Englishmum

Oh dear:


http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Bus..._Strike_Action

Letter from BA to Cabin Crew re; Changes (which is causing anger with CC)

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Bus...kplace_Changes


Cabin Crew - "Why We're Angry":

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Bus...ting_To_Strike

I don't know how much longer BA can survive as they must seriously be losing goodwill amongst passengers, many who've been very loyal to them over the years....I think that Willie Walsh is a disaster for BA and too abrasive, just like his mate who runs Ryan Air.

Bob

Aye, my sister has been saying that lay overs have shrunk dramatically and that she's been doing far more flights and longer periods of being on call because of a lack of coverage.

One of the problems though, there's a fleet of staff who are in it because they like what they're doing and then there's the part timers who get the same benefits but only there for short periods to get the concession tickets etc meaning there's a lot more hand holding and less resources for training for those who want it because it's being spent on basic training.

merz

I like flying with BA, and always found the cabin staff to be really nice, better than most of other airlines I have flown with (except Southwest, I love them the most!)

I do feel for the staff, but if my Hubby can't get his Christmas Eve flight to be with me because of a strike, and has to spend it alone, I may go out of my way to use Virgin in the future.

That will be a pain in the arse as BA have the only direct flight to Tampa...

merz

Englishmum

Bob: Did you know that CSA's (customer service agents) working as employees of BA in the US only start off with 10 days annual leave? UK staff of course get much longer from day 1 of joining the airline, I think it's 5 weeks.

It's a shame, I have a friend who works at Newark and originally joined BA as a stewardess when it used to be called BOAC. I know that for her (she's British but dual national) that the customer is first and foremost; she is truly the embodiment of what one looks for in airline staff - warmth and professionalism. I think she's dismayed at how the airline's reputation is going downhill and recently took 6 weeks unpaid leave as BA is trying to drastically cut costs.

I need to book a long-haul flight within the next few days and need to stop-off in London for a few days on the return leg in mid-December. My options are basically the Virgin Atlantic/Singapore Airlines codeshare flight or BA. Well, guess which airline I don't want to risk booking with, even though I do actually like BA?

It's interesting to see what many of BA's very frequent fliers are saying here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-taking-5.html

(Looks like most travel insurance policies won't cover extra costs incurred due to strike action either)

Sally Redux

It's a shame because I think they're the best airline.

Bob

That's because in the US, they technically aren't BA employees, they're contract staff from an agency, like the catering....or they are at most airports.

AdobePinon

All I know is that BA is so expensive (after taxes and fees) that I haven't flown with them in 18 years.

Englishmum

Actually, they are still employed by BA in the United States. My friend who works for BA says that they often worry about BA getting rid of their own employees and having subcontractors dealing with arrivals and departures at the US cities that BA flies to. There is a good BA health insurance scheme, but many of the Newark employees (most are part-timers there as there are only 3 flights per day) have second jobs or are students but hang on to their BA jobs for the health insurance (that wouldn't happen in the UK of course!).

Virgin Atlantic used to have its own employees in the States, but when Singapore Airlines bought a 49% stake in Virgin, all of their staff were made redundant in the US and 'invited' to reapply for their jobs with the new employer (it was either Gateway or Swissport, can't remember which one it was) but on less beneficial Ts & Cs than when working as employees of Virgin Atlantic.

Kaffy Mintcake

The difference in vacation time doesn't surprise me to be honest. They're simply giving what is custom in this country. I used to work for a French company and we didn't get the same holidays that were applicable for the European workers. They even gave us Boxing Day off in lieu of Christmas Eve, which did not go over well. It's a shame the employees don't receive the same holiday allowance though, 2 weeks is really too little.

Englishmum

My friend who works for BA has informed me that the word from BA colleagues working at LHR is that IF a strike is called, it's most likely going to take place on 21st December..

Zonie

Looks like you were one day out. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8411214.stm