I think at the moment I'd struggle to recommend BA as a company to work for at all, short haul or long haul. I agree with everything above - morale at rock bottom, scumbag management who couldn't care less, pay cuts and productivity increases all round while they all treat themselves to whopping bonuses. Insult to injury - a pay deal which offers a pay CUT, funded by further increases in productivity. For added hilarity, prior acknowledgement from Klaus that morale was already flagging. It'd be funny if they weren't serious.

Tay Cough has kindly answered your question though and I wouldn't change a word. The only (to emphasise again, ONLY) reason to join BA now is the fact it is a stable and secure long haul airline, arguably the only one in the UK. What scares me here is the speed and extent to which things have deteriorated, aided no doubt by a union which has lived in BA's pocket and which is crumbling and losing support by the day.

Unfortunately I've seen this decline before in a previous airline. Management desperate to shaft us, threshold eventually reached, and a majority strike vote the result. Sadly that unity doesn't exist at BA - we're all doing different jobs (PP24/34, SH/LH, junior/senior, LGW/LHR). It'll get a lot worse before people start to push back here.

years ago, I lamented the fact that people were taking awful contracts just to get into a shiny jet, the result, I thought, would be the reduction of legacy terms. Is this possibly proof of this?

Completely agree. Which is why it is bittersweet seeing the faux militancy from some BA pilots who are on very good contracts with senior LH positions and pensions over 50% of their junior counterparts could only dream of shout loudly for strike action. Ask a senior chap/ess about the conditions for those at the bottom of the pile....."no idea, but I did my time down there” is often the response. And it’s that apathy and myopia which has made our T&Cs so hard to defend from the present management culture.

Its very easy to blame Balpa - about as easy as not having any interest in anything that doesn’t affect you, like BARP, like PP34, like the demise of BA SH as a sustainable career choice.

We won’t go on strike because we have no unity left. I believe in the past we had some. We must have, as I joined at the beginning of the current decade and was impressed at what my predecessors had preserved for my generation of new joiners. I can’t say I’d join today and think the same.

All IMHO, and I’m sure some senior folk will be along to deride such a view of the BA pilot workforce, but I’m afraid many of my colleagues need to wake up and glance beyond the end of their nose. Things can and will get a lot worse if we don’t find some way of pulling together in the same direction - I really hope we are finally at that point.

A fair few of the senior people you’re referring to have children who are new entrants and they’re well aware of the differences between the contracts.

While there may be some vociferous senior people regarding future industrial action, if the junior don’t join in, it’s not going to get any better for them is it?

I would disagree. Most people will go on strike. Most of us are just waiting for the signal from BALPA which could come pretty soon.

Hi craypilot,

Any chance you could give me some info on what stage 2 looks like or how I could prepare for it? I am supposed to attend very soon.

Hi!
I have my stage 1 and 2 assessment the 27th of FEB. I was hoping maybe someone can help me out by telling me some more about the assessments or push me in the right diretion to find more information.
So far i have seen that i need to brush up my math skills and that the group assessment can be anything out of a 100 different scenario's. So perhaps someone could tell me something more about the interview? like what was their focus on? what kind of questions can i expect? or pretty much anyting you like to share.
Would be very much appreciated! please feel free to pm me.
Cheers,

Greyhames

Yes because KL and LH are just stuffed to the gills with brits, right? Strip our former KLMuk crews and the numbers I'm sure will be tiny. Did brexit 'steal the future' of those wanting to go to KL or LH from the UK? Probably. Was this number very small? Probably. Will I lose any sleep over that? Probably not.

In my not particularly recent (roughly 5 years ago) experience, the information here is accurate. Although, as I understand it, they've reduced the amount of aptitude/PILAPT testing.

Does anyone know how long it takes for them to reply after the Stage 1/2 stage? I did this recently and haven't heard anything... i heard rumour some time ago that a selection team meet each Friday?

I did a stage 2 a few weeks ago and am still in the dark :bored:

Does anyone know if the rejection is an email or a lettter?

I have accepted an offer on to SH, moving from my current employer means that with flying pay and allowances, I'll more than double my salary overnight.

As I'll be bottom of the seniority pile, I am under no illusions that I will take what is given to me and ask no questions. Surely this is the attitude that all new joiners to any job, in any industry should take? Keep your head down and get settled in.

I'll also be commuting which many have said to me will be difficult/frustrating/impossible. Again, I'm aware of the implications of this however the benefits/drawbacks of commuting versus the move and facing the M4/M25 I believe are offset (some may beg to differ here). There are a number of people who commute on SH who I have spoken to and they seem happy with the lifestyle they have.

Would anyone care to shoot me down on the above?

Not until I've left, although I will say that I don't have to commute for my current job. :oh:

My Recommendation? Don't go to BA period; LH or SH they are both equally crappy compared to just about any other semi reputable airline out there. BA at this point is nothing more than a Legacy Low Cost Airline with worse TC's than the actual Low Cost Airlines...