The Airport Dog at Benbecula.
 

A chum of mine was employed as a consultant to the world's favourite etc. etc. some years ago.
Whilst investigating the byzantine management architecture (his words) he told me the story of the Airport Dog, the cost of which was shared by BA and BAA, and the function of which was to scare birds.....hmm.
It was claimed that Ba's accounting system was so all encompassing that it was possible to trace the cost of the tin of dog food back to the hound of Benbecula.
Does the Dog still exist,is he/she still on the payroll and is he/she Management or Ground Crew?
....And does anyone know the price of half a can of BA dog food?

A "Chum" of yours? Sure you don't mean "Pal" ?

:D

The food only cost 50p per can but the procedures and management hierachy meant it cost £5.50 to put in the bowl.

Is the hound a CAA approved Postholder? And which union does s/he belong to - or is s/he classed as management? :eek: :D :eek:

Perhaps this is where the expression to "throw your manager a bone" comes from?

A wizard wheeze because Benbeculiar is operated by Highlands and Island Airports and may be owned by the MOD. (Not sure about that one)

Yes - the airport dog was a fine servant, and provided the staff with many a wee dram over the Christmas period, damn fine stuff it was too :D :p (Bottles to the airport manager?! - oh never mind :rolleyes: :)
Benbecula is owned by HIA, (the MOD own the 300m starter extension on runway 24 as they built it :) )

[ 12 December 2001: Message edited by: Spoonbill ]

Senior Manager Scottish Island pets decided that the waste on dog food was unacceptable (after consultation with dog food cost analysts department at a weekend meeting in Bermuda).

The dog food was therefore replaced by a deli bag (in consultation with the senior management at deli bags- Scottish islands and a full cost analysis by their department).

Obviously other cost cutting was necessary to pay for these in depth reviews, so the Benbecula route was franchised and overall the exercise was almost cost neutral (apart from the cost of the stream and the plants in the senior managers' offices).

Extra management are now being recruited to ensure that waste on dog food does not reoccur, and flight crew will forego their usual extra week of pay in November until these savings are in place.

A while ago I understood that Stansted Airport Ltd. had a flock of sheep to keep the grass down (away from operating areas). It was therefore the only major airport anywhere to have a shepherd on its staff. Is this still the case?

I was in an AOC (Airline Operators Committee) meeting in Rotterdam last year when the Airport Director walked in with the newest member of staff on his arm.....a bird of prey. The proposal was to hire a full time falconer, and the bird of prey, for some environmentally friendly bird control!

Would that be big Roland? top bloke

What breed of dog was/is it? (just curious)

I think it was a beagle or maybe a pup!

Beagle Terrier of course

(or was that a high wing, single-engined monoplane)

'Air'dale ???

Is that den of iniquity the "Dark Island" still going strong?

:D Ahh....... The Dark Island.... that place made my head hurt on more occassions than I'd care to remember.... :)

TVR Cars has a dog on the staff payroll with an expense account. Ned, A German Pointer, has a bad habbit of sniffing out the shop floor staff packed lunches and eating them because cheese and ham butties taste beter than the canned stuff. Replacement lunches can be put down on Ned's company account.

The Automotive Dog at Blackpool. :D

Leeds/Bradford (I think)have had a bird of prey on the payroll for years to help control birds on the airport. I believe they also tried dressing a bloke up in a big Owl suit to scare the poor little sparrows to death, and it worked!

Of course it may not have been Leeds, it was a few years ago now and I am getting old and loosing my marbles.

I heard that the dog has since been promoted and is now a Senior Performance Manager at Waterside.

sB

Ace Rimmer,

Yes, it was Roland. Top bloke, but a little 'off the wall' at times.

In trim.