I wouldn't be surprised to see redundancies at any airline over the next 12-18 months. Nothing in the Middle East seems to be calming down and once the negotiated hedges run out then the fuel costs will more than double. Assuming you can get it in the first place.

I think this is a wildly optimistic take. Of course the worst case scenario may not materialise but there’s a good enough chance that I would be very nervous about changing company any time soon.

It appears you may be relatively new to this industry. Having been in it for over 30 years I have witnessed this scenario repeatedly. I would not consider joining at the bottom of a seniority list or working my notice where redundancies are likely. However, we are not at that stage…yet. If you believe you will be safe at BA then I have a bridge to sell you.

TBF to GS-ALPHA I saw several downturns in my multiple years at BA (first being the results of Iraq v Kuwait) and the company along with BALPA were pretty good at protecting those at the bottom of the MSL…..

Last time around (Covid) things didn’t go so well and some of the new joiners were let go in - there was a lot of debate about how that was done.

If there’s a major slump this time around I’d not like to speculate on how BA will handle it.

The COVID redundancies were down to one man’s (rhymes with baloney) pathological hatred of pilots and willingness to cut his nose off to spite his face in a revenge mission because of the 2019 strike. That POS has exited the building since but his toxic legacy remains because now BA no longer has the reputation it did of being the one safe harbour during a storm and has led directly to debate during conversations like this.

For what it’s worth it appears BA are doing very well indeed out of this crisis at the moment bookings wise as they are picking up many passengers who simply cannot or will not route via the gulf carriers. It will however remain to be seen how that can offset the fuel price increase and its wider impact on disposable income should this last months.

BA has spent the years since Covid, wishing it had considerably more long haul aircraft. There is no doubt in my mind that we would have made more money since 2019, had we retained the 747 and its associated staff. I would be highly surprised if this isn’t also recognised by upper management, so I think the chances of that mistake being repeated are slim.

Your logic is solid

But history is littered with airline management, repeatedly making the same mistakes

No one knows what the future will bring, but hopefully given how tough the pilot recruitment market is now for airlines. One would hope that would mitigate the need/reduce any redundancies.

I don’t think Trump will be able to justify a prolonged campaign, especially if it starts to really effect oil prices & thus cost of living.

The problem is the orange idiot doesn’t get to just walk away from this one. He’s opened a can of worms. Qatar has just lost 15% of its natural gas production for up to 5 years. Israel doesn’t stop from here and neither does Iran.

Good points, well made!

I did hear this rumour at CF in the past week.

Kenton Jarvis, the chief executive of easyJet, said on Thursday that while he had no immediate concerns about fuel access, that could change if the conflict continued.

He said the airline’s suppliers were talking about weeks of supply rather than months.

He said: “I’m confident for a week or two that we’re all good. I’m probably confident that we’re good for three weeks.

“Am I confident over four weeks? Nobody’s telling me don’t worry about it halfway into May.”


Good luck everyone

Ver5pen,
You’ve been given some sound advice.
You do come across as conducting due diligence but there is a statement of I want x y and z from BA or I’m not interested. Fair enough.

The recruiters at interview will be looking at what you bring to BA and how you will fit in. You have to be in keeping with the matrix they have.


Some people here look at the now,
Dare I suggest you think of where you want to be at 60 and work backwards from that?

It sounds as if you’re at Easy ( maybe not) but picture yourself in 30 years time at BA and Easy

Look at the rosters of 777 captains with 30 years seniority look where they live on a part time contract and look at the bottom right hand corner of their payslip after an overtime trip in the month.

Early 30s is probably the cut off to jump or not especially as the music may stop in the not too distant future.
It’s about lifestyle not just the type and salary.

Good luck with your decision please post again in 30 years and let us know how it went.

Anybody that has done the online assessment lately? I´m looking for any tips on what to expect, it will be much appreciated!

Having done a couple of trip 2 off patterns. BA can get rid of 3 days off in between trips if they want but if they go back to trip 2 off I’ll be going fatigued every 3rd trip. And I think plenty of others will be doing similar. Trip 2 off just isn’t sustainable and now we know how much better trip 3 off is for mitigating fatigue levels.

BA needs to up headcount that’s the only way to fix GC.

Hi all, just messaging to enquire about anyone who has a sim assessment coming up with BA? Trying to find a company anyone would recommend to familiarise myself with the sim too and anyone who'd like to pair up for it?

Thanks in advance.

I have it on good authority that this individual is now C-Level at SAS at wreaking similar havoc and refusing to negotiate with pilots wishing to restore their pay, even if it costs that business more in cancellations (1000 next month) than the pay rise demanded. Old habits die hard.

PM Flight

So far the pay restructure for those on the existing 24pp pay scale: More basic, less pensionable pay. More tax bill, results in minimal change.
On the 34pp: transitioning to a 29 year scale closing the gap with the 24 scale.
So far a lot of disappointment. Watch the space for cost savings with any changes(restrictions) to the postings and promotions (fleet moves).
For new entrants with experience and a good performance some positive pay changes towards the SFO pay.

What is the criteria for being an SFO?

And are there any solid indications yet on wether 3 days off after long haul trips will be a permanent feature?

The trial runs for one year from the start of this year, so it has really only just started.