BA Direct Entry Pilot.
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I'm Shorthaul myself and coming from an airline different then EasyJet a few years back, I don't find BA SH that harsh. Maybe that was because I did my homework before I joined or maybe was it because with my previous airline the roster was not worth the paper it was written on (in the summer at the end of the month looking back at the given roster 89% of the rostered duties were completely different duties/flights compared to the original roster given) and with the BA rosters I manage to have a life outside work. During the JSS trail runs I was shocked by the rosters it produced, however now it has gone live it ain't that bad (pretty good actually). Looking at some of the junior ibid rosters they look very similar, if not better, as what I had when I was that junior. Some of the swap comments in iBid do make me laugh though. Being in the bottom 20% of the list complaining that you didn't get every weekend off (only 1). Maybe that has more to do with expectation management then JSS
or a generation thing; I want it all and I want it now!!
Last edited by Jumbo2; 17th Jan 2019 at 08:39.
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I joined BA from low cost and I’m a couple of percent from the bottom in the LHS on short haul.
I still find the work really straightforward compared to EZY - minimal stress, few weekends off so far under JSS. Busy in the summer but I’ve had either one or two weeks leave plus wraps in the school holidays every year since I’ve joined. Most half terms and a couple of Christmas weeks.
I try and do earlies and day trips / short night stops though. Did a few late tours on reserve and they drove me mad! Each to their own. Reasonable notice of your final roster and swapping is very common.
Still enjoy working here - especially so in the left seat where you don’t have to listen to the benefits of UKIP any more. Can’t say that I’ll be wearing that 100 badge any time soon though.
I still find the work really straightforward compared to EZY - minimal stress, few weekends off so far under JSS. Busy in the summer but I’ve had either one or two weeks leave plus wraps in the school holidays every year since I’ve joined. Most half terms and a couple of Christmas weeks.
I try and do earlies and day trips / short night stops though. Did a few late tours on reserve and they drove me mad! Each to their own. Reasonable notice of your final roster and swapping is very common.
Still enjoy working here - especially so in the left seat where you don’t have to listen to the benefits of UKIP any more. Can’t say that I’ll be wearing that 100 badge any time soon though.
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Dutch pilots at BA are leaving for KLM, with 6 gone so far and more resignations from BA in the pipeline. There are many reasons for making such a move, but BA's audit of pilots who spend more than 90 minutes travelling to LHR can not have helped. Not many can afford to live comfortably in the south east of England these days.
Join Date: Oct 2017
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Spot on MikeAlpha
I left EZY to join BA before EASA FTL's kicked in (3 years ago) and pre-Brexit. When I joined BA £1,- was worth €1,40. And then some -(fill in yourself)- decided to leave the EU.
First year in BA was actually quite good but then someone decided we should stop recruiting..
Basically, 3 years ago things were different. Would I make the move to BA now? Definitely not.
I left EZY to join BA before EASA FTL's kicked in (3 years ago) and pre-Brexit. When I joined BA £1,- was worth €1,40. And then some -(fill in yourself)- decided to leave the EU.
First year in BA was actually quite good but then someone decided we should stop recruiting..
Basically, 3 years ago things were different. Would I make the move to BA now? Definitely not.
If you want to fly SH and LH then only Air France- KLM and Lufthansa remain. AFKL has almost no growth, financial performance is behind compared to the rest, costs are increasing instead of decreasing and fly also 850-900 hrs LH.
Lufthansa, might be a comparable option to BA., they have growth, good financial results. But also there you fly 850-900 hrs.
People always tend to act if everything is better at the airline they work for. But actually they do not tell you how they really feel. ‘’It is always better at the other side’’.
Our job is changing unfortunately and this is industry wide, unfortunately everywhere we see fatigue. I think the aggressive strategy of Lufthansa and BA is the only way to survive, because eventually we will get a new financial crisis . They start making reserves, which is good. If we talk money, then I fully agree; BA should align with the other legacies. Profit share and a significant pay increase. The same what happened with the other legacies.
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Dutch pilots at BA are leaving for KLM, with 6 gone so far and more resignations from BA in the pipeline. There are many reasons for making such a move, but BA's audit of pilots who spend more than 90 minutes travelling to LHR can not have helped. Not many can afford to live comfortably in the south east of England these days.
BA would be wise to speak to the UK AOC's with approved FRMS and how they handle the C word. You only need to talk to the sleepy folk that driving a car for 4 hours to work can be the same as sitting watching TV for 2hrs 30 mins and then driving in for 90 mins. It all depends on how (each) crewmembers manage their rest and how BA manage the % that take the pi$$.
Join Date: Sep 2015
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Dutch pilots at BA are leaving for KLM, with 6 gone so far and more resignations from BA in the pipeline. There are many reasons for making such a move, but BA's audit of pilots who spend more than 90 minutes travelling to LHR can not have helped. Not many can afford to live comfortably in the south east of England these days.
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Join Date: Sep 2015
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Is that just from UK CAA to EU state or from EU to UK as well? I found the 'eu exit' microsite on the CAA website that shows the recommended date to start the process from UK to EU but not vice versa
Last edited by The Foss; 17th Jan 2019 at 20:00.
One of the key reasons for the 777/787 rated campaign is exactly the same reason as the A320 rated campaign - training capacity. The BA training system is running full speed and rated applicants get through the system in less than half the time, using half the resources that a non rated pilot does.
Looking at the bid results, a seniority of 3400-3500 where people are moving Airbus to Longhaul seems pretty much bang on 5 years in the company. The numbers are simply representative of the amount of recruitment that has gone on over the last 5 years.
Looking at the bid results, a seniority of 3400-3500 where people are moving Airbus to Longhaul seems pretty much bang on 5 years in the company. The numbers are simply representative of the amount of recruitment that has gone on over the last 5 years.
Join Date: Sep 2002
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The best flying job is flying for a legacy in your home country. Dutch pilots going to KLM isn't an accurate reflection of "deterioration" in BA as some would have you believe.
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But why would you not recommend moving to BA? There is growth coming up, preforming among the best in the market?
If you want to fly SH and LH then only Air France- KLM and Lufthansa remain. AFKL has almost no growth, financial performance is behind compared to the rest, costs are increasing instead of decreasing and fly also 850-900 hrs LH.
Lufthansa, might be a comparable option to BA., they have growth, good financial results. But also there you fly 850-900 hrs.
People always tend to act if everything is better at the airline they work for. But actually they do not tell you how they really feel. ‘’It is always better at the other side’’.
Our job is changing unfortunately and this is industry wide, unfortunately everywhere we see fatigue. I think the aggressive strategy of Lufthansa and BA is the only way to survive, because eventually we will get a new financial crisis . They start making reserves, which is good. If we talk money, then I fully agree; BA should align with the other legacies. Profit share and a significant pay increase. The same what happened with the other legacies.
If you want to fly SH and LH then only Air France- KLM and Lufthansa remain. AFKL has almost no growth, financial performance is behind compared to the rest, costs are increasing instead of decreasing and fly also 850-900 hrs LH.
Lufthansa, might be a comparable option to BA., they have growth, good financial results. But also there you fly 850-900 hrs.
People always tend to act if everything is better at the airline they work for. But actually they do not tell you how they really feel. ‘’It is always better at the other side’’.
Our job is changing unfortunately and this is industry wide, unfortunately everywhere we see fatigue. I think the aggressive strategy of Lufthansa and BA is the only way to survive, because eventually we will get a new financial crisis . They start making reserves, which is good. If we talk money, then I fully agree; BA should align with the other legacies. Profit share and a significant pay increase. The same what happened with the other legacies.
Join Date: Jul 2016
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And here is the reason why we end up in the state we do. I love it. People here have genuine gripes & issues. A lot of us have come from other airlines (are you at BA? were you a cadet?) and have had other experiences- some good, some bad. I am NOT badmouthing BA. I am simply relating my previous experience to my current one. Flying SH airbus from LGW/LHR. I am trying to give people my opinion on the actual reality of working here. Not someone on Instagram/Facebook trying to impress everyone with their fabulous rosters and wonderful work life.
If I was really 'Bad mouthing' them my posts would be far longer and would probably be removed by mods for my colourful language
. Why is the best job legacy in your home country? I have plenty of friends working 4 on 4 off home every night at their regional base on part time contracts earning far more than I do in their loco, but I suppose BA is better because its a legacy, right? You are crazy if you can't see the decline in T&C's at BA. People are leaving, back to where they came from. They are struggling to fill LGW commands. They are getting SH offers refused left right and centre. It has got nothing to do with being fashionable and in all honesty I think you are just insulting those of us that actually go against the grain and don't pretend BA is this utopia that some love to pretend. Ill leave that to the centenary pin wearers
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are you at BA? were you a cadet?
If I was really 'Bad mouthing' them my posts would be far longer and would probably be removed by mods for my colourful language . Why is the best job legacy in your home country? I have plenty of friends working 4 on 4 off home every night at their regional base on part time contracts earning far more than I do in their loco, but I suppose BA is better because its a legacy, right?
. Why is the best job legacy in your home country? I have plenty of friends working 4 on 4 off home every night at their regional base on part time contracts earning far more than I do in their loco, but I suppose BA is better because its a legacy, right?
You are crazy if you can't see the decline in T&C's at BA.
People are leaving, back to where they came from.
They are struggling to fill LGW commands.
They are getting SH offers refused left right and centre.
It has got nothing to do with being fashionable and in all honesty I think you are just insulting those of us that actually go against the grain and don't pretend BA is this utopia that some love to pretend. Ill leave that to the centenary pin wearers
In the mean time I have the opportunity to fly long haul for an airline making money and I'm in my home country. I'm a simple person. That makes me happy.
Join Date: Jul 2016
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Speed Freek:
Crew food is almost identical. Just as unhealthy and arguably less variety (LGW). I didn't eat it at easy and try not to at BA.
In Almost 3.5 years I had the oven u/s twice. Went into terminal and got hot food which we then charged back to the company.
Night stops weren't min rest LIN is currently 16 hours, INV 17 hours and MAD 16 hours (on lates) . Some long links in the summer but when they tried to pair RAK with INV it lasted about 2 weeks before people kept going fatigued and it got canned. Jersey night stop is paired with Marrakech and Tirana at BA. In summer landing about 0230.
Max FTL days were there in the summer but when you'd had too much you went fatigued and weren't bothered with ridiculous emails in response. After 2016 Balpa got significant alleviations at the planning stage to avoid max FTLs. I was there during the 'near walk out' and it was a horrendous summer. 17 was far better and from what I hear 18 was a similar story. I didn't do single days off, I didn't do 6 day blocks, when enough was enough I made the professional and legally correct decision to report fatigued. I wasn't interrogated about my commute, I wasn't told I had to bid for more days off, I wasn't told I shouldn't do things before work on lates. I wasn't told I was 'simply tired' and that it was 'hard to see what was fatiguing about my roster construction'.
People are leaving - check iBid rosters.
Why did they have to do a supplementary bid then? Why did the command go all the way to the bottom of seniority list? Hardly strikes me as a particularly popular position.
Post on yammer says several people failing to turn up for courses and lots of refusals. Had several friends refuse SH from ezy alone.
SH BA is a long way from EJ SH in my experience. I work far harder and get far more hassle for the privilege. Cant speak for LH but as my previous post states- I wouldn't join here for SH knowing what I know now.
Crew food is almost identical. Just as unhealthy and arguably less variety (LGW). I didn't eat it at easy and try not to at BA.
In Almost 3.5 years I had the oven u/s twice. Went into terminal and got hot food which we then charged back to the company.
Night stops weren't min rest LIN is currently 16 hours, INV 17 hours and MAD 16 hours (on lates) . Some long links in the summer but when they tried to pair RAK with INV it lasted about 2 weeks before people kept going fatigued and it got canned. Jersey night stop is paired with Marrakech and Tirana at BA. In summer landing about 0230.
Max FTL days were there in the summer but when you'd had too much you went fatigued and weren't bothered with ridiculous emails in response. After 2016 Balpa got significant alleviations at the planning stage to avoid max FTLs. I was there during the 'near walk out' and it was a horrendous summer. 17 was far better and from what I hear 18 was a similar story. I didn't do single days off, I didn't do 6 day blocks, when enough was enough I made the professional and legally correct decision to report fatigued. I wasn't interrogated about my commute, I wasn't told I had to bid for more days off, I wasn't told I shouldn't do things before work on lates. I wasn't told I was 'simply tired' and that it was 'hard to see what was fatiguing about my roster construction'.
People are leaving - check iBid rosters.
Why did they have to do a supplementary bid then? Why did the command go all the way to the bottom of seniority list? Hardly strikes me as a particularly popular position.
Post on yammer says several people failing to turn up for courses and lots of refusals. Had several friends refuse SH from ezy alone.
SH BA is a long way from EJ SH in my experience. I work far harder and get far more hassle for the privilege. Cant speak for LH but as my previous post states- I wouldn't join here for SH knowing what I know now.
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Red 9, yes quite right. Yet more clear evidence I can't multi task 
MikeAlpha, it's very clear both our experiences of both companies are widely different, such is the nature of this job. But to help the people on the outside make an informed decision - if it's that bad here why don't you leave? It seems, like myself, you're junior enough it's non-jeopardy and you could be on a part time command contract earning more money like your mates before too long.
MikeAlpha, it's very clear both our experiences of both companies are widely different, such is the nature of this job. But to help the people on the outside make an informed decision - if it's that bad here why don't you leave? It seems, like myself, you're junior enough it's non-jeopardy and you could be on a part time command contract earning more money like your mates before too long.