BA Holdpool
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 336
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From: somewhere in the middle
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 22
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From: London
The advantage potentially of accepting Euroflyer could be an earlier start date. Seniority being everything, take the first available offer was the old advice. That’s tempered by financial circumstances at LGW and the potential of a type change if the 737 rumours are true leading to a 6 year freeze just to move to Heathrow short haul if you so wish rather than the old-fashioned ability to move bases after a year.
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 62
Likes: 2
From: Earth
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 112
Likes: 7
From: Neverland
The advantage potentially of accepting Euroflyer could be an earlier start date. Seniority being everything, take the first available offer was the old advice. That’s tempered by financial circumstances at LGW and the potential of a type change if the 737 rumours are true leading to a 6 year freeze just to move to Heathrow short haul if you so wish rather than the old-fashioned ability to move bases after a year.
Joined: Sep 2008
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 940
Likes: 57
From: Scotland
If I were trying to make money with a new startup, flying 5 hour sectors in 20 year old jets wouldn’t be how I’d like to do it.
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 171
Likes: 31
From: European riviera
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 409
Likes: 3
From: The Home of the Gnomes
Salary figures given for Gatwick are accurate, but any LHR figure is likely to be affected by the current delta deduction of circa 7.5% to basic salary for the foreseeable. This applies to all LHR pilots.
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 241
Likes: 47
From: Runcorn,Cheshire,England
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 241
Likes: 47
From: Runcorn,Cheshire,England
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
From: Spain
I am well aware of that. But this year all external vacancies are planned to A320. Nearly the entire P32L list is free to bid, and 80% of them want to go longhaul.
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 336
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From: somewhere in the middle
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 1,095
Likes: 0
From: UK
Personally the recruiting manager has form on recruiting directly into LH as no one wants to join BA SH as it is such an awful lifestyle. The manager ignores agreements and just seems to do what he wants. This is obviously all done with the acceptance of BA senior managers.
life in BA is pretty dire at the moment. Rostering is a nightmare. Everyone seems to be on endless reserves. No one answers the phones or responds to the ridiculous Pilot Comms Portal. But we do get some patronising emails from our so called managers claiming they know how tough it is.
If you do join get onto the 787/350 as these are the golden high efficiency fleets and if you are lucky you’ll get given a course 6 months down the line while others in the company are kicked out!! There’s is recession coming!!)
Honestly BA it just a brutal awful company. Why anyone would join is beyond me.
life in BA is pretty dire at the moment. Rostering is a nightmare. Everyone seems to be on endless reserves. No one answers the phones or responds to the ridiculous Pilot Comms Portal. But we do get some patronising emails from our so called managers claiming they know how tough it is.
If you do join get onto the 787/350 as these are the golden high efficiency fleets and if you are lucky you’ll get given a course 6 months down the line while others in the company are kicked out!! There’s is recession coming!!)
Honestly BA it just a brutal awful company. Why anyone would join is beyond me.
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 619
Likes: 37
From: Home Counties
Last edited by Globally Challenged; 23rd July 2022 at 09:33.
Supercharged PPRuNer
Joined: Nov 2000
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 1,188
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From: Doon the watter, a million miles from the sandpit.
Just to reinforce the above posts…
As things stand, anyone joining right now is signing up to years of open-ended and variable pay cuts. Even if you can find our current pay scales (and good luck with that, because I can’t) they are meaningless: the ‘Delta’ that BA imposed during Covid - ‘negotiating’ with a gun held to BALPA’s head - means we are still paying for the privilege of having our industrial agreements upheld. Nobody knows for how long and how much, and despite endless and meaningless soothing messages from management, there’s no sign of it changing. Be sure to ask them about Delta at your interview.
I’ve worked for several airlines and some other big companies (much bigger than BA) before getting into aviation. The management culture here is truly toxic, and worse than anywhere I’ve ever experienced.
As things stand, anyone joining right now is signing up to years of open-ended and variable pay cuts. Even if you can find our current pay scales (and good luck with that, because I can’t) they are meaningless: the ‘Delta’ that BA imposed during Covid - ‘negotiating’ with a gun held to BALPA’s head - means we are still paying for the privilege of having our industrial agreements upheld. Nobody knows for how long and how much, and despite endless and meaningless soothing messages from management, there’s no sign of it changing. Be sure to ask them about Delta at your interview.
I’ve worked for several airlines and some other big companies (much bigger than BA) before getting into aviation. The management culture here is truly toxic, and worse than anywhere I’ve ever experienced.
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 218
Likes: 3
From: Brexland
I am glad the above posters are sharing the truth to any potential joiners from within the airline. I said much the same in the ACMI thread and got lambasted as a Fanboy of Yorkshire Airlines but the reality is you would have to be nuts to leave a decent airline job to go to BA these days. TP guys will go obviously if given the chance as its a step up but who the hell would volunteer for SH BA on those payscales and live anywhere near London for the next 6 years or whatever, you'd really have to be short on options, and sense
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 122
Likes: 27
From: World
Edit: if you have any LHR rosters you’re willing to share please DM me
Last edited by Seosan; 23rd July 2022 at 13:01.
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 183
Likes: 41
From: UK
Serious question; may I ask what’s so bad with the rostering at the moment? I work for a large A320 operator in Europe and across this whole summer have had nothing but short notice changes, changes on report, standbys galore, liberal use of discretion etc. I always presumed BA was a more stable ship. Is it just the most junior on the list getting these reserve blocks?
I think what the above are complaining about is
1) the new(ish) rostering preferences system which is not giving as optimum outputs as it had previously - even the very top pilots who should be able to nearly write their own rosters, are now having what they've asked for denied, and instead assigned trips they don't want over days they want off. Admittedly the system has some funny quirks which I can't explain. I'm very junior and don't ask for much, I seem to get about half of what I've requested.
2) the new short (14 day) reserve periods which the company is making the most of, resulting in a reserve period every month for many pilots. This must be very frustrating particularly for commuters and those with responsibilities that need to be planned in advance. But if you don't really mind reserve it's less of an issue.
hopefully you'll get a detailed response from someone at the SH coalface (I'm LH) but I don't see it as bad as some of those who posted above
