No, I'm sorry, I do not see why they have to recruit DECs.

Why not hire FOs? If they are so short of captains, why are captains flying together?

If it is because they want to hire FOs through TRSS to save money, well it doesn't save money to have a captain earning at least £26,000 more basic, working the radio in the RHS.

Why is my "reserve" (standby) month rostered to maximum legal and captains on reserve are on standby as intended.

EasyJet, stop talking orange boloney and honour your commitment to your staff.

Would someone smarter than me please explain..................

Not possible, since eJ pay less and have a poorer lifestyle than other similar operators.

Can you imagine a T-Fly/BA/FCUK SFO jumping ship to easyJet?

But you have to ask why is there this level of attrition? If the t&c were good enough this would not be required.

Result FO/SFO's are being shafted, the company wins and there is no penalty to them. Existing copilots are losing £££.

This needs to be stopped asap.

Unusually my idendity is obvious, but delibrately so because I am indeed one of the newly elected CC members in easyJet, and I would like to thank you for your fantastic support.

For those who are not BALPA members, I would ask you to join today. Our position is clear, we have placed on the table a pay settlement that is sustainable in the market place but also is a clear representation of the efforts made by all of our crew of the past 18 months.

There are many issues that could be resolved with a proper pay settlement. The issue of DECs may too be resolved, IF, they made easyJet an attractive airline to other pilots, but as you guys have said, with Type Rated Sponsorship Scheme (TRSS) we have alienated a group of pilots who may have been thinking of joining easyJet, and have chosen to go to T-Fly or Monarch for example. Remember without TRSS, an SFO (an FO with an ATPL) is paid 40k basic a year. That is still below par, however, I believe it would bring in a market of pilots from carriers like BACX or BMI Regional PERHAPS.

We were assured by our management that no DECs would be employed unless they are of the experience that they were hard to refuse. That would be a reasonable position, however, their words have meant very little as they have done the something else. I would welcome any pilot into easyJet, including any DECs (if they are a BALPA Member !!:D ) as it is clearly not their fault they have just responded to an advert. Lets all place the fault at the managements door.

What can we do - well your support on this thread for your new CC has been fantastic, and I/we appreciate it. I request that you continue your efforts to recruit new members, and make us collectively stronger, so when it comes down to it - if the ONLY course of action is Industrial, we are strong enough to hold that card. BALPA would consider Industrial Action as a failure, but equally, THIS TIME WE ALSO NEED A PROPER PAY DEAL. There is little room for compromise in a company that has recorded to the market its latest financial results, and offered huge bonuses to the top 50 managers.

JOIN BALPA TODAY:ok:

I am a SFO with enough hours for my Command assessment. However, why should I stay with a company that values my committment to them so little that they want me to give up my life (and for my wife and family to give up their stable family life) for 1-2 years and be based at some unkown base after I have got my command position.

Perhaps if they treated their SFO's with some respect and let them continue to work from their current base, then maybe the attrition rate of pilots would be considerably less, and who knows, it may even cut costs too! Afterall, many pilots within the company have already uprooted their families to work from the bases they are currently at.

Can you guarantee that Balpa (have just joined) and the easy CC will be addressing this obvious reason why so many pilots are leaving, and could someone please explain why all new Captains have to work at another base? I'm sure that life for everyone, including the rostering dept, would be much easier if we can stay where we are.

Experience that is hard to refuse.

I fail to see Non Type Rated (146, B777, B757 I've flown with them all) as being hard to refuse. These guys aren't TRE/IRE or anything. They're just cutting their own deals will our spineless management.

By the way have you see Times Online this evening?

Some interesting news seems to have got out

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ar...897994,00.html

Redline, in answer to your point I think I did say that the company were not acting in the way that they said they would. I am not suggesting that any of the type ratings you have mentioned are too good to turn down. We were expecting that this would be type rated TRIs perhaps or TREs indeed.

1muppet I think you are making 2 points. First of all I too am a SFO waiting for a command, getting jumped over by new entrants. I would not blame the DECs for that (and you haven't either) but I do think the company should address the issue. I thank you for joining BALPA recently and you can rest assured that we are aware of the problem, and we are dealing with it. However, these things take time, and if you visit the BALPA company BBoard you will see there is a large thread on this issue, and I hope you contribute.

Your other point is about Base Transfer policy, and to resolve the issue as you would like the simplest answer would be a seniority list, with transparency on tranfers. The company are dead against this, however, with your continued support this too is a formula that we believe we could imtroduce if it were the general will of the BALPA membership within the Company. Remember guys to have a say, quite simply you have to join BALPA, and if you decide against a proposal thats fine it will be your right.

Redline, thanks for the Timesonline article, I hadn't seen it but I have now. I didn't release it, and I hope we never find out who did - whether it proves helpful or not - only time will tell.

NSF . . . Absolutely spot on

Simon - thank you for your excellent and balanced contribution to the debate. It can be clearly seen the value that BALPA is bringing to the discussion and the absolute necessity of being a member in the current climate.

Regarding the issue of DECs (I was once one of them!), there is no issue when there are no FOs to promote which was the case when I joined. That is absolutely not the case now and is unlikely to be again unless virtually every FO in easyJet resigns. These guys are amassing hours at an enormous rate and become eligible for command very quickly.

I do, however, wish to challenge BALPA to close this loophole very quickly. We must be totally clear about this - there is simply no such thing as someone who is 'too good to turn down'. Are these people astronauts, brain surgeons, theoretical physicists as well as being the most talented pilots on the planet or what?

We should not, for a single minute, accept the argument that we need DECs for TREs, TRIs etc. We have literally hundreds of Airbus captains at easyJet, many of whom would make excellent Trainers. Training jobs are never advertised and the company has a clear responsibility to 'home grow' its own trainers. Only after internal advertising has failed to produce suitable candidates can pilot jobs be offered externally. Every single case should be subject to agreement with the union and only then should it be agreed to go externally. BALPA will never stand in the way of a genuine requirement. The company has proven itself complete untrustworthy over the issue of DECs and there must be an independent verification of the genuine need before such positions can be agreed.

I am acutely aware that right now BALPA is having to fight multiple battles on all fronts and I am 100% in support of their efforts. However, they must not give in over this issue. DECs must become a thing of the past unless every single case is agreed with the union first. The prime job of BALPA is to protect the interests of its members - half of which will be FOs. No FO at easyJet should ever be disadvantaged at the expense of an external candidate. This is an absolute at every decent airline in the world and it must become an absolute here.

100% please
Not sure how you work outside CAP371 would you like to explain?. Has EZY moved to CAP371 yet ref rolling duty hrs?.
20 days leave yes, but also 130+ days off (of which many are spent recovering from 5 earlies before anyone tells me again)

NSF you should be running this country not flying an aeroplane, i'd vote for you - occasionally taking the airline view with balanced statements, but mostly with sensible words that cannot be argued ;)

NSF, I completely support your arguments - so much so in fact that I have printed them and have them in my bag with various other very sensible opinions to take to the table tomorrow morning. I believe your position is BALPA's position and I think that the whole issue does need resolving quickly.

Thanks again

easyJet plc

Director/PDMRs shareholdings


1 December 2005


easyJet plc announces that the following director and PDMRs have today been awarded the following Performance Shares under the easyJet Long Term Incentive Plan (‘LTIP’):

Jeff Carr 75,758
Mike Campbell 60,607
Saad Hammad 72,728
Toby Nicol 37,491
Liz Savage 37,491
John Stephenson 39,394
Mike Szucs 73,334
John Thorp 39,394

In accordance with the Rules of the LTIP, these awards will vest in three years subject to the satisfaction of Return on Equity targets measured by reference to a three year performance period.


END


This from the London Stock Exchange website where there were a couple of other director sales and allocations today, more to come no doubt. Such good timing considering current circumstances.

Funny, that on the day of RWs departure the share price goes up 12 pence dispite The Times having been slipped a copy of Mikes building society memo !

This also on the city wires for those of you interested in just how tough it is has been in Easy land.

Amir Eilon 30 Nov 05

Exercise of options 500,000 bought @ 161.12 cost £806,000

Sale of said options(same day) 500,000 @ 330.16p proceeds £1.65million.

I will let you do the maths to see what ended up being trousered!

Any news on the meeting today with the company?? It was today, was it not??

/CP

A wise Kiwi based at my previous base said rewarding managers with share options makes them gready,mean and unsympathetic. It also does not encourage long term loyalty. So for the next 3 years the management will be geared for optimizing shareholders value. Beyond that hey who gives a ...Take the profit and run. :ugh:

The CC Meeting yesterday was not with the company, however, it was very productive and a newsletter with the result will be in the post in the next few days. It would be wrong of me to comment on it till you have it in the public domain.:mad:

So, feels like even more worrying info came to your attention...Interesting times ahead!

I just love the easyjet adverts on pprune.

" Unique open no blame culture " blah blah blah.

Yet we recieve e-mails from our ID department with the following threats;

Failing to comply will result in:
• Immediate suspension from the roster.
• Individual to provide a statement explaining their reasons.
• Line Manager to conduct an investigation.
• An ID will be issued and distributed upon production of a valid CRC to the ID Dept.
• The event will be documented and remain on file for the validity of new pass.

Don't forget we have been to Stage 3 of the industrial process before (nearly 3 years ago) but were let down (at the 11th hour really) by membership numbers.

This time, if Mr Harrison is up for it, we will have a pretty full team on the park so things will be a little bit different.

Can't wait!!

Flaps One is right, it is a different ball game now. To summarise our position:
The recruiting market is hot for experienced pilots;
Pilots are leaving easyJet in droves, over 122 this year so far; 280 in three years;
35 new aircraft in 2006;
Our terms and conditions are well behind our competitors;
The price of oil is sliding even despite the winter upon us;
The company made loads of profits;
Productivity is at an all-time high;
We have been massiveley undercrewed all summer;
Management bonuses just announced are obscene;
And finally, we deserve a payrise!! The company says they can't afford it, we know they are lying (again!!)
That is why we have added 100 members recently, another 100 new members and we tell them what WE want!!!

Have a great Christmas. Remember, RW said it is important to keep our investors happy, I say WE deserve to be happy so pay up or else!!!

I came in to Ezy as an SFO on the TRSS. I had already flown jets but this was the only route in available to me. I was attracted to ezy for several reasons, early command and the prospect of "people being the number 1 asset" being the most prolific.

The early command has gone and as for the 2nd statement, well the latest pay offer only serves to prove the contempt into which Ezy management hold the flight deck. EasyJet do not deserve to have the people they employ. the professionalism is first rate and the standard of pilots cannot be bettered anywhere in my humble opinion.

I would love to stay where I am but I do not see that as a viable option. The lifestyle will kill me long before I earned Ezy's measily pension. that's unless the crew food gets me first. That's not to understate a certain mustached gentlements endeavours!!!.

As far as I'm concerned for easy to make me stay there needs to be a fundamental change in the managements approach to flight deck. Stop TRSS! those on it should be re-imbursed for the cost of the Type rating, Loss of Salary and associated costs.
The management need to understand that we want a life outside of the orange network. give us 4/4. We can work the 900hours a year that a low cost outfit needs but we have ineffective crewing members. finally, we need guarantees that we can get 5 weeks off a year plus any days off in a pattern needed for important occassions eg. weddings.

no long term future for me here then

Good luck to the rest of you!!

Just to reiterate - this is most definitely a thread about the easyJet payrise. This is a really big deal and ultimately any victory in this matter is down to the level of BALPA membership. Any easyJet pilot who does not join up in the current climate should never utter a single word to anyone ever again about their terms and conditions. This is the moment to fight - please come and join us.

The good news is there's more than sufficient money available from this year's profits to pay for our entirely reasonable pay claim. The bad news is that the money is in the bank accounts of Sir Colin Chandler and Ray Webster! I am a simple soul - these guys are in possession of the money that will pay our mortgages and save us from poverty in our old age - and I want it back!

The thing aswell is that the 50 'managers' that lost their job where not high up in the hierarchy anyway, all these people where on about 25k each.
A non-exec's share entitlement is already twice the value of 50 people losing their jobs before x-mas.

Shame on you 'Upper Management', praising the workforce on one day and on the next kicking YOUR employees straight in the teeth.
The short term greed that these 'managers' are portraying is baffling.

Notice the ' ' around the managers because their lack of proper communication is unheard of in any other company.
Also JC's (finance director) presentational skills are really really poor.
A kid in school is taught better techniques, no wonder there was a lack of trust in the city. Have a look at some of the webcasts of the financial figures.

The lack of guidance and vision/accountability is something I've never seen before in my life.

I sincerely hope that Mr Harrison can have a proper look at the comments made on this website, it represents very good reading material for anyone new to the company.

We do not request heaven and earth, just a sensible balance between our working lives and our home lives and a feeling of 'belonging' instead of being just another number or expenditure!

Fully agree, it´s now or never! :mad:

I like the way people refer to a 'B' payscale for the European bases as though it has just been invented. Hello, it's already here. Don't believe me, well what do you call this....

'A' Scale

Our salaries and benefits
Agreement to be effective from 1/4/04 and valid until 1/10/05
Basic Salary
Captain £66,938
Captain £60,244 (1st 6 months)
Senior First Officers £40,584
Senior First Officers £36,526 (1st 6 months)
First Officer (frozen ATPL) £33,060
First Officer (frozen ATPL) £29,754 (1st 6 months)

Please note that you will receive 90% of your basic salary during the first 6 months of your employment.

Additionally, all internal promotions to the left hand seat will also receive 90% of Captain’s basic salary from the date of successful Final Line Check as a Captain, for a period of 6 months based on the date of commencement of Command Conversion, irrespective of the date on which Command is taken up.

'B' Scale

The Type Rating Sponsorship Scheme salary scales, which will apply for the first 5 years of your employment, are detailed below:

RANK (attained within sponsored period) TRRS basic salary (5 yrs)
First Officers £28,060
Senior First Officers £35,584
Captains £61,938

Basic salary if rank attained within the first five years of employment.
Please note that you will receive 90% of your basic salary during the first six months of your employment.

No bonus in there either for the 'B' scale F/O's. At least a third of the F/O's & SF/O's are already on it, some recent Captains have dragged it with them to the left hand seat. It's called TRSS and it is an abomination in our industry. (Don't forget our F/O 'C' scaler cadets down there in the basement slaving away for their portion of gruel) Where were you all when this was introduced? Oh it's OK it is only for the inexperienced new guys, they will be happy just to have a job! Wrong, two or three years ago a lot of these people weren't offered any other option but TRSS, regardless of the experience level they brought to the company. Yes they were happy to have the chance of a job, but a lot already had enough experience to gain a command within a year or two and the company showed how much they appreciated that experience by nailing them with TRSS or nothing. A lot of these people have been voting with their feet and taking their lack of experience to carriers who have a bit more vision (and possibly experience of their crewing requirements). EasyJet could have kept a lot of these people and plugged the now gaping holes in their crewing schedule by showing them the professional respect of paying them at the approriate level. Instead they have created a group of employees on subsistence wages when compared to their colleagues, who don't feel valued and with little loyalty to easyJet. It is no wonder that they are leaving. easyJet can't even hang on to it's new Captain's who are on the 'A' scale, which says volumes for our unique orange culture (unique all right!). It would be interesting to see how many have left for the RH seat of another airline inside the first 12 months of their command!

How do they fix it? I agree with 347.5, stop TRSS. People should get behind that just like they don't want different European pay scales. I won't hold my breath when it comes to reimbursing people already on TRSS, but they could surely get rid of the payscale differences to encourage the people they already have to stay. These two things will surely help with recruitment and retention. A fair pay deal to reflect the hard work, professionalism and productivity of the current crews in easyJet would go a long way towards making this the so called career airline that the management keep talking about. (don't forget about sorting out leave (amount and how you get it) and a roster pattern that won't kill you after a couple of years)

'it ain't easy being orange' ... not at the moment anyway!

I agree with the problem of TRSS. Nevertheless at the time for most it was either:


1) Remain unemployed

2) Pointlessly apply to an airline without a pay-for-rating scheme as none in Europe were hiring.

3) Join under TRSS schemes or pay Ryanair for your CV be to read and type rating.


Times have changed. Retention will become an issue that it hasn't been since 12th Sept 2001. For some companies more than others.

Here's to 2006.

WWW

Look guys at the time TRSS was invented there were no jobs, be glad ezy gave you the opportunity! you walked in face first!
let's all be constructive and get a better paydeal.
i know ALL the arguements but it's getting a bit tiresome

be glad ezy gave you the opportunity. . . . .

Sorry, but I don't agree. ezy took the piss when the market was flat. I meet TRSS guys every day saying things like ' once I get the Airbus on my licence, I'm off!'

The underlying vein to this whole thread is multiple grievances against a company that displays ZERO goodwill. We give and they take.

JOIN BALPA, I did 14 days ago, we need that last 100 guys to give us the big bad voice..

Ahh Shaka, you do seem to know it ALL and I am trying to remain constructive. You were fortunate to get in before it was the only way in. Sorry if you find it all a bit tiresome but for us living the dream 24/7 it gets a little bit more than that. Next time you fly with one of the TRSS people ask him/her how much spare cash they have after paying the mortgage, their loan and feeding their family. You are right, we signed up for it and I fully expect to do my 5 years of penance, doesn't mean I can't voice a desire to see the back of it so people who join in the future aren't in the same situation as myself and a couple of hundred of my colleagues. A fair deal, is all I am asking for, not a callous opportunistic piss take. As for being glad ezy gave us the opportunity, I think you have that the wrong way round. At the rate people are leaving, easyJet will be glad to have F/O's to fly their aircraft. Even the Captain's are going to get sick of flying the radio. Enjoy your 777 next year, how long have you been a Captain before you decided to leave? (from the A scale too, by the looks of it)

Redline, you have got it in one, am also in Balpa.

Shaka,

If retention of FOs is important in this discussion, then TRSS is important.

There are 180 SFOs earning £35k, who can all get much better jobs and earn a lot more. They are rich pickings for other carriers, since most will be able to write on their CVs:

• 1500 - 2500 hours medium jet
• good training
• extremely current
• 737 300-900
• A318 - A321

Redline,

I now have the Airbus on my licence, I'll wait for this round of pay talks, and if I can then do better elsewhere then I will.

No worries Bloggs2 I fully appreciate your comments and I do think it needs to be resolved however I do hear a lot of voices on the line (TRSS) that they demand their money back etc.
I symphatise but I don't fully agree with their opinion.

However the points made for the future of TRSS and our payscales seem entirely valid, I do not have to add anything to what you guys say. I'm on your side of the fence when it comes to that.
I just don't like some of the narrow minded views (not accusing you in the slightest, very well balanced posts) that are being put across about the scheme.
Surely when you joined you made a well balanced decision about the pro's en con's. Yes we are in a different market now and things need to be addressed accordingly and not retrospectively.

Well, we might loose some of our Dutch colleges. Transavia is looking at adding 60 F/O's during this winter. 4 days on/ 3 days off....32days leave...they pay 2/3 off your pension, experienced F/O's looking at Euros 6500/ months. I don't blame them.

I don´t know why everybody thinks that having an Airbus type in your license is the ´golden ticket´ out of EZY... :confused:

I´m sure there are opportunities out there and I will keep on looking, but I don´t think that having an Airbus type rating in your license makes such a big difference compared to a Boeing rating.

I have been in EZY for 4 years. I am ex Big so had my career elsewhere. I have a final salary pension from my previous employer. I was a DEC when I joined EZY. I have always been at the base of my choice. A BIG FAT CAT I hear you say and I agree with you.

I have just joined BALPA in EZY. Why? I was always in BALPA in my previous employer but never joined BALPA in EZY. I did not join because I was never impressed by the BALPA set up in EZY and most certainly not impressed by some of the individuals involved. So why join now, its costing me £50 a month or so and I am 'time expired' next year. Well in my time in the company I have seen the work force turned into two groups one at the bottom who struggle with huge loans and reduced salaries and the Fat Cats at the other end who have had their careers elsewhere and EZY is just a retirement job. I am concerned about all groups but particularly the people in the middle. These are the very fine people who want a career airline where they do not have to keep looking over their shoulder at management trying to stab them in the back and having to spend their days off filling in application forms and worrying their families about having to move on.

We all know the issues involved at present. 1) An appalling pay offer 2) An appalling TRSS scheme 3) an appalling base transfer policy 4) an appalling promotion system 5) an appalling rostering system 6) and much more. However the most dreadful thing is an appalling flight operations management who may have been very good with four aircraft but who are frankly nothing short of inept with 100+.

I have joined BALPA to get my chance to tick the box when the question is asked. When I leave I want to feel that I have left something worthwhile for the excellent people that I fly with.

So to you people out there who are still undecided remember you do not get a chance to make a difference (tick the box) if you are not in BALPA. The company only recognises BALPA and you have to join to have your say. Believe me I am not happy with this situation but it is the only way. Remember you people in the IPA and T&G, remember you ex DAN AIR pilots who hate BALPA for what you perceive BALPA did to you, you only get a tick in the box if you join BALPA. Remember you pilots in the European Bases that they are trying to reduce your wages, you only get a tick in the box if you join BALPA.

This is the watershed for the pilots in EZY and if you do not make the effort now then you cannot complain in the future. 1% is a lot of money even with tax relief but if you care about the future of the pilot force within EZY then you have to join and if asked to, vote. This is a rich company who can well afford what is being asked

Bokken,

I agree with your posting regarding Bus ratings, it can help you get a job elsewhere (etihad) but mainly unless you are already a captain looking for a DEC in a similar company than EZY or contracts then it doesnt make much difference...

Draft Dodger, very well said.

Just want to clarify what I said about the TRSS guys running once they have got the Bus ticket. The impression I get is they simply want it their money's worth out of this dog***t company as they feel shafted, second class employees. Not that it improves their employability.

I'm only 73 rated and I'm confident that that alone will keep me in work for the rest of my days...

Bokken,

It is not a golden ticket, but surely with both the Boeing and the Airbus you have a significantly greater chance of being type rated on another company's aircraft.

Just a nicer position to be in.

Draft Dodger - as one of those saddled by huge training loans, I find it hard to put into words how much your kind support is appreciated. I sincerely hope eJ do a dramatic U-turn and re-shape themselves as a career airline - if they do I'm sure we'll all stay on and help build it into Europe's best. If not, I hope it lasts long enough to see you and your RHS Captain colleagues into retirement!

If we don't draw a line in the sand this time and say stand up for ourselves against these blinkered supermarket managers then we never will. The bonuses that these lackeys award themselves are obscene, running into millions - see the thread on the EZY BAPLA Forum. The short term decisions that are made are purely to hit certain targets that affect the bonuses, thereby lining their own pockets while taking the money directly from ours. All this regardless, that in the medium to long term it will cost the company ten times more!!

Our profession as pilots is being dragged into the gutter seriously affecting the long term conditions of all pilots at all companies, i.e. possibly one you will work for in the future. We have been haemorrhaging pilots for years, the turn over of cabin crew is even worse, the hotel and taxi bills run into millions, flights are cancelled due lack of personnel, there is very little, if any employee goodwill remaining, yet there is NO ACCOUNTABILITY - just orange backslapping over latte in the 'orangerie in lala-land.' Will investors ever realise that these people are actually causing this rudderless ship to seriously underachieve and that the profits are made despite their mismanagement. We have about 4000 employees as opposed to Ryanairs 2000 yet we carry around the same amount of pax - Doh?? The time to fight is now & like it or not the only tool that we have is a united front through BALPA. To any non-members reading this, put past differences aside, join now and get your vote - even if its only for a few months.

The lifestyle is fatiguing with possible long term health implications and the terms and conditions are way below our serious competitors. Unless we fight, we are due for another nose-dive with the company's tactic of divide and rule - yet still the front line employees (not just pilots I hasten to add) battle to keep the show on the road and deliver a safe product with twenty minute turn arounds in foul weather for up to six sectors a day. Try and talk to some mismanager at HQ though and their usually 'working from home.'

Despite this, many people want to stay and fight to make this a career airline like Southwest in the States were staff turnover is miniscule. Listen you so called "Managers." The people at the coal face in this company are ASSETS NOT COSTS. What goes around comes around & with your short term GREED you are no better than asset strippers who are ruining what could be a great company making real profits. Not as eloquent as some but my tuppence worth at least.

IMHO a good airline doesn´t look that much at which type you have in your license, but rather looks at your total experience and personality. It´s the Ryanair´s and easyJet´s in this industry that require specific type rated pilots, but I think it´s our common goal to escape that part of the industry... :ugh:

Perhaps there is the odd exeption that confirms the rule, but I think that Boeing and Airbus rated pilots have equal chances when it comes to the good jobs.

It's official - we are now in dispute with the company! I have just seen the latest letter from BALPA, posted on the BALPA website, but which is also being sent out by post to all members. Having read it, I personally believe it to be a balanced and accurate view of our current dispute. Along with, I presume, virtually 100% of BALPA members I will unreservedly give my full support to the CC and vote to both reject the pay offer and give the green light to industrial action further down the road should it be required.

The jaw-dropping revelations of the remuneration packages and bonuses being offered to our managers and directors have, in my judgement, been the catalyst to the previously unheard of support for BALPA. I was, for example, fascinated to read of our latest non-executive director's salary for one day's work a month being £40K a year - nice work if you can get it! What on earth can one of these guys do for easyJet in one day a month? After, tea and biscuits, lunch, a nice chat with your mates and so on, there must be barely time to drink a couple of glasses of wine before deciding who gets what share options. There again, what do we know? We are just the idle layabouts who fly the aircraft that bring easyJet its profit.

I believe that the new CEO, Andy Harrison, has a couple of weeks to make contact with the pilots (ie BALPA CC) to defuse the situation. He is still an unknown quantity and as such can present himself as an 'honest broker'. This situation could be incredibly easily solved by a reasonable approach from him. If he does not act quickly he will rapidly find himself in the middle of a pilots' strike that once started will be hard to stop. I recognise the need for caution and compromise here and there is a huge willingness on the pilots' side to find a middle road. Incidentally, a middle road is not one where we lose money and our directors gain it!

To all those non-members out there - this is your moment to make a difference. There may be a time ahead when for the first time in my memory the pilots of a British company withdraw their labour in support of a good future for all employees and not just a few. Please do not stand by and watch your colleagues fight your battles for you - come and join BALPA. There has never been a more important time for us to be together.