CitiExpress Base at Gatwick
 

I have been reading a bit about this apparently happening soon. It may well affect me - has anyone else any news, views or comment?:confused:

could affect alot of us .... where have you been reading this ?

Let me see.....BA had a wholly owned, low-cost subsidiary at Gatwick (CityFLYER Express) which they "integrated" into EOG (hence becoming high cost and inefficient), and start phasing out the CFE aircraft to the regions, and no doubt get rid of the last ATR's once the leases are up.

They take another wholly owned 'low cost' subsidiary (BA CitiExpress), which has bases in the regions but not at LGW, and start moving CitiExpress into LGW, including a crew base?

Nothing against CitiExpress at all.....with CFE now gone I believe CitiExpress are key to the future of BA short-haul at LGW......but BA management at Waterside must surely see the funny side!!??

Would anyone from BA care to comment? Was integration of the 'low cost' CityFlyer such a good idea after all?

In trim.

I have heard this rumour too - apparently from what I have heard, is that BA are looking at transferring the whole of the shorthaul operation at LGW to CitiExpress. The only fly in the oitment, as far as management is concrened, is the ongoing row over scope. Apparently the CitiExpress management don't think that they can operate profitably if they have to take on flightcrew at Mainline BA T&C's

In trim

Whilst you (and the rest of the world) may think it to have been stupid move to integrate CityFlyer into BA mainline, you have to realise that the managers in Waterworld are operating on a dim distant planet far away from the rest of us - so please make allowances.

:D

Jet II....thanks for the support. I still think that was the most stupid move BA made at LGW and they did it rather than stand up to the unions. To then give up loads of slots post Sept 11th, for the likes of easyJet to move in.....commercial suicide.

It's obvious they now need a lower cost base at Gatwick. If BA CitiExpress need offices at LGW the CityFlyer ones are still up for rent....gotta be cheaper than BA's !!

And there are still those that wonder why the BA share price is at the dizzy heights of £1.10p (as of today)

Being ex CFE i'm speachless:mad:

:rolleyes: I just cannot believe this is happening. I admit this is all around the crewroom at the moment, and having asked the Base Captain, I was told "off the record" that an announcement is expected soon - whenever that is.
However, whilst I can dimly see the economic argument in all this, I wonder who on earth they think is going to move down to LGW to operate these aircraft? Most of us are in the Regions because we want to be here. We specifically do NOT want to be anywhere near LHR or LGW (can't afford the house prices anyway, lol:p ) and we really don't want to move our families either. Heavens, I sound like a BAR pilot now.
So just out of interest, are there any CitiExpress pilots out there who WOULD move South?
Come on, lets hear from you, remember it will probably lead to bigger aircraft in the medium term, and hence a better package.:D

Yup,

Count me in for that, I'd move just for the whisperjet, never mind the chance of the 737. I reckon house prices down there will be back in the negative equity thing by the time it gets sorted out anyway. Scope has yet to be finalised, and they won't be doing LGW until they have that done.:p

MM
As you say Mike"most of us are in the regions because we want to be there"having recognised there is a good lifestyle to be had outside the south east.Even if I was taken on at mainline rates my disposable income would be massively reduced (if I were to buy an equivalent five bedroom house)They may get some single/ambitious f/os but you can count the experienced skippers who would move from BACE Manch (by far the largest CE base)on one hand.

Return o Gatwick
 

Move to Gatwick? yup i would go tomorrow. I would love to have a base near to home on the south coast, with southampton a no, no, now, it would be the only chance of living in that part of the country with this company. Even if i had to fly T.props, would go to straight away...... please!!!!

Just positioned back from the States on a BA flight.

Chatted to flight deck after landing, and they reckoned the same, (which was the first I'd heard of it) over next two years they said that BA shorthaul out of LGW is going to be shutting up shop.
They seemed to reckon most of losses come from shorthaul anyway, and some more major fleet/base changes were in hand.

I see that the LGW Base is now the formal subject of a notice on the CitiExpress Company Management 'Intercom' site. :cool: :cool:

I should have thought we 'displaced pilots' would have had first option on any vacancies going at any new base, though I wouldn't be surprised to find that somehow it doesn't work out like that.:( :( :(

I for one would move to Gatwick in an instant. What airframe? I don't really mind.
I think you will find that there are a lot more of us who would move down south than you think.

I wonder if this has a connection with a rumour at STN of Barbara setting up another low cost operation somewhere and another rumour coming out of BA concerning an announcement next week also referring to a BA low cost operation involving a certain Barbara C.

Getting somebody like Citiexpress in Gatwick and BC in to clean up the mess could be good for BA but I feel like a turkey in November.

The way BA is operating out of LGW at the moment they appear to me to be in their management way making LGW look as bad as possible so that they can turn round and force a lot of this stuff on it. A blind man could see the writing on the wall. I just wish BA would get on with it and not 'poison the well' by treating pax and staff like s@@@.

Well said mainfrog - it does seem that BA mismanagement is deliberately trying to screw up LGW so they can implement something big.

:confused:

Is there anybody in the present BA management that know what they are doing, the longer this sorry little mess goes on the more I think that this is all some big joke and any moment Noel Edmonds is going to appear with a Gotcha Oscar.

Somebody please up there in Waterworld start earning your money and get this airline back on its feet with a clear focus about where it is going.

As for the possibility of another low cost attempt well this would just be beyond a joke having sold GO. I think there would be serious signs of mutiny in the front ranks if management were seen to be trying to go over old ground again and serious cause for the resignation of the present management.

One word to the GB staff, your airline is the only shining light in this great big jumble of BA mailine , franchise, wholly owned subsiduary etc etc etc, dont let yourselves be swallowed up and ruined. Iam sure GB is more than capable of standing alone again as GB Airways in its own right.

Heavens, just read the Sunday Times article on the state of BA:

Share price now lower at 113p than when the company was floated in '87.

Out of the FTSE.

Total value put at £1.2Billion which is what branson got as valuation for Virgin three years ago when he sold half to Singapore.

BA company bonds trading at 76% of face value.

Standard & Poor rate BA as BBB- which is one level above 'junk' status apparently.

I hear that the company is sitting on a pile of cash and liquifiable assets. However, is it now a distinct possibility that BA will fail?

Obviously one hopes not.

Ben.

I doubt it could fail outright,

...but a takeover?? Its raw assets , (slots, property etc) must be worth close to or more than its stock market valuation. It could even become victim of an asset stripping exercise.The pension could be very vunerable in these circumstances.

Lets not forget the 6 Billion of debt they have.