BA Direct Entry Pilot.
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I would say less than a third of BA's recruitment comes from cadets and new flight school graduates. About 50% are probably DEPs from other airlines and the rest are probably Managed Path pilots leaving the military.
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Mixed, sometimes good, sometimes bad. I would concentrate on finding a method of doing the questions as quickly as possible. When I was doing the practice ones I would read the whole passage then answer the questions, but I found this quite slow going as I'd end up rereading the passage about 3 or 4 times during the question answering process. I found it better to read the question then look in the passage for an answer as it usually was contained within one sentence.
Ladies/Gents...
I'll just chuck this into the mix for prospective joiners because I suspect some of you will no doubt be planning to "commute" to/from LHR, perhaps on a frequent basis...
Current inmates are aware that BA carried out an audit of peoples pre work travel arrangements a month or two back...the assurance given was that the idea was only to weed out and perhaps warn those who obviously fancied themselves as some later day Marco Polo.. . It now seems BA have perhaps taken a very hard line with a few and are going to sanction those who they feel have been, to use the phrase being thrown around a lot in this context.."taking the @@@@" with their travel plans.
Unfortunately ATM we have no idea as to exactly what the company are defining as "taking the @@@@" , i.e. at present we have no idea of the position of the line between what BA management think is acceptable and what they think is unacceptable in terms of a journey prior to report.....
So the point of this post is to warn that if asked at interview: "if we offer you a job where will you live? " ..the best answer might be: "Well, Windsor might be nice, but a bit expensive..but I've always fancied Hounslow or Longford"...
Once we've got a handle on what BA regard as acceptable I (or I'm sure somebody else) will post it here...
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I'll just chuck this into the mix for prospective joiners because I suspect some of you will no doubt be planning to "commute" to/from LHR, perhaps on a frequent basis...
Current inmates are aware that BA carried out an audit of peoples pre work travel arrangements a month or two back...the assurance given was that the idea was only to weed out and perhaps warn those who obviously fancied themselves as some later day Marco Polo.. . It now seems BA have perhaps taken a very hard line with a few and are going to sanction those who they feel have been, to use the phrase being thrown around a lot in this context.."taking the @@@@" with their travel plans.
Unfortunately ATM we have no idea as to exactly what the company are defining as "taking the @@@@" , i.e. at present we have no idea of the position of the line between what BA management think is acceptable and what they think is unacceptable in terms of a journey prior to report.....
So the point of this post is to warn that if asked at interview: "if we offer you a job where will you live? " ..the best answer might be: "Well, Windsor might be nice, but a bit expensive..but I've always fancied Hounslow or Longford"...
Once we've got a handle on what BA regard as acceptable I (or I'm sure somebody else) will post it here...
.
Last edited by wiggy; 6th Jul 2018 at 11:45.
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The net seems to be closing in on commuters who normally travel more than 90 minutes to work, by any mode of transport. BA may now effectively require these employees to position closer to LHR the day before a duty and stay overnight (at their own expense) to ensure they are seen to be adequately rested before report. An EASA recommendation may be implemented as a requirement.
The roster pattern, even on long haul, is trending towards only 2 days off between trips. This travel requirement could mean very few nights at home for those that live outside a normal 90 minute journey time.
Once BA management start a drive towards a goal they normally get what they want. Anyone considering joining BA should plan on a requirement to live within 90 minutes travelling time of report.
The roster pattern, even on long haul, is trending towards only 2 days off between trips. This travel requirement could mean very few nights at home for those that live outside a normal 90 minute journey time.
Once BA management start a drive towards a goal they normally get what they want. Anyone considering joining BA should plan on a requirement to live within 90 minutes travelling time of report.
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BA probably woke up to the so called Marco Polo's 
when their Pilot got arrested for being drunk before a LH at Gatwick, and it turned out he'd commuted from JNB the night before! Shades of the ATR42 crash in Buffalo where the pilots commuted from all over the US then slept in crew room chairs. The NTSB was less than imprssed at the time.
G
when their Pilot got arrested for being drunk before a LH at Gatwick, and it turned out he'd commuted from JNB the night before! Shades of the ATR42 crash in Buffalo where the pilots commuted from all over the US then slept in crew room chairs. The NTSB was less than imprssed at the time.G
The long commute has been going on for a long time in BA. Some 20 odd years ago as a junior B744 Capt. I turned up for a Dtw trip and was joined by the co-pilot at briefing. (2 pilot sector) First he got up my nose moaning about going to Dtw, he was very senior and spent his time in high allowance trips to Hkg and Nrt etc.
At top of climb out, I noticed his eyes drooping and less than total concentration. On asking if he felt OK, he said he was very tired as he had arrived overnight from Newark USA where he lived, on the jump seat, and 4 hours before our flight. !! I wasn't impressed.
At top of climb out, I noticed his eyes drooping and less than total concentration. On asking if he felt OK, he said he was very tired as he had arrived overnight from Newark USA where he lived, on the jump seat, and 4 hours before our flight. !! I wasn't impressed.
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90 minutes is not a long commute to LHR. It is still uncertain exactly how this will be resolved, but it is clear that anyone thinking of joining should very seriously consider where they may need to live.
Link to the charting website here..
https://app.traveltimeplatform.com/#
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My commute takes about 1:10 - 1:15 most of the time but according to that map I am not within 90 minutes. More to the point if BA are so concerned why do they continue to roster me trips with the minimum time at base. 12hr 30 minus the 3 hours commuting (still within the rules you see) 9:30 rest really........strangely they are not bothered about that. Secondly who if anyone will be within 90 minutes when they dig up the M25 to build the third runway. Probably not an issue as we will all be retired but it’s a thought.
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My commute takes about 1:10 - 1:15 most of the time but according to that map I am not within 90 minutes. More to the point if BA are so concerned why do they continue to roster me trips with the minimum time at base. 12hr 30 minus the 3 hours commuting (still within the rules you see) 9:30 rest really........strangely they are not bothered about that. Secondly who if anyone will be within 90 minutes when they dig up the M25 to build the third runway. Probably not an issue as we will all be retired but it’s a thought.
They are not worried about you they are worried about long distance commuters (albeit you could argue is that 90 mins by road or plane?)
The sleepy scientists will tell you there is no difference driving another 90 minutes for 3 hours rather than watching Eastenders and Coronation Street then driving 90 mins.
What they will be looking for is unreasonable commuting e.g. over night as per the previous comments, or long distance then hanging around in crew rooms etc.
It can't be any coincidence that the two (may have changed) UK AOC's with approved FRMS both have commuting protocols with their Crew members.
What "they" want from you is for "we" BA and you as a crewmember being concerned about your colleague having commuted all night/day then undertaking long FDP / delays / bad weather at destination etc.
My own personal opinion is that the majority of BA crew members manage their commuting, as always it's the usual 5% that Airline management spend 95% of their time dealing with (probably even less at BA)
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Short of putting electronic tags on the ankles of BA pilots, it's nigh on impossible for the company to monitor ones travel movements to such a degree. Commuters will still commute and there has been a recommendation in CAP371 long before EASA was created, that suggested that travel time should be limited to 90 mins and this has been causally overlooked by some for a long time.
The only source of information that BA could access with ease, is ones use of their staff travel and especially on BA flights. However if you booked a standby ticket on another airline, would BA have easy access to the listing history without involving the other airline? Those not using staff travel or traveling by road will still have a great degree of carte blanche with how they choose to plan their journey to LHR, with them being totally off the radar, so to speak.
There has been a large degree of trust placed by airlines that their pilots professionalism will extend to how they plan their travel arrangements to work, however trust is really all they can exercise. I can't see this changing anytime soon at BA or any other airline for that matter.
The only source of information that BA could access with ease, is ones use of their staff travel and especially on BA flights. However if you booked a standby ticket on another airline, would BA have easy access to the listing history without involving the other airline? Those not using staff travel or traveling by road will still have a great degree of carte blanche with how they choose to plan their journey to LHR, with them being totally off the radar, so to speak.
There has been a large degree of trust placed by airlines that their pilots professionalism will extend to how they plan their travel arrangements to work, however trust is really all they can exercise. I can't see this changing anytime soon at BA or any other airline for that matter.
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More realistically translated as; BA has a bee in its bonnet at the moment about commuting which it has monitored for a short period of time in order to satisfy the regulator that they are taking the issue seriously. BA has gone through the motions and made all the right noises after which a blind eye will be turned (because realistically they can do nothing else) until the next auditing period with the same results. Rinse and repeat.
From what I've heard it is not just "commuting" from home to work that BA have taken a dislike to. I'm not sure if you've seen the latest newsletter/headsup about this out of BALPA but it seems the company has also taken issue with some end of holiday travel arrangments/timings.. " Not quite sure what the problem is but it may be BA's handling/understanding of the EASA rules regarding acclimatisation.
In any event it does seem BA have found an excuse to really look hard at any use of Staff Travel by crew members, whether you are off duty or even on leave...
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Other airlines have already flagged this issue, Wiggy but it’s been found that it’s legally unenforceable because it violates the EU working time directive mandating that work must not impact upon your leave.
What do you reckon the solution is? Flying crew (flight and cabin) wanting to use their two weeks leave for a two week holiday simply having to take that time off in Europe/Africa/ the Gulf only...or the company granting extra leave/wrap days for travelling, or the company having a rewrite of the FTLs??
( Edit to add: Anyone wondering what this has to do with DEP recruitment - BA have been quite happy to use the staff travel package, and/or the ability to "commute" by air", as a recruitment carrot....)
Last edited by wiggy; 8th Jul 2018 at 07:16.
Just to clarify any confusion that some people may have, it is the fact that BA were interpreting the EASA rules to say you had to be acclimatized to your home base at report for your next duty. If you had been on holiday on the West coast or down in Oz say, you would need potentially 5 nights at base to acclimatize. That would have to come off your holiday time. In addition, due to the vagaries of staff travel, even when confirmed, you couldn’t cut it too fine, and would have to allow a day or so leeway. That could mean, a 2 week holiday actually only being 1 week away.
Thankfully, someone in BA saw sense and there’s was a shift in interpretation to you only have to be able to legally operate your next duty after your holiday in a non acclimatized state.
Thankfully, someone in BA saw sense and there’s was a shift in interpretation to you only have to be able to legally operate your next duty after your holiday in a non acclimatized state.
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Word on the street (as others have stated before and confirmed by discussion with DFO) is that this is purely about a hardcore minority of long haul commuters positioning themselves overnight then reporting to duty same day as arrival at Heathrow. If that’s true I can’t see much of a problem with the company’s attitude unless it’s the thin end of the wedge and they start coming after everybody else. I can’t see that’s realistic though given that greater than three quarters of BA crew probably commute in some form or another (ie outside the 90 minutes) and that BA’s own 2 hour to the car park call out time on reserve contravenes what it technically means to be rested in OMA.
Last edited by RexBanner; 8th Jul 2018 at 08:43.
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