pilot opportunities in addition to just flying at BA

[bookcase]

Hi there,

I was was wondering whether there are any/many opportunities for pilots within BA to undertake additional roles as well as purely flying?

I don't mean becoming a trainer, but more about getting involved in other areas of the business. If there are, are these positions purely voluntary or do they attract some form of renumeration? How does it fit in with flying and flying a 'normal' roster?

[NigelOnDraft]

There are opportunities to act as Cabin Crew - in fact, likely to be such a period announced later today But that's a subject of various other threads?

What exactly were you thinking of?

[SFCC]

If you are thinking about that already, stay in the RAF!

And by the way, it's Remuneration

[bookcase]

SFCC - Thank you, must try harder!

NigelOnDraft - thanks for replying. I mean quite literally other opportunities available to line pilots in addition to just flying the line, such as working in the office on various projects - technical or otherwise.

The reason I ask is that I have been flying a while and I love it. But I fancy a change. I would not seek to join BA for a quick command as there are numerous airlines in the UK and elsewhere that would satisfy that desire. The attraction in joining BA would be the opportunities to do other things than simply fly aircraft.

Many thanks.

[NigelOnDraft]

bookcase...

Assuming SFCC is correct about your "current employer"?

Yes - there are opportunities outside of flying. In general "management" covers it.

I will try and express it delicately It is very different to how you might regard other duties in the RAF, and how you might regard your "superiors". Most line pilots will regard you as a separate species, avoid talking to you, and assume you are on an enormous bonus scheme that is triggered purely by how miserable you make the life / salary / T&Cs of the line pilots.

In practice, the "greasy pole" of BA Management seems very political, cut throat, and involves lots of hours for little reward. They either get promoted beyond their ability, or the ones "we" judge as the acceptable face of Management do not progess. When you do find one barely acceptable he suddenly "resigns to spend more time with his family", but in reality he had something that did not fit

In short, I fail to understand, for the most part "why" they go into Mgmt - in particular former RAF colleagues. Some do see the light and escape back to being line pilots, sometimes even by their own choice

I shall no doubt soon work out who is "Manager i/c monitoring pPrune"

If you do have energy / skills / ambition / time outside the line flying duties, there is plenty of scope to devote these to things outside BA - as many do.

[paddy_22002]

I don't mean becoming a trainer, but more about getting involved in other areas of the business. If there are, are these positions purely voluntary or do they attract some form of renumeration? How does it fit in with flying and flying a 'normal' roster?

There are pilot ambassadors, I believe they get a days credit for turning up to corporate events in waterside, etc. Without going down the management route you could perhaps get involved in recruitment.

If seeing the business is your thing then thats fine. Most pilots generally appreciate it when a good guy decides to get involved. Its a shame the line community generally doesn't support or encourage the good ones as you never know they might even stick with it. However most flt ops pilot managers are good guys IMHO. They extract flying work and typically only do one or two trips a month unless their role requires more flying. To progress I think there is an expectation to gain experience in a department thats not your own which could mean ditching the flying altogether.

Compensation is in the form of an emolument to compensate for the loss of flying pay. In addition there is also a management bonus scheme. Bonus payments are set corporately and dependant on company performance and the individual meeting their own KPIs. The higher up the pole you go the more the bonus.

As NOD mentioned the management roles demand a lot of your time. Always available on a laptop or mobile. You don't get to sign the tech log and go home. It does mean giving up the variety of a normal pilots work and doesn't leave any time to pursue other interests outside BA. Therefore the hourly rate is less, most certainly at the beginning.

If you have the energy and commitment and still want to get your hands dirty but don't fancy management then you could always stand for election as a BALPA rep.

Good luck

[bookcase]

NOD and Paddy, many thanks for the info. That just about answers everything!

[Craggenmore]

A friend of mine, fully employed by BA, is undertaking a BA (Hons) in Air Transport and Commercial Pilot Training. Flying full time but studying in spare time. All approved by BA.

[763 jock]

Bookcase, just interested as to where these "quick commands" are in the UK at the moment? Any half decent airline that I can think of has a very long wait for a new joiner at the moment.

I'm not trying to be smart, I'm just not aware of any operator that has quick upgrades at the moment.

[bookcase]

...relative to BA.

[Farfrompuken]

NoD,

your description of 'the management' perfectly fits the bill of those who climb the greasy pole within the RAF too!!

But it (BA, that is!) certainly sounds (and looks) like a great outfit to work for.

[brit bus driver]

It's hell Puken......nowhere near as good as constantly defending one's aged Tri-beast and working for that nice Mr G***n.....