BA Direct Entry Pilot.
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 138
Likes: 0
From: London
Both vacancies show on the BA.com career website but as far as I'm aware an online assessment is not part of the BA mainline selection.
BA mainline selection:
-Online application
-Day 1; Verbal and Numerical Reasoning and a computer test
-Day 2; Interview and Group exercise
-Day 3; Simulator assesment
Last edited by Jumbo2; 26th March 2019 at 07:29.
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Approaching TOMBI
Is there any truth in plans to change how reserve is allocated to address the senior/junior imbalance of working weekends? I've heard that basically the more weekends you work, the less reserve periods you'll be allocated. Thus, some senior guys may start electing to do more weekend work to avoid reserve I suppose?
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 995
Likes: 103
From: Botswana
Not really true. The points you accrue by doing weekend work under JSS only become used as a tiebreaker when assigning reserve periods to people with otherwise equal points. (According to recent posts on yammer). Weekend points therefore make absolutely naff all difference to the frequency you’ll do reserve as a junior pilot, especially as all the junior guys will have broadly equal weekend points as they’re the ones who’ll be working all of them!
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
From: Approaching TOMBI
Not really true. The points you accrue by doing weekend work under JSS only become used as a tiebreaker when assigning reserve periods to people with otherwise equal points. (According to recent posts on yammer). Weekend points therefore make absolutely naff all difference to the frequency you’ll do reserve as a junior pilot, especially as all the junior guys will have broadly equal weekend points as they’re the ones who’ll be working all of them!
Is this disparity of lifestyle between junior and senior pilots something that is trying to be addressed? I'm in a seniority based airline and while rosters are meant to have some seniority weighting, it doesn't seem to be anywhere near as critical as at BA. Is this just going to be a fact of life at BA or is there a push for some change while maintaining some advantage of being senior?
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 312
Likes: 36
From: Slough, UK
BALPA keep amending the inhibitors to try and broadly flatten the gradient slightly and allow a greater spread of work down the seniority list. However, someone’s gold is another person’s !!!!!. Everyone has their own preferences. I’m about 75% on the Airbus FO list and broadly get what I want (providing I don’t get shafted with global constraints). The downside is that I have to work every weekend to have a chance of achieving reasonable trips.
Weekends worked seems to be the main bug bear at the moment. I really think BA needs to perhaps introduce a minimum number of weekends worked even if you’re at the top of the list. Maybe 1 weekend in 4 or even 8 weeks with junior people getting 1 off in 4 (or 8). How it would be introduced is a discussion for later. Personally I don’t mind on the whole but it really affects others. Golden days are great but the lead time for putting them in is quite long and many of my friends outside of the industry haven’t quite grasped that. Therefore a lot of social invites for weekend get-togethers have to be turned down due to work.
Reserve is something else that needs to be looked at. A 28 day block is tough on your personal life. I believe BALPA and BA are thinking of introducing shorter blocks in addition to the current blocks to give people a bit of a choice. Without moaning about part timers, a lot of them haven’t done reserve for years if the computer is physically unable to insert a reserve period into their roster without clashing with their part time weeks. That to me doesn’t seem fair and would spread out the reserve duties a bit if it was fixed.
champ
Weekends worked seems to be the main bug bear at the moment. I really think BA needs to perhaps introduce a minimum number of weekends worked even if you’re at the top of the list. Maybe 1 weekend in 4 or even 8 weeks with junior people getting 1 off in 4 (or 8). How it would be introduced is a discussion for later. Personally I don’t mind on the whole but it really affects others. Golden days are great but the lead time for putting them in is quite long and many of my friends outside of the industry haven’t quite grasped that. Therefore a lot of social invites for weekend get-togethers have to be turned down due to work.
Reserve is something else that needs to be looked at. A 28 day block is tough on your personal life. I believe BALPA and BA are thinking of introducing shorter blocks in addition to the current blocks to give people a bit of a choice. Without moaning about part timers, a lot of them haven’t done reserve for years if the computer is physically unable to insert a reserve period into their roster without clashing with their part time weeks. That to me doesn’t seem fair and would spread out the reserve duties a bit if it was fixed.
champ
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 123
Likes: 9
From: UK
BALPA keep amending the inhibitors to try and broadly flatten the gradient slightly and allow a greater spread of work down the seniority list. However, someone’s gold is another person’s !!!!!. Everyone has their own preferences. I’m about 75% on the Airbus FO list and broadly get what I want (providing I don’t get shafted with global constraints). The downside is that I have to work every weekend to have a chance of achieving reasonable trips.
Weekends worked seems to be the main bug bear at the moment. I really think BA needs to perhaps introduce a minimum number of weekends worked even if you’re at the top of the list. Maybe 1 weekend in 4 or even 8 weeks with junior people getting 1 off in 4 (or 8). How it would be introduced is a discussion for later. Personally I don’t mind on the whole but it really affects others. Golden days are great but the lead time for putting them in is quite long and many of my friends outside of the industry haven’t quite grasped that. Therefore a lot of social invites for weekend get-togethers have to be turned down due to work.
Reserve is something else that needs to be looked at. A 28 day block is tough on your personal life. I believe BALPA and BA are thinking of introducing shorter blocks in addition to the current blocks to give people a bit of a choice. Without moaning about part timers, a lot of them haven’t done reserve for years if the computer is physically unable to insert a reserve period into their roster without clashing with their part time weeks. That to me doesn’t seem fair and would spread out the reserve duties a bit if it was fixed.
champ
Weekends worked seems to be the main bug bear at the moment. I really think BA needs to perhaps introduce a minimum number of weekends worked even if you’re at the top of the list. Maybe 1 weekend in 4 or even 8 weeks with junior people getting 1 off in 4 (or 8). How it would be introduced is a discussion for later. Personally I don’t mind on the whole but it really affects others. Golden days are great but the lead time for putting them in is quite long and many of my friends outside of the industry haven’t quite grasped that. Therefore a lot of social invites for weekend get-togethers have to be turned down due to work.
Reserve is something else that needs to be looked at. A 28 day block is tough on your personal life. I believe BALPA and BA are thinking of introducing shorter blocks in addition to the current blocks to give people a bit of a choice. Without moaning about part timers, a lot of them haven’t done reserve for years if the computer is physically unable to insert a reserve period into their roster without clashing with their part time weeks. That to me doesn’t seem fair and would spread out the reserve duties a bit if it was fixed.
champ
BA are well known for their glacial pace of change, so I think it's fair to assume that any improvement to these significant issues won't gain momentum unless it transpires a few quid can be saved. We can live in hope though!
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: The Home of the Gnomes
Reserve is something else that needs to be looked at. A 28 day block is tough on your personal life. I believe BALPA and BA are thinking of introducing shorter blocks in addition to the current blocks to give people a bit of a choice. Without moaning about part timers, a lot of them haven’t done reserve for years if the computer is physically unable to insert a reserve period into their roster without clashing with their part time weeks. That to me doesn’t seem fair and would spread out the reserve duties a bit if it was fixed.
Joined: Sep 2008
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 940
Likes: 57
From: Scotland
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: UK
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 24
Likes: 2
From: Between HRG & LGW
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 241
Likes: 47
From: Runcorn,Cheshire,England
Great thanks for the info! Sort of - although the majority of my experience is on Boeing pencils and slightly fatter pencils.. which obviously aren't in your fleet anymore! Been waiting a couple of weeks now, but heard that some people have waited 24hrs-4weeks for a fleet/start!
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
From: SE England
As someone with over 15 years in BA, I can say that, in my opinion BA is only worth it if you live within 60mins of LHR and want to remain living in the SE of England. To get any quality time with your family on SH you need to book parental leave and take strategic sickness to avoid alienation by your children and divorce from your other half. Pay is now on a par with EZY and the much touted safety culture is nothing more than a myth peddled by senior managers desperate to hit their punctuality targets at all costs. With hindsight, I should have joined EZY as the overall package is better, the training far superior and the operational culture more geared towards efficiency in a way that we could only dream of.
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 995
Likes: 103
From: Botswana
In contrast there are guys commuting from outside of 60 minutes of Heathrow residing in a more tax friendly regime on Long Haul 75% Part Time living the absolute life doing (due to a mixture of part time weeks and leave) an average of two trips a month every other month and taking home as much as their full time counterparts living in the UK. Granted these guys are (occasionally) having to spend additional nights in the UK pre duty post the Staff Travel Audit - but not a significant amount - and it’s a relatively unique position in which to be in but let’s not pretend it’s not still possible to make BA work for you.
If if you’re happy with the monotony (just my opinion, horses for courses etc) of doing multiple sector days day in day out for the rest of a 30+ year career then fill your boots, easyJet is a fantastic airline to work for I’d never argue that. I’ve been there and done it. However if you want many varied directions in which to take your career, many of which are not available in the land of orange, then BA is (despite all its flaws and there are many) the best show in town.
(I appreciate the lack of coherence that because a small minority of the workforce can have it spectacularly good so that’s a convincing argument for the majority to join. However it’s really just to highlight BA is a place where you can make it work for you, more so than any other airline).
If if you’re happy with the monotony (just my opinion, horses for courses etc) of doing multiple sector days day in day out for the rest of a 30+ year career then fill your boots, easyJet is a fantastic airline to work for I’d never argue that. I’ve been there and done it. However if you want many varied directions in which to take your career, many of which are not available in the land of orange, then BA is (despite all its flaws and there are many) the best show in town.
(I appreciate the lack of coherence that because a small minority of the workforce can have it spectacularly good so that’s a convincing argument for the majority to join. However it’s really just to highlight BA is a place where you can make it work for you, more so than any other airline).
Last edited by RexBanner; 31st March 2019 at 15:20.
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 441
Likes: 1
From: UK
In contrast there are guys commuting from outside of 60 minutes of Heathrow residing in a more tax friendly regime on Long Haul 75% Part Time living the absolute life doing (due to a mixture of part time weeks and leave) an average of two trips a month every other month and taking home as much as their full time counterparts living in the UK. Granted these guys are (occasionally) having to spend additional nights in the UK pre duty post the Staff Travel Audit - but not a significant amount - and it’s a relatively unique position in which to be in but let’s not pretend it’s not still possible to make BA work for you.
If if you’re happy with the monotony (just my opinion, horses for courses etc) of doing multiple sector days day in day out for the rest of a 30+ year career then fill your boots, easyJet is a fantastic airline to work for I’d never argue that. I’ve been there and done it. However if you want many varied directions in which to take your career, many of which are not available in the land of orange, then BA is (despite all its flaws and there are many) the best show in town.
(I appreciate the lack of coherence that because a small minority of the workforce can have it spectacularly good so that’s a convincing argument for the majority to join. However it’s really just to highlight BA is a place where you can make it work for you, more so than any other airline).
If if you’re happy with the monotony (just my opinion, horses for courses etc) of doing multiple sector days day in day out for the rest of a 30+ year career then fill your boots, easyJet is a fantastic airline to work for I’d never argue that. I’ve been there and done it. However if you want many varied directions in which to take your career, many of which are not available in the land of orange, then BA is (despite all its flaws and there are many) the best show in town.
(I appreciate the lack of coherence that because a small minority of the workforce can have it spectacularly good so that’s a convincing argument for the majority to join. However it’s really just to highlight BA is a place where you can make it work for you, more so than any other airline).
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 995
Likes: 103
From: Botswana
Pray tell, if the guys and girls in question are residing and domiciled outside the UK in places where they have been born and bred then why the hell should they pay tax in the UK simply for setting foot in the CRC for an hour or so before their duty of which they will spend less than 10% of the time inside UK airspace?
