Fixed the link for you:

BA seeks to close main pension scheme - BBC News

The short answer to your question is "some are".

There are quite a few who joined a while back who are in NAPs, are still contributing and expecting to draw benefits from the scheme. However NAPS hasn't been available to new joiners for quite a few years.....they are on BARP or some iteration thereof.

The repercussions of this could be interesting to say the least. Could be a defining moment for BALPA at BA.

It sure is. Considering most of the BALPA reps will be affected I am sure they will fight tooth and nail to minimise any loss to themselves. They are already floating the idea of "improving" the DC scheme, funnily enough over the last 15 years they have never considered fighting for an improved DC scheme untill now, go figure!

Can anyone give an enlightened guess to what this might mean for the hold poolers? At the moment my guess is (and I hope that I am wrong)
Those in NAPs loosing, for some, a significant sum in retirement. Especially SFO's that were planning their pension on a capt final salary, but now that is locked in at FO rates.
A rush for short haul commands from said FO's to increase pensionable pay to try and recoup losses.
A distinct lack of interest in future part time contracts, again to try and maintain as high as possible pensionable pay to recoup losses, from all in NAPS.
Less early retirements.
All leading to less recruitment in the coming years, and times to command significantly expanded.

Am I missing something? Or should I start seriously looking elsewhere. 12+ years for short haul command IF i get a call for 2018 isn't boding well based on my advancing age. :{

Apart from increasing the pensionable pay from 80%to 95 % of pay FOR All, back in 2006. Perhaps distracted by your continual moaning on here about life in BA, you conveniently forgot that Enzo.?

What heros, increasing something from 80% to 95% that should have been 100% to begin with, and that was 11 years ago. What have they done since other than reducing pay and conditions for all new joiners? What you call moaning is unfortunately the truth as I see it, you are of course welcome to disagree but this is an open forum and people are entilited to voice their opinions no matter how negative.

Yes, but this is also an anonymous forum, and whilst you are entitled to an opinion; why not pop over to the BALPA forum and put your moaning into a more constructive form, where your name and status isn't hidden behind the keyboard. Or is it just easier to snipe from the sidelines without your opinions being "challenged" ?

I am more than happy to be "challenged" by anyone on my opinions. In fact I gave BALPA a chance to challenge me just last month when I wrote to them rescinding my 17 year old membership whilst highlighting all the reasons for such a decision. Needless to say their response was not overly challenging, as such my access to said forum is limited (a great loss to my life I am sure).

I am not quite sure I follow your logic regarding the anonymous nature of this forum, is an opinion only valid if it's from an identifiable source? I don't believe any of my comments, feelings or opinions are anything to be ashamed or embarrassed by and I would freely express such views to anyone in person.

Just to be clear not all my posts are negative regarding BA, there are some good points about working there and I have highlighted them as well. But for some people trying to make difficult decisions regarding a possible future career at BA my experiences might well be considered "constructive", if not they are welcome to ignore them.

I've been having a bit of trouble with my emails - inbound emails either being moved straight to junk (despite being from recognised sources) or not delivered at all. While I'm pretty sure someone would have mentioned it on here, I don't suppose there's been any notice of this web - chat session happening any time soon?

Cheers.

Just after Corbyn becomes PM

My guess is that they are waiting for bid results so they then know exactly what they are up against in terms of manpower?

When should these bid results be out again?

Usually start of Oct if i'm not mistaken.

I suspect that's a bit optimistic (by about 3-4 weeks).

Last news on yammer from the person responsible for processing all this was results due out (for internal consumption) in November, but they will try for late October publication date if it is possible.

Well not too long then. Staying optimistic then!

I'm still assuming nobody has heard anything more on this online presentation we were promised back in July?

Because I have to put a certain number of characters into my reply, this is a long winded way of saying...

...no.

Flight ops have literally just been presented with the operational plan. The manpower plan is is in its infancy as a result. The training managers literally have no idea what next year holds yet.

The 747 that was going next year now isn't, which may create unexpected demand I guess.

While that’s all good to know, why am I hearing this stuff on an online rumour network, from someone (with greatest respect) who could be anyone saying anything?

The presentation was supposed to make it easier to answer our questions on things like hold pool time (is it an extra year from our original expiry date, the extra 6 months, what?) the additional interview we have to have before joining (is it just a chat & cv update, or pass / fail interrogation like the initial?) and so on.

Our last contact with BA was July. Before that, May. I’m not expecting hour - by - hour bulletins, but some idea of what to expect and most importantly when might have been nice.

The only explanation I can think of is that BA do not appreciate the time and effort that people put in to the selection process and the emotional investment involved. Probably because they know that if and when they open up the process again to new applications they will be overwhelmed.

Umm, TBH that's pretty unfair on some of the individuals involved at the BA end. I'd guess the likes of the former recruitment manager (pilot) who used to pop up here and many of those involved in the recruitment process, many of them pilots, really do appreciate the time and effort involved.

However (as always) at a company level it's all (and I mean everything) governed by the bean counters and I suspect you are right about the level of future applications.

Sorry I should have worded my post better. I of course refer to corporate BA and not the individuals involved in selection and especially not the pilot recruiters, many of whom I have flown with and whom I have great respect for - and were it up to them I suspect the comms would be better.

However the evidence remains that there seems to be a lack of communication which does suggest an indifference towards the holdpool coming from somewhere.

No argument with that and it shouldn't be like that.

I don't know how the comms side of the DEP recruitment process is/was established. Given ACs attitude to spending a penny on anything deemed none essential I wonder if the job of communicating with the hold pool has simply slipped through the cracks during some establishment change that happened this year.

So, in light of the news at Monarch, do we think that anything will be done to help the Monarch guys in the holdpool at BA? Maybe bring them in a tad earlier to keep them in pay?

BA’s focus at the moment is very much on getting the remaining FPPs through the door this year. I wouldn’t expect any special favours for the Monarch pilots I’m afraid.

Still no news regarding when or if people from the holdpool will be recruited.

Personally I still believe that given the uptake of part time, the number of retirements which appears to be slightly higher than estimates I’ve seen previously and the new aircraft we have arriving next year, the introduction of JSS etc, I would be surprised if there was no DEP recruitment in 2018.

But that’s based on nothing more than semi-informed speculation.

It is probably not worth getting peoples hopes up but I wanted to put it out for debate. With Monarch airlines LGW slots now open to a bidding war between easyJet and British Airways as described by the Financial Times, should BA/IAG be awarded slots any time soon, they could need more pilots and whats more, need them fast. I say this only hoping that any of Monarch's rated pilots in the hold pool could be fished out soon!

Whose aircraft are they going to fly?

Hi wiggy. I would presume they would lease aircraft, just like Monarch's aircraft were leased. They will find a way to get aircraft otherwise why would they be bidding for slots? I am in no doubt that BA/IAG want to take the slots to stop not only further easyJet but also further Norwegian expansion from LGW.

Interesting thoughts...obviously having got the slots BA have to use them...Given this all kicked off a few days back I've not heard any rumours....wonder if anyone else has any thoughts?

I should add that it was none other than media reports to get my mind speculating and I don't want to come across as insensitive given that these slots are only available given the sad situation at Monarch but hope that all those ZB pilots could come in useful at BA.

It was common gossip last year that BA senior management wanted to see Monarch gone as the customer base was broadly similar. I am therefore surprised that BA hasn’t jumped on Monarch’s demise to increase their share at Gatwick. They are the junior partner to Easy at Gatwick, perhaps they have already admitted defeat to the Orange tide.

I see the BAFPP has reopened... not feeling particularly optimistic right now.

This is a fully self-funded programme, for further details about the potential costs involved please visit - http://www.L3AirlineAcademy/careerpr...britishairways

Commencing training in 2018. Surely we will either have jobs or will have sunk and been consumed by bottom feeders well before this intake even get near to the line.

Clearly they're anticipating the need for further recruitment and with no other FPPs arriving after the planned courses in early 2018, maybe this could even be a positive sign for us (however small)?

If they commence training in 2018 they’ll be out of the sausage factory at the end of 2019. Around the time some of us were expecting to be perhaps offered a start date. As it is there’s a huge backlog of BAFPP who have had their training pushed back so I’m struggling to see this as a good sign personally.

Academic requirements lower this time with no requirement for a-levels and it seems the loan underwriting element has vanished.

Surely those two facts aren't in anyway linked?!:ugh:

Don’t anyone in the Holdpool dare to suggest they may be willing to self fund a type rating to put them ahead of the L3 tide. You’d be undermining your future BA colleagues!

Does this mean that the bid results are in, at a management level at least?

I think this cadet scheme is evidently being run with a 2019 intake in mind, so how much the results for 2018 are relevant is debatable (perhaps with the exception of the number of part time bids received).

As much as the headline may be depressing for hold poolers, lets not forget that BA have pretty much always had some sort of cadet scheme so nothing much is changing in that respect.

It isn't a cadet scheme. It's a self-sponsored scheme with the possibility of a BA job at the end.