I anticipate being junior on my fleet for quite some time, and as such don't expect to have a huge amount of control over what I do. I was/am hoping to have a chance at influencing my days off though, and in the future, what I do when I do work.

I'm currently a longstanding balpa member at my employer, and likely to stay a member when I move (at least my subs will go down due pay cut), but BA balpa is very much on trial for me. I need to see them benefitting me, and working on my behalf. This feels like a backward step on the face of it.

POtt3r

In the interest of managing expectations I'll be brutally honest and say that IMHO even if we stick with Bidline you'll struggle as a Blindline holder to do much influencing of days off, other than perhaps being able to swop after roster publication, if EASA regs allow it. It's been a standing joke for years that pre-ops ("rostering") put Blindline holders preferences forms unread straight into the bin. Might be unfair but it often appears that way.

If you're destined for the 744 they do at least have a seeded trip on their Blindline's so after Stage 1 publication you'll have a trip and associated days off on the line prior to the rest of the line build.... but you have to have the senority in the first place to get the Blindline that gives you the days off you want. The only other option is to bid for a reserve line - that has a block of fixed days off at the start that might be a "fit" with something you need to do...other than that :confused:

I have no idea whether there will be any real improvement in control of days off for the junior pilots if we go to JSS....

Swaps were probably my main hope for controlling days off.
Maybe the new system will be more transparent, and give junior guys a slightly better shot at some form of preference. Who knows.

I'm going on the 380, so the 744 thing you mentioned wouldn't benefit me.

Wiggy.

Re blindline pref forms going straight in the bin.

I needed to fill one in myself the other month and followed it up with a phone call to pre-ops. I did this to reinforce how important the day off I wanted was (Ellen's birthday). During the conversation I said something slightly disparaging re pref forms and how little sway they seem to have.

The lady on the end took the time to list my last 5 forms submitted (over the course of several years) and read the succinct notes on the screen next to each entry citing why I hadn't got my preference.

I'd go along with that but then Feb was published and all 4 of my preferences were honoured. :eek: Buses all coming at once springs to mind.

OpenTime is a fantastic tool, a potential life saver when you're junior on Blind Lines.

Is OpenTime a tool for swaps?

It's actually called eMaestro but yes, it's a live trip swap/overtime system. There are some restrictions but broadly it's pretty good.

Yeah it's a very handy little feature that enables us to view uncovered work and either add it as overtime or swap existing work around. It's brilliant if you're on Blind Lines as it gives you some control over your roster. I use it every month.

Out of interest, does anybody know if JSS (if implemented) will retain this feature?

The 380 is a bit different as the vast majority of trips are 4-5 days with many large time zone changes. This makes blind line holders fairly inefficient so you hopefully won't work too hard.

If you're in the first batch you will rise up the list reasonably quickly as they have released some SFOs to the 320, which wasn't in the original plan. With no more aircraft (yet) planned the fleet has a lot of trainers and not much training come the end of the year.

Emaestro or whatever it gets called stays with either system.

I have a feeling I'm mid-batch. Certainly 1-2 courses before mine. Maybe more.
I've got a decent idea of what the fleet is like from a mate on it, but hadn't heard re SFO's going to the 320.

FPA to Variable
 

Such a shame they are changing the lifestyle that really sold BA to my wife and I at the Middle East road shows.

Im destined to join a quieter fleet, and the move to variable flight pay is now quite a concern. How much difference in pay will this make to junior bods on quieter fleets such as the 380/787/767? Before the change to fixed flight pay, was there any pay protection for those on blind lines with only 1 or 2 trips? Is a reserve month now going to result to a month of eating pot noodles to pay the mortgage?

Thanks again for the info!!

You're going to get a shock if you think you'll be doing 1 or 2 trips a month on a blindline on whichever fleet! :eek:

Last time we had variable pay it was around £10 an hour, so even on 900hrs a year it could only be 9k before tax. The money is being kept, just redistributed, so in a normal month take home will increase but will go down in a quiet reserve month/leave/really quiet blind lines. There's no certainty at this stage it will be voted through anyway.

What will be a shock is the amount of money deducted in taxes/NI/pension for those coming in from the desert. Coupled with the £100 tank of petrol may have some newcomers heading back East after a couple of years.

I'm not coming from the desert, and will pay less tax than I currently pay, but I'd rather know what I'm taking home. I'd opt for fixed pay over variable pay every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

Here Here!

Variable pay also has an impact when applying for a mortgage. Some banks take an average, some will ask to see your payslips for x number of months and take the lowest figure, some will just take a fraction of it.

Giving up the fixed flying pay is a big step in the wrong direction and will certainly affect those of us at the bottom of the pile IMHO. But hey ho, lets see what comes out in the wash when the votes have been cast.

Hi All,

I am applying to BA, but haven't lived in the UK for 17 years! Hoping someone can shed a little light on what the norm is for a CV these days?

My current CV is a succinct 1 page, but I seem to recall having a 3 pager right out of high school in the UK.

Thanks for all your help!

Dupre.

Chief Brody - Thanks for posting those essay answers, gives me an aiming point for what to achieve in them!

So with what now appears like an inevitable 'self generated by the financial markets', global economic downturn, who thinks BA will actually continue to recruit hundreds of pilots this year? The share price is certainly being hammered!

The non rated guys in the pool without the LH requirements won't like you for pointing that one out, GS-Alpha! Right now though it remains to be seen, unless it filters through to the real economy then really it's all on paper. Current Oil prices, depending on hedging, give the airline a lot of leeway to entice passengers and don't forget that Oil is making the cost of living much cheaper for the consumer right now. All in all, I think it's going to take a lot more economic pain to scupper plans just yet.

In my experience, a BA/IAG share price fall of this magnitude has always resulted in a serious economic downturn a couple of months later.