BA Direct Entry Pilot.

[wiggy]

What happens to the "Fixed flight pay" for those of us joining who are unlikely to see an aircraft for the first few months of training

AFAIK the change to pay and the system is fairly instant.

I very much stand to be corrected but I'm not sure new joiners picked up Flying pay (variable or fixed) from day one anyway, so plan on being on basic. Somebody I'm sure will correct me or will clarify when Flying pay/Rate is first triggered (perhaps early days of line training when the requirement for a safety pilot is dropped ?). In any event from now on in your career in BA the variable rate will not get paid unless you fly, so if you are sick, or doing an internal type conversion/upgrade or ground course within BA you will lose an element of your monthly pay. However the theory is that when you actually do fly it's an higher hourly rate and so there's an offset/break even point of x00 hours a year, but certainly the loss of pay if on the ground for any reason was one of the objections that many had to the change back to the variable rate.

What exactly are these statements about JSS and how is it supposed to work?

Good question. You'll no longer be bidding for lines, you'll be expressing preferences (bid groups). The most senior pilots will get first pick, but perhaps with a lesser chance of picking up all the top work/days off.. ....as for how it works in reality I know one or two people who think they know how it might work, the rest of us...............

.

[nebby]

Does anyone happen to know what the Flying Pay figure will be?

Also, will the figure be based on actual on/off blocks or scheduled block times?

In the same position as Jwscud so would be useful to know for some calculations.

[GS-Alpha]

I personally think both systems would have effectively been the same anyway. The big reason not to vote B would have been to prolongue what we have now, as JSS will now be here in no time at all.

[2 Whites 2 Reds]

Originally Posted by Tay Cough

Ref FPA or Flying Pay, FPA is guaranteed monthly, Flying Pay is hours dependent. It will be interesting to see how mortgage providers interpret it for the most junior.

This is NOT a good result for those of us lower down the pecking order. As someone looking to move house this summer, I've now got to explain to Mrs 2W2R why we have to adjust our budget.....downward.

As for JSS, only time will tell on that front. Being asked to vote on something that was put forward as a set of assumptions and doesn't yet exist didn't exactly fill me (or many many others) with confidence.

This is democracy at work and we don't always get what we want in life, but as far as I'm concerned, BALPA have just 'negotiated' away two massive items and yet I'm left pondering what's on our side of the scales to balance the equation. Or have we just had our pockets pinched.....I'm on Reserve in April, here's to looking forward to May's pay packet .

Anyway, it's done now so lets just hope JSS is as good as we've been led to believe. Meanwhile, I'll be assessing my outgoings each month....guess which one will be first.

Evening All.

2W2R

[GS-Alpha]

Personally I'm happy to see the FHR return because I've been short changed by several thousand pounds per year ever since FPA arrived. I never did understand the argument that it is good for when you are sick or on a conversion course. I'd rather stick my couple of grand of extra earnings in the bank each year and have an emergency fund for if I am unfortunate enough to become sick. Mortgages; yes I suppose that will take a bit more discussion with the banks, but I always found BA's mortgage certificate perfectly satisfactory before. I did not see an increase in what I was allowed when FHR first disappeared, so why do we expect a reduction now?

[Tay Cough]

Mortgage provider's lending criteria are a lot different now compared to how they were prior to the introduction of FPA (some may say "tougher").

[Jwscud]

To be fair regarding Bidline, BA made clear at the roadshows I went to last year that it was liable to change in the not too distant future.

However, they gave the clear impression that flight pay was a fixed part of pay from day 1.

When is JSS slated to come into being? I guess I might not see any blind lines after all, or rather everyone will get blind lines of some form!

[eckhard]

JSS will come in around 18 months from now, apparently; so mid to late 2017.

[FlyingTinCans]

Doesn't BA pay for duty time as well as flight time?

So you should get basic plus time for ground duties (type rating, conversion course etc)?

Wasn't this vote also about an overall increase in pay? If so do we know how much if any the % increase is?

[wiggy]

FTC

Doesn't BA pay for duty time as well as flight time?

So you should get basic plus time for ground duties (type rating, conversion course etc)?

No. FWIW I did both an command upgrade and then later a conversion under the system we're effectively going back to and during both courses my pay was reduced down to basic for the ground phase of the courses.

If it helps I'll quote in part from a BALPA e-mail describing how the "Flying Pay Supplement"(FPS), or hourly rate will work:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FPS will be paid per planned flying hour .......The planned date of introduction is in April 2016.
The break even points for pilots between [the old] FPA and the new FPS, taking into account the fixed payments while on leave under FPS, are as follows:
320/767/LGW 705 hours
744/777/787/380 730 hours
Any pilot flying above these hours, will be better off under FPS, and vice versa (my emphasis).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving on:

Wasn't this vote also about an overall increase in pay?

TBH it didn't turn out that way since the intial two options the BALPA Company Council offered in the ballot contained exactly same pay deal....FWIW a hastily introduced "C", "we don't accept any change to T&Cs", didn't attract many votes.....

Perhaps some can begin to understand why the debate elsewhere got quite heated, and that's before considering the merits of the rostering systems...

....If so do we know how much if any the % increase is?

Yes - Three year deal: Year 1: 2% underpin or RPI, Year 2: 2.5% underpin or RPI, Year 3: 2.5% underpin or RPI

I've deliberately left the bonus scheme we've also agreed to out of the discussion, I honestly think that boils down to "do you feel lucky".

Lengthy post but hope it helps.

[Lead]

Originally Posted by FlyingTinCans

Doesn't BA pay for duty time as well as flight time?

So you should get basic plus time for ground duties (type rating, conversion course etc)?

Wasn't this vote also about an overall increase in pay? If so do we know how much if any the % increase is?

2% uplift. No, BA doesn't pay allowances on ground duties.

[2 Whites 2 Reds]

Originally Posted by Lead

2% uplift. No, BA doesn't pay allowances on ground duties.

Had there been an option D to include FPA and JSS I suspect it would have been very popular.

To add insult to injury I gather a very pleasant member of our cabin crew fraternity has been on Trip Advisor complaining about BA pilots getting preferential treatment at a certain T5 coffee bar and as a result the days of cheap coffee (by that I mean free coffee but with a healthy Tip for the brilliant staff) are over too.....

Pathetic

[Flap62]

If anyone has a P380 course coming up then please feel free to PM me as i have a couple of bits of training material that might be handy.

[FlyingTinCans]

Thanks for the info Wiggy,

So if you join BA after next month you've been given a pay cut of around £1000 per month for the first 3 months

[wiggy]

That number sounds a bit high but maybe a newer joiner than I can look back at their figures and do the sums.

TBF (or not), any pilot doing a course, going sick, or doing a reserve/standby block and not getting much if any any flying will take a hit from next month. The argument from the union is that the new hourly rate is rigged in such as way as to ensure over the long term the majority of pilots will end up better off financially than under the fixed allowance....

[Megaton]

So if you join BA after next month you've been given a pay cut of around £1000 per month for the first 3 months

Not even close. Long haul Flying Pay Allowqnce was/is just over £600 per month so after tax under the new regime you'll lose approx £360 per month. BA isn't keen on having pilots sitting around so you'll almost certainly start your line training within two months of your start date. So rather than lose £3000 you'll actually lose closer to £720 net of tax which you recoup quickly at the new Flying Hour Rate.

[hunterboy]

"To add insult to injury I gather a very pleasant member of our cabin crew fraternity has been on Trip Advisor complaining about BA pilots getting preferential treatment at a certain T5 coffee bar and as a result the days of cheap coffee (by that I mean free coffee but with a healthy Tip for the brilliant staff) are over too....."

Probably the best way to describe how the corporate culture works in BA to a newcomer. Just don't take it personally.

[wiggy]

Yes it was indeed a classic example of the behaviour sometimes encountered off the aircraft:

"I don't see why you should get that, I want it was well and if I can't have it I'll darn well make sure you don't get it either" ??

As you say - thick skin required (especially in the early days) and try not to take it personally....

[MEA07CP]

Any idea what the new hourly flying rate is guys....?

[Megaton]

Probably about £10 per hour.