Half way there my friend. Options for 4 On 4 Off rosters being in the pipeline should help reduce fatigue and income tax issues soon. Everywhere else seems to have equal drawbacks and there's extra comfort being in the big orange lifeboat (70% fleet owned outright, ton of cash at hand and grew profits every year through horrendous recession).

I was told yesterday about a young chap who left to BA about five years ago when he must have been mid to late 20's. On the 380 fleet now he has worked out his numbers mean he is unlikely to ever get a command on that fleet. That surprised me a bit.

Sounds like a distortion. If he joined in mid to late 20s, he'd have over 35 years in the company and would easily secure a long haul command.

That was my assumption. Is the 380 fleet particularly senior though?

I have also heard speculation this week that the outcome of the short haul review might make shorthaul less agreeable. As a consequence there may be surge in shorthaul Captains bidding to transfer to longhaul RHS. Thus drastically increasing the number of years a new joiner might expect to be 'stuck' on shorthaul.

Its certainly a topic of debate amongst the FO community out here in the swamp.

No WWW, in fact the 380 is pretty unpopular. It has a limited number of routes, is seen to be quite a lot of hassle and a number of people have failed or removed themselves from the type rating course.

As for the shorthaul review. It's still up in the air at the moment. Rumours vary from total takeover of shorthaul flying (in the long term) by Veuling to minor changes to our terms and conditions. One thing is for certain, BA shorthaul is not a happy place to be at the moment and I expect there will be some skippers bidding back to the right hand seat of long haul.

DEP (rated) applications deadline postponed to the 18 september now...:ooh:

Busy times at BA:cool:

zzz - I didn't think the 380 would be really senior. Probably an exaggerated piece of gossip then.

Yes it is, zzz has described the situation/fleet very well ( and very tactfully :ok:).

The line of thought may be that BA SH days are numbered? BA currently has ~3600 pilots, of which approx 1500 are SH. Let's say the scenario happens where Vueling grows as per the "fear" and takes over BA SH @ LHR/LGW. Not overnight, but just gradually - much as MF do for CC. The new BA LH pilot workforce of ~2000 will comprise the absorbed SH pilots, all in the line for Command ahead of recent joiners.

I can only stress the above is one scenario, based on nothing in particular - better (or worse) scenarios are possible. But a timely BA command, and particularly a BA LH command rely on SH remaining on the BA pilot list...

Stocious, Bex88, Megaton
Thanks, that's great.

Ecamsurprise, I don't blame you. Your airline seems to be one with a future; if the doommongerers are correct, mine isn't.:uhoh:

We never wave at you because you're always on a remote stand at the other end of the airfield! ;)

I think EZY is great and can understand why many prefer to stay and take their much quicker commands. However I do wonder about EZY after their CEO departs, she has a vision and communicating with BALPA and staff has been part of that vision. There are still many contracts, bases and countries at EZY and I do wonder if the conditions will stand the test of a CEO with a different methods - the same methods observed at some of the other loco carriers.

Also interested to hear more from you BA pilots who speak about vueling. What do you envisage? Vuelings product is the opposite end of the spectrum is it not? A different customer base even?

Bit harsh! Never done that, a couple of very good friends of mine are skippers for Ezy down at Gatters. :ok:

Personally I always wave to say hello to fellow professionals.

:)

Until about a decade ago some in BA thought the same about all the LoCos, and I think there was a very dangerous assumption made by some in the company that BA's superior customer service ( and I feel I need to emphasise this: ;))meant that our natural customer base would always tend to fly with us. Then the likes of Easyjet started to encroach on the likes of LGW. From conversations I have had and from what I have seen if timings and costs fit then BA's "natural" customers, yes even business class passengers, will certainly fly with the LoCos, and yes, even if they are connecting to/from a BA Longhaul flight...


At the end of the day I'm sure the accountants at IAG have looked at the costs of operating Vueling into LHR vs BA will have come up with a long term plan.....and unfortunately it probably won't involve BA shorthaul flight crew remaining on their current T&Cs.

All IMHO of course.

A little off thread I'll grant you, but in my opinion BALPA are running scared of IAG due to what happened with Openskies. Back then, they were absolutely certain of their legal stance and then all of a sudden it was proven to be wrong. The whole idea that Veulling or any other IAG owned company could just come in and replace BA shorthaul is contrary to the spirit of UK employment law, however BALPA are petrified that BA would find a way. As a result, they agree to anything and everything. It is the same with the current rostering farce.

Would I join BA if I was starting over? I'd certainly consider the job as a stepping stone, but there is no way I'd plan to stay for the long term. I know pp17 SFOs with interviews elsewhere. Traditionally they'd be well and truly locked into the company for the duration by that stage.

Can I just enquire....F/Os I fly with at work that have applied recently tell me that the job offer specifies that you can fly for another affiliated airline within the group (I.e Vueling) if so required by BA. Is this correct for current F/Os on the bus fleet?? Seems unlikely.

Ummm, very very unlikely indeed, AFAIK there's absolutely no mechanism in the current IAG structure that would allow that so I wonder where they (the applicants) got the idea from - perhaps they don't understand how the relationship between IAG and BA works (or doesn't)?

The various current adverts for DEPs/Managed Path I have seen simply mention the opportunity of moving to other British Airways fleets at some point - and that's nothing new.

Thanks for the clarification, it didn't sound right to me at all but more than one said the same thing, thought I'd ask. Cheers Wiggy.

I don't think BALPA are petrified that "BA would"... Why would BA (whatever "BA" is??) give it's work away?

BALPA may well be concerned that IAG might transfer the work to Vueling, as is their right. Not sure UK employment law would have anything to do with it?

WBV

If you happen to find out there's a single "hard" source of the rumour could you let me know, by PM if necessary :oh:?

I know some folks who would be very interested if the story was being put out by someone in BA....


NOD

Agreed, I think a lot of folks still don't understand the whole IAG and BA "thing". BA is just one of several IAG companies, and the Board in Madrid is IMHO quite happy to see their companies competing with each other.....

Without anyone prejudicing their application, a scan of the relevant para(s), or just s retype of the text, would be "interesting" :ooh:

disregarding paras and texts..do we remember which company new qualified Lufthansa short haul captains fly for?...what does that suggest?

The legal entity is irrelevant, TUPE offers some protection.

That said, if an airline needs to reduce t and C s, there are ways a la monarch.

Focus on short haul is interesting, but lets not pretend longhaul would then stay ok as BOAC!

18 year SFOs looking to leave sounds like music to management.

NOD,Wiggy, I shall ask around next week when I'm back in and see if I can dig up any more info. Will let you know.

NoD, sorry yes that last 'BA' should obviously have said 'IAG'. I think my meaning was pretty clear from my suggesting BALPA is scared of IAG. TUPE does indeed offer an awful lot more protection than BALPA has led most BA pilots to believe. Most of what was suggested as a real threat during the BMI talks was from the land of the fairies. All the while that we as a group believe IAG's threat, the terms and conditions of BA pilots is going to plummet, and sadly it appears to be doing so at an exponential rate.

Has anybody had a reply , calling them for interview yet?

Are many people passing the stage 1 assessment day following this second wave of recruitment?

Hi mate,

did they call you?
Deadline is 18 september for type rated DEP.
I guess we all must wait until then.

computer tests
 

I hear there is one new computer test from this forum, involving ATC instructions, ECAM actions etc. Can anyone tell more about this test, ie are ATC verbal instructions to be memorised etc? I assume this test doesnt exist somewhere out there in test land for practice? Please PM me or post any further information so I can prepare for this test!

From my experience, application sent in on 2nd September, got email with interview request a couple of days later, so I don't know what that means if you haven't heard back yet

The new computer test isn't too bad, you just need to thoroughly read the instructions and not loose your cool if the captain takes over. Id rather do that test for an hour vs. 1 minute of PILAPT!

My colleague applied one evening at the end of August for the 3rd September deadline and heard back from BA the next morning.

eaglesnest,

I have never heard of BA not replying. read my earlier post for a fuller explanation.

Thanks mate,

i will keep my fingers crossed till the 18 then:rolleyes:

I never quite understand the woe and despair people post on these subjects sometimes. As binsleepin said, no matter what you might think of their recruitment procedures, BA always reply to applications. Unlike many other airlines.
Just chill out and let things take their course. :rolleyes:

eagles nest,

If you are trying to get into BA I am sure you will have read this whole thread. Go back and check post 310. You can lead a horse to water etc

Regards

Does anyone know when the results of the short haul competitiveness review will be announced?

The Age limit?
What is the age limit for BA?
I know officially they cannot discriminate ......
What is it unofficially, as they used to retire at 55.

Thanks Been,

i really appreciate mate;)

Smokie,

I would doubt there is an age limit; I joined at 38 as a DEP with only a few hundred hours, non-rated. Retirement age limit now 65.

Seem to remember in the last big round of DEP recruitment, there were a couple of guys in their 50s.