Iberia pilots on strike
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Condorox
Hi all,
I am an Iberia pilot. You say that BA and IB are financially independent because they are operational independent. The fact that they are operating independently does not mean they are not shifting cash one to another. When they merged two years ago the cash in BA was in dire straits, now they are expanding with no cash problems (the economy in UK is not that great also) thanks to the cash contributed by IB. I have no proofs though. And I fully respect my colleagues at BA. I am praying for the time when we are the same company with the same agreement, although I cannot figure out how this can be achieved.
Anyway, that is not the case of the strike, although it has been oustated by SEPLA (Iberia pilot union). The main reason is that the agreement we came upon with the previous Iberia management has been broken unilaterally by the actual management. In that agreement we lost some rights to permit Iberia to be more productive, and in change they signed they were not going to grow outsourcing production. And now we have lost those rights and no future for Iberia pilots. That said in a crisis environment and the fact that there are a lot of spanish pilots wanting to come home again makes the problem even worse.
I wish myself a lot of luck everyday when I get up in the mornings, though I know I am still a lucky guy if I look out of the window...
I am an Iberia pilot. You say that BA and IB are financially independent because they are operational independent. The fact that they are operating independently does not mean they are not shifting cash one to another. When they merged two years ago the cash in BA was in dire straits, now they are expanding with no cash problems (the economy in UK is not that great also) thanks to the cash contributed by IB. I have no proofs though. And I fully respect my colleagues at BA. I am praying for the time when we are the same company with the same agreement, although I cannot figure out how this can be achieved.
Anyway, that is not the case of the strike, although it has been oustated by SEPLA (Iberia pilot union). The main reason is that the agreement we came upon with the previous Iberia management has been broken unilaterally by the actual management. In that agreement we lost some rights to permit Iberia to be more productive, and in change they signed they were not going to grow outsourcing production. And now we have lost those rights and no future for Iberia pilots. That said in a crisis environment and the fact that there are a lot of spanish pilots wanting to come home again makes the problem even worse.
I wish myself a lot of luck everyday when I get up in the mornings, though I know I am still a lucky guy if I look out of the window...
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Saludos Javierito,
The first thing that I would say is that I have sympathy with some of the issues that have led you to strike. However, I think that pilots, and certainly its union leadership is doing itself no favours and certainly losing respect and credibility by mixing BA and "the British" as what is the cause of Iberia's troubles.
BA's main financial trouble has been the pension hole, but this hole is somewhat flexible, as to a large extent it depends on the value of its pension fund investments that have suffered in a the financial crisis, and in any case they have a plan to balance it over time. And that is possible so long as the company generates profits -which it has been doing of late.
By the way, BA is not growing at 11% as Pascual said in very misleading way. That is only in Spain (more flights from LCY to the Med, mainly -but that has already changed as more capacity has switched to IB on the LHR-MAD market)
At the time of the merger, BA was at a bad point, but it has not been by bloodsucking IB that it is back in profit. The crisis hit it faster than it affected IB, but things are different now, and Spain's economy is looking worse than the UK's. BA shrank its capacity -and workforce- before, and it's now time for IB to shrink (though they are saying that current employees will stay, and with the same conditions -with more going to long haul when the A330s enter operations in one year's time)
The main thing is whether companies can be profitable.
Its not IB's pilots fault that there is crisis, nor that the fuel is very expensive and that the Euro is losing value (and so making dollar related expenses such as fuel and insurances even more expensive), or indeed that Ryanair and easyjet have been gaining a lot of market share at the expense of IB.
But at the end of the day, every company has to have more money coming in that going out in order to be viable, unless the State can subsidize it, and that is out of the question.
With a lower operational cost per passenger, the A330s will surely give IB an advantage in the long haul market, but IB has already squeezed its A320s with seats, charges or food and drink, and still don't seem to balance the books. Perhaps they do need more flexibility from its crews, and they obviously don't think that can be done under the current terms, and are thus creating another company 100% owned by them.
A bad state of affairs indeed. Perhaps having a higher quality product might have attracted higher paying passengers in the short haul and would have made this part of the business viable. But management obviously think that they need lower costs from its staff, and there are clearly plenty of pilots and FA's (some unemployed, some at Spanair and Vueling) who are willing to work for IB Express.
The first thing that I would say is that I have sympathy with some of the issues that have led you to strike. However, I think that pilots, and certainly its union leadership is doing itself no favours and certainly losing respect and credibility by mixing BA and "the British" as what is the cause of Iberia's troubles.
BA's main financial trouble has been the pension hole, but this hole is somewhat flexible, as to a large extent it depends on the value of its pension fund investments that have suffered in a the financial crisis, and in any case they have a plan to balance it over time. And that is possible so long as the company generates profits -which it has been doing of late.
By the way, BA is not growing at 11% as Pascual said in very misleading way. That is only in Spain (more flights from LCY to the Med, mainly -but that has already changed as more capacity has switched to IB on the LHR-MAD market)
At the time of the merger, BA was at a bad point, but it has not been by bloodsucking IB that it is back in profit. The crisis hit it faster than it affected IB, but things are different now, and Spain's economy is looking worse than the UK's. BA shrank its capacity -and workforce- before, and it's now time for IB to shrink (though they are saying that current employees will stay, and with the same conditions -with more going to long haul when the A330s enter operations in one year's time)
The main thing is whether companies can be profitable.
Its not IB's pilots fault that there is crisis, nor that the fuel is very expensive and that the Euro is losing value (and so making dollar related expenses such as fuel and insurances even more expensive), or indeed that Ryanair and easyjet have been gaining a lot of market share at the expense of IB.
But at the end of the day, every company has to have more money coming in that going out in order to be viable, unless the State can subsidize it, and that is out of the question.
With a lower operational cost per passenger, the A330s will surely give IB an advantage in the long haul market, but IB has already squeezed its A320s with seats, charges or food and drink, and still don't seem to balance the books. Perhaps they do need more flexibility from its crews, and they obviously don't think that can be done under the current terms, and are thus creating another company 100% owned by them.
A bad state of affairs indeed. Perhaps having a higher quality product might have attracted higher paying passengers in the short haul and would have made this part of the business viable. But management obviously think that they need lower costs from its staff, and there are clearly plenty of pilots and FA's (some unemployed, some at Spanair and Vueling) who are willing to work for IB Express.
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Condorox
Hi again Condorox,
You see, Iberia is not Ryanair or Easyjet. LCC operate point to point and their crews do not sleep abroad. LCC do have their maintenance, handling, etc. outsourced.
Iberia as well as the main majors are net airlines, that is, they need short flights to take customers to the hub for their long haul flights, but Iberia management is trying to compete with Ryanair and Easyjet. why? Short flights in Iberia will always require their crews to sleep abroad, and that requires an agreement as well. BA has an agreement. why can't we have the same one? Ain't we the same airline?
I am a F/O in Iberia. I have been flying more than 13 years like most of my mates, and I have more than 7000 hours behind my butt. Do you think I have waited all this time to see Iberia disappear in a LCC competing with Ryanair?
If I were to work in LCC, I would prefer a real LCC than a garbage like this one.
Iberia needs to take an agreement with us if it wants to be competitive as BA, Air France, Lufthansa and all the majors are doing, and will be the only way for Iberia to survive, with their crews. At least that is the way I see it...only then, with happy crews and a happy family you will see the income numbers exceed expenses.
You see, Iberia is not Ryanair or Easyjet. LCC operate point to point and their crews do not sleep abroad. LCC do have their maintenance, handling, etc. outsourced.
Iberia as well as the main majors are net airlines, that is, they need short flights to take customers to the hub for their long haul flights, but Iberia management is trying to compete with Ryanair and Easyjet. why? Short flights in Iberia will always require their crews to sleep abroad, and that requires an agreement as well. BA has an agreement. why can't we have the same one? Ain't we the same airline?
I am a F/O in Iberia. I have been flying more than 13 years like most of my mates, and I have more than 7000 hours behind my butt. Do you think I have waited all this time to see Iberia disappear in a LCC competing with Ryanair?
If I were to work in LCC, I would prefer a real LCC than a garbage like this one.
Iberia needs to take an agreement with us if it wants to be competitive as BA, Air France, Lufthansa and all the majors are doing, and will be the only way for Iberia to survive, with their crews. At least that is the way I see it...only then, with happy crews and a happy family you will see the income numbers exceed expenses.
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Saludos Javierito,
As I said, I am not defending IB's management. I tend to think that offering a differentiated product might be better than competing against Ryanair than just offering low fares, whilst not being able to have the same cost base. But at the end of the day, the strategy rests with the management, and obviously IB since a long time has gone down the route of no frills, food and drink for purchase, and no legroom advantage, instead of a "classic service". Perhaps it is fares that drive IB's market. BA has also cut down service, and is putting more seats on planes, and yet they keep a "difference' with the LCCs. It's also true that LCCs don't fly to LHR, whereas they have bases in MAD and BCN -making IB's and BA's situations quite different, as are the UK and Spanish markets.
However, what IB says about its its Express, is simply a lower cost base than it has at the moment, and mix its traffic to have both O&D and connecting traffic with the end result being a saving of €100 million a year, that would make a big difference on the bottom line.
I doubt that there is anything that the pilots union can do about it. The current pilots such as yourself will keep your jobs and your terms, but no more will be employed. The new pilots (and FAs) joining IB express at their own free will will have lower wages, and different terms.
Although I believe that Captain's salary will still be attractive enough to temp F/Os currently at IB.
What can I say, it's a nasty world out there. You should indeed feel lucky to have a good job. But clearly there are others willing to work for less, and that is a market driving force.
I guess that if IB is successful in lowering its costs, at least it will be able to grow in long haul flights, creating more opportunities for pilots already in the company.
As I said, I am not defending IB's management. I tend to think that offering a differentiated product might be better than competing against Ryanair than just offering low fares, whilst not being able to have the same cost base. But at the end of the day, the strategy rests with the management, and obviously IB since a long time has gone down the route of no frills, food and drink for purchase, and no legroom advantage, instead of a "classic service". Perhaps it is fares that drive IB's market. BA has also cut down service, and is putting more seats on planes, and yet they keep a "difference' with the LCCs. It's also true that LCCs don't fly to LHR, whereas they have bases in MAD and BCN -making IB's and BA's situations quite different, as are the UK and Spanish markets.
However, what IB says about its its Express, is simply a lower cost base than it has at the moment, and mix its traffic to have both O&D and connecting traffic with the end result being a saving of €100 million a year, that would make a big difference on the bottom line.
I doubt that there is anything that the pilots union can do about it. The current pilots such as yourself will keep your jobs and your terms, but no more will be employed. The new pilots (and FAs) joining IB express at their own free will will have lower wages, and different terms.
Although I believe that Captain's salary will still be attractive enough to temp F/Os currently at IB.
What can I say, it's a nasty world out there. You should indeed feel lucky to have a good job. But clearly there are others willing to work for less, and that is a market driving force.
I guess that if IB is successful in lowering its costs, at least it will be able to grow in long haul flights, creating more opportunities for pilots already in the company.
