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-   -   British Airways Citiexpress (https://www.pprune.org/rumours-news/118093-british-airways-citiexpress.html)

Bigpants 8th Feb 2004 16:24

Culture and dirty tricks
 
Hopefully we will receive an explanation from Danny reference the removal of the original thread. We should all bare in mind that British Airways management has a long established culture of dirty tricks that dates back to Laker.

The attempts to undermine Virgin, the recent fine by the EU of about £6 million quid, the sacking and subsequent death of Captain Stuart Clapson are all examples of the manner in which BA operates.

Not only should you vote yes but I would suggest that you write to the commons select committee on transport and point out what a mess British Airways has made of the regions. The chair is Mrs G Dunwoody MP for Crewe and Nantwich.

My point being that direct regional flights deserves investment and needs competent and committed managers to deliver it. Evans and chums have wrecked what could be a very successful operation.

Why are'nt BA keen on anything working well in the regions? Because the "system" hates to see traffic diverted from Heathrow.
They would rather add to the misery of congestion and pollution at Heathrow by shuttling in passengers from places that could viably offer direct flights to europe and elsewhere.

Rememeber all those great adverts about the flat bed? Does the British Airways flight from Manchester to New York have them? NO funnily enough that service has had to struggle along with an old 767 with old seats. Despite the fact this flight operates with high load factors and cargo, no investment in new products.

A vote for industrial action is a vote of no confidence in BA Management and a chance, possibly your last, to make a stand for a commercially successful and happy regional operation.
Good Luck BP

PPRuNe Radar 8th Feb 2004 16:48


Hopefully we will receive an explanation from Danny reference the removal of the original thread. We should all bare in mind that British Airways management has a long established culture of dirty tricks that dates back to Laker.
Looked to me like he gave an explanation in his post at 0200. The one just before yours Bigpants ??

Pontiuspilot 8th Feb 2004 16:56

Thanks BP, totally agree.
Further, think of the LCY- CDG being terminated after not being allowed to be marketed properly because of competition to LHR.
Think further and closer to home about SOU. A great base, exceptionally profitable as a franchise, but, er, competing with LHR again. Result, it is slowly being allowed to wither on the vine. Competition from other regionals, constant promises of initiatives, but how long before this base too mysteriously becomes a loss leader, and is closed.

Basically, it's not just that BACX has no confidence in its management, we don't actually believe a single word they say, because not only have they been consistently proved wrong, they have been consistently demonstarted to be LIARS!!!

Before Danny get's righteously angry about slander / libel, how elese can you interpret a statement by the head of Operations, on the public radio, that there are no plans to change services to/from the Isle of Man; yet a week later announce the grounding of about 80% of their aircraft, and the stoppage of operation of a similar number of routes.
If not a lie, then maybe stupidity, incompetence, senile dementia - you take your pick!!! :mad:

That is just one example. In the meantime, the timely suspension of one BACXCC member, the held back promotion of another, the repeat training of a third, the stress induced illness retirement of a fourth.......... there seems to be a pattern here too!

Vote YES and let's get it over with, they do not have the balls to play poker at this level, because the stakes of failure are actually much much higher for them than for us.

VOTE YES! :D

Tinytim 8th Feb 2004 17:50

Pontius

That is an absolute bulls - eye and you are quite right!

They do not have the balls to play play poker at this level and they have far more to loose than any of us collectively or individually.

Not that we are being vindictive in this, be quite certain that our esteemed leader is now right under a very large spot light and Uncle Rodney is not going to be in a forgiving mood after the sort of press this is attracting.................and will continue to do.

Vote YES and vote for a change in the style and substance of management which has brought a sound regional operation to its knees...................

Captain Jumbo 8th Feb 2004 18:14

Totally applaud the ballot, you should vote YES on moral, ethical, common sense and career future terms.

[One other point is that if you DON'T, your CC will have no credibility for the foreseeable future, and your management will run rampant, crowing, saying
'I told you so'
imposing even worse conditions knowing they can get away with them, and generally pushing the bat in even further.]

Once you start in a game of high stakes poker, you cannot flinch - it helps a lot knowing that your opponent has blinked first and subsequently folded on every single other game they have ever played! The incompetence shown by BACX management has continued in that they have allowed your CC to pick a fight at a time and place of the CC's choosing, and on a subject where the management are clearly one hunnerd persent in the wrong.

You cannot lose, it is a no-brainer (like your management).:ok:

The Little Prince 8th Feb 2004 21:29

Just for the final record, I did not delete my own thread, deliberately or otherwise.
Sorry Danny, no more on that from me.


bat.man - it's quite clear you don't work for BACX any more, or you would not speak of a massive distrust between managers and pilots in to past tense. Sorry, couldn't resist that one!

Now, could any BA Airbus pilot advise me what the result would be of their Technical Manager - or any of their pilots - heading off to the hotel on a nightstop whilst leaving one of the engines running. I ask purely to compare mainline's methodologies with our own.

Enough. When deciding which way to vote, we need to consider the past, our management's declared intent, and their actual actions. To compare what they said, and then look at what they did.

Having done that, calm down, and think about the latest round of promises and plans. Quite seriously, why does anyone think it will now be different.

Forecast from the Prince:

1. BA will announce a massive turnround in profitability next quarter. (No more Jetstreams or ATP retirals to fund!!)

2. There will still be no payrise, no access to mainline and no written, witnessed guarantees about base longevity.

(yep, I know employees don't normally expect guarantees like that, but with our shower of mendacious self-interested plonkers, that's what it would take to have us believe them.)

So, explain to me in simple terms why anyone at any base other than Manchester or Birmingham should vote anything but YES.

Now think about BHX and MAN. Think about the huge seniority imbalance caused by the gerrymandering of the positions. Think, if you will, with the huge volume of senior guys in junior seats just how long it will be before any normal movement occurs to resume normal career progression. The'management' hope that there will be enough senior guys resign and leave in disgust and frustration. They hope this because the cost of the abortionate structure they have created is immense, because the FO / Capt ratio is completely wrong. The joke is that if a suitable redundancy package were organised for the REALLY senior guys, they would go quite happily in some cases, leaving a more balanced structure behind, and this would actually be CHEAPER than paying all these RHS captains. AHA, yes, that's why they want to undo the pay protection - induce more 'unprotected ' skippers to leave.
In summary though, do you trust Evans, TDLF, APOPH etc to deal honourably with your and your families futures?
How many times have some of us thought - well we must turn the corner soon?

What is the prime motivation of the above individuals? It doesn't take much thought really does it?

Rider of the Purple Sage 8th Feb 2004 21:55

JOHN PRESCOTT eh?
 
Laugh - I thought my pants would never dry!

Just come from our BALPA site. Discussion mentioned McL's departure, and speculated over TDLF's future and potential enforced departure after we win. Never been one to shrink from applauding THAT, but consider........who would be Hair Apparrent?

The Boy Hutch :yuk: , without doubt. It was then suggested that some might view this in the same way as Prescott taking over from Tony Blair..................................................:E

busz 8th Feb 2004 23:07

I am going to tread very carefully now. This topic is obviously very important to a lot of people, and quite rightly so.

I have often wondered why British Airways stations out in the regions get such a raw deal. Is there some inherent reason why the chaps working valiantly for Citiexpress should have to put up with worse pay and conditions than their mainline counterparts?

I dont pretend to know the details of the difference between citiexpress and mainline, but the heated responses to this thread clearly show that some of the pilots at least (if not all) feel hard done by.

Now, the real reason that i am posting is to inquire as to what form any industrial action would take, and how disruptive it would be to the schedules? Is it likely that a number of flights would be cancelled? Also, what is the timeframe that we would be looking at for any strike action? If the ballot does indeed show a largely unhappy pilot workforce on the 20th, how soon would the repercussions be felt?

Being from Manchester, i really dont understand the mentatlity of abondoning the regions in favour of expansion at LHR. Surely some of the congestion down in the SE can be alleviated by making use of the facilities at the regions?

Tell me, is this Evans guy from somewhere below the Watford Gap?

I am only a lowly SLF, but seeing this thread has made me quite worried. I am flying with the good ppl at Citiexpress on the 5th and 7th March, MAN-MAD-MAN, and the thought of being told my flight is cancelled worries me slightly. Dont get me wrong, i do empathise with the pilots, but what effect will any strike action have on the image portrayed to the travelling public, especially at a time when the Citiexpress operation is facing increased competition from the likes of BMIBaby at MAN.

Just my (rambling) thoughts.

Regards

Alex

P.S. I hope to be flying up there with you guys one day. (only a ppl at the moment)

Airprox 8th Feb 2004 23:42

If you think BACX is bad then have a look at DHL Air!!!
:{

Maximuss 9th Feb 2004 01:07

Dear Alex,

You are definitely not a 'lowly' SLF. You guys pay our salaries, and we remember that, even if it sometimes seems that our management is determined to abandon you all or make you use another carrier.

Your particular flight should be OK, as the repercussions of this vote will take a while to settle through, and (I imagine) for our CC to formulate proper plans. However, a quick read of this thread should let you know just how totally p#ssed off with our management we are. Not 'some' of the pilots, but the vast majority of Flight Crew, Cabin and Flight Deck, along with most of the Engineering Staff and Ground Staff, not to mention the Admin People. If you doubt me - just ask anyone working for us!!!
I would watch it carefully to see how it develops - and if you want to help, write to David Evans, our Managing Director (a contradiction in terms!!!) and tell him how your worries about the dispute may force you fly with someone else. If you want to REALLY help, send his reply (or news about the lack of one) to the papers, and enquire as to his Industrial Relations policy and record with "People in Business".

If you aspire to professional aviation, our Company has some of the most professional and best pilots in the business, and some of the most narrow minded, pin brained, incompetent non-entities in the world of management. Lions led by Donkeys might be considered to be an appropriate phrase, but I suspect it would have most of the world donkey population filing a lawsuit for Racism!!!

Best of luck with your trip to Madrid, a lovely city. I hope it isn't too important that you get there on time, as most of our Manchester departures these days run very late indeed - a function of not replacing the handling staff on the ground. Bear that in mind when you book your appointments at the far end.

Good Luck,

Max.

Cornflake 9th Feb 2004 01:21

Can't believe Jim McAuslan would be supporting our CC unless he thought they were totally in the right.

osbo 9th Feb 2004 02:03

Maximuss,

"Best of luck with your trip to Madrid, a lovely city. I hope it isn't too important that you get there on time, as most of our Manchester departures these days run very late indeed - a function of not replacing the handling staff on the ground. Bear that in mind when you book your appointments at the far end."

Utter bollox - you obviously know nothing about what you speak.

Alex,

worry not, you will very probably have no problems with your journey. Should there be a snag, then you can be sure that everything will be done to get you to and from MAD as expeditiously and safely as possible. Enjoy your trip.

O

jordan 9th Feb 2004 02:19

There seems to be some form of god-given assumption that everyone at BACX is owed a living by BA. Just how naive can you get!!

Why should there be any comparison at all with BA salaries etc. It's a different airline, and an airline that can only really flourish if removed from BA altogether.

Any threat of a strike will bring this closer; which must be a good thing.

Tinytim 9th Feb 2004 03:13

Jordan................In case you hadn't noticed, there is't much sympathy for the Company line here...............or indeed anywhere that I have seen.

The most moderate of reasonable thinking individuals have been driven to respond to our CC's call for many and different reasons.

Those reasons have as their common denominator an arrogant incompetent and discredited arm - chair management who are totally insulated from the consequences of their ineptitude by BA parachutes.

We have witnessed the disgusting spectacle of one such leaping for his life before he had to face the consequences of his actions and one can only guess at how quickly he will be joined by the others.

I believe that a strong YES vote will, aside from any other result:-

1. Bring about the removal of those above individuals remaining.

2. Force BA to address what exactly it is that they want out of CX and put in proper resources to achieve it ( I do not believe for one minute that they will dispose of the operation, the political fallout would be substantial as would the public humiliation of BA having to admit that it had failed and was surrendering to the competition)

3. Force CX to afford its Union representatives in Balpa the same courtesy and respect enjoyed by their BA counterparts and end the dirty tricks, abuse, misinformation and dodgy dealing which have characterised its relationship with our CC members (to the substantial detriment of the health and careers of at least three of them)

Amazon man 9th Feb 2004 03:35

I was told only a few months ago by one of our most senior managers that all bases would if necessary be sacrificed for fortress Heathrow.

This to my mind rather sums up BA's attitude to the regions, it's only a shame they don't seem to have realised what many of the travelling public already have in that Heathrow is an absolutely awful airport to travel from and more fitting for a third world nation rather than the world's fourth largest economy.

If anybody in senior management had any foresight they would be heavily investing in the regions instead of continually retreating back to Heathrow.

busz 9th Feb 2004 05:52

Max,

thanks very much for your reply, and for the reassurance that my travel plans will probably not be ruined.

I have travelled on Citiexpress four times previously (all to and from Madrid incidentally) and always found the staff to be very warm and the flights enjoyable, so from my perspective, you guys at the sharp end are all doing yours jobs incredibly well under what (seem to be) difficult times.

The very first flight i ever took with you guys certainly sticks in my mind as one of the most enjoyable ever. It was back in the summer of 2002, and being the aviation enthusiast that i am, i asked if it would be possible to visit the flight deck. For obvious reasons i was refused, however the extremely friendly FA took it upon herself to kneel down next to me and chat about aviation and what was happening at Citiexpress for a good 20 minutes. That's what i call customer service!!! She explained to me how she was based at Cardiff and had only just recently started working on the ERJ145 from manchester. I wonder what happened to her as she was worried about job security even then.

On the return flight i managed to speak to the pilots after we had landed and they explained to me how they were actually based at Gatwick but were up at Manchester for 4 days flying from there and staying in a hotel. What a way to run an airline!

I may well take you up on writing a letter to your MD. A response would certainly be interesting although i very much doubt he would have the time to write to me. Coincidentally, i am 19 and studying for a BA in Air Transport Management, a fall-back for if i dont make it as a pilot (God Forbid). Im going to remember this Evans guy, and make a mental note of how not to run an airline:O .

Regards

Alex

Maximuss 9th Feb 2004 15:47

Osbo - or should I say Mr Brewitt,

I am based in Manchester - ever heard of 'push and hold'??

Thanks busz, you have a good flight, and a good day too!

Interested to hear what Evans has to say!

Cheers now,

Max.

osbo 9th Feb 2004 20:41

Maximuss,

whatever gave you the idea that I'm NB? I simply stated that you were incorrect if you think that the main reason for recent delays has been "a function of not replacing the handling staff on the ground". I think a little research on your part would reveal that whilst there have been problems with the operation, that has not been the predominant factor.


O

Uncle Silas 10th Feb 2004 00:06

Congratulations to our CC Deputy Chairman.

Our GMFO today posted on the Company forum a very long reply to a query about what our problems are, whose fault it all is, and why he is right.

Timbo used his usual style of never giving a straight answer, of obscuring the issues, the history of the issues, the people involved. He consistently blamed BALPA for the problems, on one occasion even agreeing that the BACX pilots are trying to do no more than the BA pilots did to protect their lifestyles and jobs to achieve the secondments they currently occupy. To everyone's amazement though, he then again says it is all the fault of BALPA for not working together that is causing the difficulties.
Hurrah for GA who then tore Timmies points to shreds one by one, by using the actual history, the actual quotes of who said what to whom and when. I would copy and paste if I knew how.
Bloody well done to the IOM Turbo Capt about to be displaced for a 'tell it like it is' speech, that ends quoting Bomber Harris, it takes a lot of guts to do that with your own ID, (yep, more than I have anyway!)

Finally, to the guy who accuses BACX pilots of thinking BA owe them a living.

1. They had a very good living in a pretty good Company before BA bought it.
2. There is an obligation called a 'duty of care' towards one's employees. Asset stripping is not a pretty sight.
3. You can't have it both ways, either the Company that owns you DOES owe you basic human rights like truthfulness, honor and a decent days pay for a decent days work. I'm sure the BA guys expect that from their employer - so why the hell shouldn't we????

JimboJones 10th Feb 2004 05:31

Wouldn't want this post to drop to far from the front of our (and management's) minds. Congrats to GA, hell of a discection! :yuk:


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