Services have none of for crew. There is one person worth his salt in CS and hes caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, hes realistic enough to level with ya but also has those from above calling the shots. Your next Cabin Services Manager " VOTE ROB" ooops thats blown it !!

Reality check, the two people who run the show i.e the wiches of eastwick we know who they are have never worked their butts off at GB. Miss X as we will call her did a few months as main crew before flashing her eyelashes and her fake assests ( cos she has no other assest !) to get where she wants so she is just on a higher level to us guys.

In defence of Miss Y whilst on the whole I think she has helped certain things change, have you seen her slip into Paul Costello????? I think not....... these are the people who ring the changes but have simply no idea. Now we have Cabin Services sidekick " THE UNIFORM GOD " OR " THE MEMO QUEEN" shes a right buddle of joy that one.!!! Get it!!

Lets issue memo's left right and centre " please de-cater " On recently boarding an aircraft a purser was having a moan that they had taken over the aircraft from an " unamed base supervisor" and de-catering was not evident at all. NB:- note to self get joy to drop a memo in!!

Have we really lost our way that much:-

pulled up on too much make up or funky hair !!! this is
2003!!! take a walk over to jubilee house BA have moved with the times.

If you look imaculate but a tad too much rouge!! ( thats just the blokes) or hair too spikey your in the office.

Now there are crew within the ranks, some who wear not a scrap of make up others who look like they have been dragged through a hedge along with those whose weight has balooned to somewhat unattractive proportions!! are they dragged in ????? ummmm NO!! And as for uniform standards down route well!!! we got a bird at malta showing more up top that Jordon and at tenerife there is a lack of subtle pearl earrings going on! more like someone had been rooting through Pat Butchers earring collection. Do we not all abide to the same uniform standards book.

Oh and in reference to the memo re uniform standards: please note tie slides are optional guys!!

I am rambling now but there is a moral to the story!!

Keep your crew happy they keep the pax happy, the trouble with us crew is on the whole at GB the crew are a fantastic bunch and its that crew bonding that gets us through this Crap!! And we get it all done cos " team work" is good at GB there are a few who come to sit on their arse and eat all day............. i am sure some would be better suited to spanish national carrier !!!! AND BEFORE YOU ALL SCREAM I SAID SOME PEOPLE NOT ALL!!

Cabin services pick up on everything, but what about the front line, our passengers are paying for the British Airways Reputation, half of them assume we are BA and expect the same ...... but alas no !

We have seat pockets that are harldy ever dressed, even charter airlines can manage the full contents in an well presented fashion. Our seat pockets look like well!! who can say!

IFE Well how can you justify it being there and not using it, maybe if it did we would have less complaints and it would keep the pax happy on our canaries routes instead of them just getting pissed!!!

Oh talking of long flights "Airbus" is the curtain to return for a little privacy when trying to find a lean piece of meat in a passenger meal or spitting a piece out after discovering it to be more fat and grissle than meat! Or have we sold the curtains???? maybe they have been turned into a nice selection of scatter cusions??? a throw or even a nice rap for miss gibbons on those cold winter nights!

WE deal with the crap they throw at us 24/7 so stop treating us like it !!

Finally after a recent flight with a base supervisor I was told and i quote " Its all down to money , nothings gonna change, dont like it get out"

So take your choice guys, GB are nothing without crew so your better than you think if we we all walked out tomorrow it would be the biggest wake up call they could have. No chance of that to many sheep these days at GB following the shepherdess, what they they dont realise not all the sheep will bah sweetly and willing to be rounded up into the pen!

CABIN SERVICES SOME OUT OF YOUR IVORY TOWER THERE IS REAL WORLD OUT THERE SHAME YOUR NOT LIVING IN IT!

Join GB join a charter airline thats my advise work less earn more!!

I am sure there is loads I have missed will be back soon

SCAMPI BOI ...VERY WRONG
 

I hate to differ with you scampi boi....i appreciate and understand you comments yeah probably more informed than others but with one common ending it all comes down to money.....

Attititude like yours is precisly what makes a company a bad one 'IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT LEAVE IT' nobody said we, well i didn't like the company i work for.....its a certain few who are running it and working in it that a ruining it for the rest of us....

You seem to give me the impression either you in the union, flight deck or management position...and probably not a crew member........cabin crew are treated completely different and as if we where a total seperate entity from the company.....especially when flightdeck get paid a 3 figure overtime figure and cabin crew a 2 figure... etc etc....

I just hate it the comments like yours "since 11/9" thats just an excuse.....comments like that are used to excuse an airlines poor performance.....

And with comments such as be greatfull for a JOB...... off course i am greatfull but believe me my life doesn't depend on it.....once again its comments like that i hear day in day out.....many other carriers are suffering not just ours and look open your eyes....did it not occur to you that it might be better else where.....i am happy where i am greatful or not thats to be debated....GB should be greatfull that their longer serving members of staff are still with them...greatfull for the EXTRA hours many people give of their time to ensure a smooth running operation.....greatfull that most of us are flexible and willing to reduce hours when we have to .....and what do we get in return ....nothing extra...why? cause comments like you run through the company be greatfull you have a job and thats the end of it.......

Well scampi boi be greatfull you have a job...but would you be so greatfull working for 1/2 your salaray? if you are that greatful maybe you could save the company some money .......if not LEAVE just as you say......

Ditto Gash Bag
 

Have to agree with you Gash Bag, it seems someone in higher places has got wind of the forum and decided to put their point over.

Its all about give and take but alas it seems all GB managment want to do is take take take from its crew!!

Only fools and planes
 

Well, I must say i enjoy my days with GB although my reliant robin often goes tech between peckham and the Beehive, especially when called out at 4.15 am... but, petit suisse, it's all part of wealing and dealing.
I am happy to work for this airline, especially with Frank Spencer as managing director, Jim Royle as base supervisor, Tom Green at crewing, Marlene at cabin services and Boycie at Flight ops, and last but not least, sexy Ann Robinson at cabin services also... oh and not forgetting all the Victor Meldrews flying out there. Laboratory Garnier ! So, time for action ? I'd say mais oui !
Union's crap, so no point in counting on them (Sorry Paul, nice eyelashes though!) so what can be done ? well, haven't got much experience or "raison d'etre" in this industry so i'm unsure, but this seems to be a nice site, special thanks to all the F/D crew that visit this section, advice would be highly appreciated on possibilty of iniating some kind of protest. I can just imagine GB Airways crew going on strike. The only problem is that with no union support, i wonder where all this would lead to...
Anyway, in the meantime, my advice to all crew out there is have a fun, enjoy your outings, humour is the key to making the most of a day and enjoying the work environment.
Bonjour !

148 pax and min crew?
 

Flymeboy - Astraeus by any chance???????? :hmm:

Cabin Services Catchin on
 

Yeah SeniorJunior def catching on....i´ve heard a few people have been called in (unofficially) and asked if they knew anything about what is being written on this webpage..... :p so it must have got them thinking.... not that it will make any difference but at least i am sure they are aware of what is going on and happening ........

I always have fun on my flights regardless....i am there to enjoy my time at work and give pax the best service ever so that they can go and come back for more....at the end of the day if i donñt achieve that i am out of a job....(no bumbs on seats) but at what unfortunate expense? such a shame i guess........

Well i guess i shall retire for a while or at least a few days ..... keep a low profile ........ cause honestly i am realising that i am winding myself up and for what? to keep the rest of gb and the net entertained....i think they are hardly worth it....saying that i guess i´ll be back tomorrow LOL ........

What do you take us for?
 

Gashbag et al;

Do you think we are so computer iliterate that we have to (unofficially) call people in to ask what's appearing on these boards???!!!

We learn all we need to by logging in and reading them here, just like you!!

Oh please! :ouch:

can it get much worse
 

I have been working for GB Airways for donkeys years, and I enjoy flying, and I dont mind working for GB Airways, as they "pay my bills " and all big companies are trying to "make ends meet "

however, I cant seem to notice how disheartened and demoralised the cabin crew are, to a level never expereinced before !!!!

Maybe because its the end of summer season and everyone is knackered ???

Is GB under staffed at the minute ?

Does anyone know how many people have left recently ?

How can the company justify training so many crew, on a constant basis ? Surely this has to be explaining a few things. for example BA and Virgin treat staff really well, 7 Free tickets a year and they dont have a huge turn over of staff !!!

Will it ever change.
 

I have to agree with monoxide on this one, I really dont think myself or other crew are so dim that we dont realise that GB is a business and as such the final outcome is to make a profit as we did in the last financial year, however its the front of line staff and i.e the crew and flight deck who delivered the final product.

It was the crew who smiled gave the service required and were probably still smilling on that 7th day they worked for crew shortage reasons!! So why oh why are we the ones who get treated with the lack of respect or concern.

We aint happy bunnies, yes we appreciate we have to work, its our choice we chose to work for GB Airways, our crews are worked like a pack of dogs, however if in the real world we were a pack of dogs I am sure GB management would have been reported to the RSPCA for ill treatment.

GB crew are knackered working their arses off for the now somewhat " charter pax " we have discovered due to the " bums on seats culture we have adopted !! So now not only is there little respect from CS there is less at 35,000ft for the delightful pax....... why dont we just go all the way !! lets do night flights ibiza!! lets go charter !! we would all be better off we now work for a charter ailine in BA fancy dress pretending to be something we are not..... but with the cost cutting the cracks are beginning to show in the product we are delivering. The only thing that pax notice that us as crew are a far happier bunch in the cabin than BA's crew and why? cos we all have somesort of missplaced loyalty to still deliver regardless of appreciation of the managment.

Moral is at an all time low and getting worse, think the penny should drop and knock someone out in the beehive. Your experince is working out the door, oh yes they can be replaced by anyone off the street ( judging by some they were ) but where is the experince at 35,000ft when things go wrong, experienced staff need to be kept they are the ones who will be holding things together in emergency. Stop being so short sighted start treating that experince with respect and credit it deserves.

Its all about give and take, all we ask is for recognition and some reward for what us guys do out there, there are individuals who excel, a lot of people who work there arses off and karen & jackie do not even know of their exsistance, if we all wanna be numbers let BA have us, aint the greatest place but at least ya will be a number and your managers will have bigger things to worry about than a scratch on your shoe or a little heavy eyeliner ......... anyways enough for today catch you guys at the beehive.

Think when we relocated from Gib to LGW we brought some monkeys with us!

Where are they now?

Answer:- GB Management thats where!!

HEY EVERYONE!

SUGGESTION:

Why don't we all write a letter to President Bush.

We explain our predicament and see if he can send some troops into the beehive in an attempt to oust the current 'administration', ala Iraq???

After all, we do have weapons of mass destruction.........

tee hee!

gotta go, still lookin for that 24hr dry cleaners..... found one in macclesfield...............

xx