Good on you, Pete. Flew with you on the dear old DC10. You're a good bloke, and I'm so pleased you're back where you belong.

Fantastic news, onwards and upwards. I join with everyone to wish you an enjoyable continuation of your well earned career as an experienced top class Captain.

Quote:
Those whingers banging on about seniority come across as being extremely selfish individuals...

Quite possibly.
However, BA could blunt this objection by simply carrying an extra Captain on the seniority list...so as to not disadvantage those senior First Officers who are in line for the next Command course.
A win-win scenario, for all.....and is exactly what I would do if I were in
charge at BA flt ops.
Because....line pilots can actually learn from the experience of those few Commanders who are gifted with the ability to 'think outside the box'...a very rare commodity, in my opinion.

Now, it may appear that I constantly bash British Airways, as...after all they are sometimes such an easy target.
However, as I have mentioned before, I have flown with several BA First Officers at other airlines (secconded) and I can say with certainty that these folks are (possibly) second only to QANTAS (First Officers...which I also have operated with, secconded) in their thinking ability as, after all, when it all goes pear shaped, the last item one might desire, in a very critical point in time, is a pilot who might say...'oh gosh, I wonder what the QRH has to say?'

NB.
As a twenty six thousand hour airline pilot (and, TRE/IRE), it is my opinion that the ultimate ability for a pilot is to adapt an abnormal situation to, at that point, to his (her) best advantage, for a successful outcome.
The referenced Captain did so, and he should be congratulated...not forgotten, and discarded.
Ever.

he has never met warren......
seconded.

Peter
I listened to your interview on Radio 4 several months ago.

I must admit, that it made me feel quite emotional, the disgusting way that you were treated by some individual post match critics.

It would appear that you have a lot of support from the rest of the down to earth line pilots. I hope that your detractors eventually eat a little humble pie.

I wish you the very best of luck in the future. Please do another interview on Radio 4, this time in a positive light, so that we can all applaud you again.

SM

This is the best news I've heard in a very long time.Good luck for the future.:ok:

BA has shown common sense and decency, I never thought I would say that!.

411A:

In my 27 years at TWA I saw perhaps 15 or 20 termination cases. Once the initial grievance was heard and denied they were all removed from the seniority list.

Perhaps 80% of them (certainly a serious majority) eventually had their job restored after arbitration. When restored they went back to the seniority they held at termination. That has been the standard industry/government practice in the U.S. under the Railway Labor Act.

I think that BALPA, Captain Burkill and the individual who made the decision to reinstate, have just put "British" back into BA!:ok:

As a humble member of the SLF fraternity it will be an honour to be a passenger on your flight Captain.

Thank you BA. :ok:

Peter,
I am very glad to hear that.
In the mean time, I feel a bit sad you will have to close your website and blog. I hope they will stay visible at least, they are part of your life and may well have something to do with this happy ending ...
Bon vol !
CF

Ahhhh well, to my recollection, the concerned Captain was not terminated.
Therefore...your scenario does not compute.
Sorry.:rolleyes:

As another member of the humble SLF, I am thrilled for you and your family, and well done BA. Hope I will be fortunate enough to be on one of your flights.

Thank you for your indulgence in allowing this post - great book, read it twice, using it in my workplace.

Impressive, Big Airways and Commonsense.. in the same sentence!

And, a compliment from 411A.

High praise indeed.

"after all, when it all goes pear shaped, the last item one might desire, in a very critical point in time, is a pilot who might say...'oh gosh, I wonder what the QRH has to say?"

411A,

You'll be pleased to hear that at BA we train Aviate, Navigate, Communicate as the initial response to any threat...only when it's safe to do so do we train reference to ECAM/EICAS/QRH.

So, at that critical point in time, I would hope none of our pilots are thinking of the QRH. That has it's time though.

Pete reacted in the way he had been trained, glad he's back aboard.

I've always hated the "hero" bit, and the "heroic struggling with the controls" nonsense in the tabloids.
So did he, it seems, and it must affected him greatly.
He is a professional, and did a professional's job outstandingly.
To me, that doesn't make him a "hero", but somebody far more worthy of respect.

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:..."

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!"
(Kipling)

That could have been written for him.

CJ

Very pleased Peter is going to be back flying.

Was cabin crew and flew with him when he was flying Cally planes; he was a thoroughly decent bloke.
:D:D:D

'ware the taxman on re-engagement in a job
 

It would be up to BA whether or not they wanted to leave him with the redundancy payment, but one has to be very careful in such cases about whether the taxman thinks the redundancy was genuine - if the taxman thinks it was not, he is going to want his cut of any payments (Employer NI, employee NI, income tax, etc). Employers are free to give employees whatever remuneration they wish, as long as the taxman gets what he thinks is his share. My personal feeling is that airline Captains with proven experience and success under pressure do not grow on trees and BA may well want to regain his services despite the additional cost. I wish Captain Burkill the best in his job and trust he is receiving good advice on the tax point from professionals.

Only the other day I was reading about the 777 incident on Wikipedia (I know, I know) and it saddened me to learn of the outcome for the Captain involved.

What a refreshingly happy ending for a change. It has certainly restored my faith in human nature a little.

Good on Captain Burkhill and long may he fly for BA!

Jeez Pete, even the French (plural too ! there were a couple there) are supporting you (with some very well chosen prose, Merci to ChristiaanJ ) Bravo also to BA for seeing sense, nothing to do with looking "pilot-friendly" for the impending recruitment campaign of course. . . cynical ? moi? Ah! only a tad.

Finally got off me ass & ordered your book too :rolleyes: To quote an ex instructor mate of mine's Dad, who was a Tristar skipper with your esteemed employer a while back (Peter Black) . . . . . PFM ! ! ! !
Sums it up nicely methinks.
Happy Landings! welcome back to the sky, with all us other wobegones, where you belong & no doubt want to be.

Excellent news - restores your faith in human kindness.

411A - are you feeling alright? :}

Great news!! Loved your book Pete!
:ok:

This is absolutely fantastic..... There are so many reasons this MAN should be back.

Big Hugs....

Xxxx

411A:
I was making an analogy, not creating a scenario.

The analogy: slots are given back to terminated pilots reinstated by an adiminstrative law judge. It is a reasonable inference that a lawsuit brought by a pilot made to resign under duress would find the court giving the same award.

This is certainly very good news - there is too little of it around at the moment. :D I must say I hope to find myself as SLF on a BA 777 with Captain Birkhill in the pointy end very soon. :)

ROger.

Superb news
 

This is superb news and I'm thrilled for Capt Burkhill, planning to buy his book ad hoping that he continues to support his book sales via the website. I'm delighted to see BA reacting so positively and righting past wrongs.

Personally I hope to fly with him one day, it would be a privilege for he exemplifies everything I aspire for.

Desk-pilot

Brilliant period.:ok::ok::ok::ok:

I am not a BA pilot and work for 'the opposition'. Nonetheless, I have been saddened that Captain Burkhill was not disuaded from leaving BA at a time of immense personal stress. It is clear to everyone that he and his crew were faced with a situation few will ever have to deal with - they did the right thing at the right time and saved not just many lives, but the standing of their company. I wish Captain Burkhill nothing but a wonderful return to flying and a well-deserved return to British Airways. They have gained a great pilot and he has been returned to the company he should never have been allowed to leave in the first place. I am delighted for him personally and am also delighted to see that common sense has prevailed in the potentially contentious issue of seniority. What is also very gratifying to see is the almost universal graciousness of his fellow pilots towards him - it is very heartening to see them hold a hand out to one of their own who has done so much to benefit their profession in the eyes of the travelling public. I am delighthed Captain Burkhill is back where he should have been all along.

Good luck Captain Burkhill

Congratulations Captain Burkill.


I am very happy to hear of your reinstatement and, finally a happy ending to this story.


And, since it should be repeated, congratulations on your fine judgement that morning.



Your judgement and immediate actions in a potentially catastrophic situation were responsible for saving everyones lives on your Aircraft.



You truly proved yourself 'under fire'



I wish you many, many happy landings old chap.

Absolutely the best news for ages!
Like everybody else, I am delighted that common sense has prevailed. A rare thing these days.

There has been mention of the seniority list. I think you will struggle to find any BA pilot resentful of moving down one place (we should never have moved up one in the first place), to accommodate Capt Burkill where he belongs. Please let me know if you find one.

Welcome back, fella.:D

Norman Stanley Fletcher, think you've said it perfectly for many of us.

I would send my kids up with him without hesitation.

What a shame our national carrier have sullied their name by ahem "dissing" a pilot who did his job. I trust if Virgin ever carry that torch they will never carry that shame.

great news ! a good guy back on the job.

great news
 

The Best News That I Have Heard In Years, Well Done Pete !!!!!

Wonderful wonderful news Capt Burkhill.
:ok:
What a tragedy that this man and his family have endured the full gammit of grief by his constructive dismissal from BA. Shame on BA and shame on BALPA for not publicly and loudly standing up for this hero, instead allowing the whispering campaign to drive him out.

Anyway, all's well that end's well.

(Jazzy: Constructive dismissal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Oleo

Constructive dismissal from BA????

I think you should go back and read a little more before discharging such garbage!

Now back to the subject...welcome back Pete...looking forward to flying with you very shortly. The most welcome drop in seniority I could imagine!

Jazzy

Pete, congratulations upon your return to BA.

You've indeed come a long way since our first meeting on the flight deck of a TriStar many years ago. From my perspective (from the middle seat), I was very impressed with your handling skills and the way in which you 'instinctively' displayed all of the required attributes of that of a future airline captain. Many of those 'top notch' captains that we flew with in those early (seconded) Caledonian days have now retired; nonetheless, I feel sure that they too would join me in saying, "Well done Sir". It was my privilige to fly with you.

Having now, regrettably, retired from flying I'll look forward to hearing your voice from the PA system... hopefully from seat 1A!

Kindest regards

JB

And well done to SFO Coward too !