EXCLUSIVE: the new British Airways cabin crew pay offer revealed – big cuts for legacy crew

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• Briandt says:

  17 May17 May 11:32

  I understand from another general airline/employee blog, that BA have held out an olive branch to the unions, but it has been rebuffed .
  I didn’t get the impression that it was Fake News, but who knows.

  • J says:

    17 May17 May 11:39

    Yes it’s BA workers and the unions being unreasonable 🙄 an “olive branch” when they’re launching an outright attack on longstanding employees, give me a break.

  • Lady London says:

    17 May17 May 11:58

    what ‘olive branch’ ?

    hard to imagine anything that would truly be an olive branch, but try me.

    • Briandt says:

      17 May17 May 14:47

      This is the bit I picked up on,

      “The unions, however, have apparently refused to meet with BA and are instead mounting a legal challenge against the proposals”.

      • Lady London says:

        18 May18 May 08:52

        refusing to meet…. not smart.

        it does rather look like someone like the Daily Mail was short of a headline kr something impactful to say and just made it up. Having been misquoted by the Daily Mail in my time, I should think it’s just some reporter overdramatising. The union will be too smart for that.

• Briandt says:

  17 May17 May 12:01

  Sorry if it’s upset you, I thought someone may be interested, that’s all. I thought that all disputes end up with some sort of compromise in the end.

  • J says:

    17 May17 May 12:09

    It would be nice if they did.

• John Wayne says:

  17 May17 May 12:34

  Isn’t it illegal to pay people doing the same job role different wages any ways? I know the BBC had some issues with something similar a year or so ago.

  As for crew being like team members of ‘Costa’ – may I remind them that if there’s a medical emergency they can call an ambulance…
  If there’s an aggressive customer they can call the police…
  If there’s a fire they can call the fire brigade…

  Not to mention the fact that this ‘costa’ is 35,000 ft in the air.. I don’t think many people have a ‘fear’ of high streets but a lot of people have a fear of flying.

  It is wrong BA and other airlines are trying to use this situation for financial gain but I do strongly believe the pay structures should have been looked into long ago.
  In other countries crew is regarded a dangerous job role and is rewarded with a very generous pay packet however for some reason within the UK it is not despite having some great and outstanding crew delivering a very average product.

• Briandt says:

  17 May17 May 15:23

  I’m just an ordinary paying customer, trying to understand the debate which seem to me to have arguments on both sides.
  However, it’s a bit annoying when I read comments without back up, like,

  ‘It is wrong BA and other airlines are trying to use this situation for financial gain’
  You mean having to lay off staff or what ? (Particularly ‘other airline’s’)

  And, ‘ In other countries crew is regarded a dangerous job role and is rewarded with a very generous pay packet ‘
  Fair enough, but what and where are you referring to ?

  • Teacher says:

    17 May17 May 16:26

    Do you think you’re marking his thesis?

• Nigel says:

  17 May17 May 17:01

  For anyone interested with regard the Costa comment, I can provide some insight from the years I spent as crew. Crew do work hard for the money, and I had many days shattered from the job, dealing with many challenges that you wouldn’t have to manage in say, a high street coffee shop with a few customers to keep happy.
  Like trying to resusitate a lovely old lady, who I’d been chatting to in the galley, but later in the flights had a heart attack. So working with the crew on a defib for well over the specified time with her whole family (and front cabin) watching. She sadly passed away, but we had to carry on the service with the majority of the aircraft knowing what had happened. Many still complained their meal was late due to the crew being pulled in to swap on the defib.
  Many children choking in mid-air, strokes, arguments, people trying to open the doors, restraining drunk or aggressive PAX, a first officer taken sick mid-flight, multiple technical failures and trying to reassure worried customers when there was an odd sound or smell, seizures, fits, the list goes on.
  So when your mid-atlantic, no you can’t call the police, no you can’t call the fire brigade, and no you can’t call an ambulance. You may be lucky and a medical professional comes forward and volunteers their support, but if you’re having a bad day like that, then its likely the crew will have to deal with it despite the infamous request we all are well aware of.
  My lasting memory of trying to help that dying lady was the letter the crew received from the family a few weeks letter. It was full of warm gratitude and recognition that we did everything we could for their grandmother, particualrly the time we took to sit with the family for the remaining hours from a very long inbound flight from Vancouver.
  All I ask is that people show a bit more respect to a job which is far more than serving tea and coffee in the sky. When something goes wrong, they’ll be the first people you look to for comfort, reassurance, and the way out of the aircraft if the worse should happen.

  • J says:

    17 May17 May 17:17

    Great comment.

  • Ian says:

    17 May17 May 17:41

    It’s what you choose to do. If you don’t think you’re paid appropriately, take your services elsewhere. Nobody forces cabin crew to go to work and I’m sick of the bleating about how hard it is for such terrible pay. The demand for cabin crew roles is so great (don’t ask me why) that Ryanair can even get people to pay for their own training. That tells you all you need to know about this type of job. I stand by my previous comment that cabin crew is not much different to any other waiting-on job. Many people in customer facing roles are trained in first aid and deal with critical situations every day. The bottom line is clear…if you don’t want to do this job for what BA wants to pay, then don’t.

    • J says:

      17 May17 May 19:32

      There will always be someone who will do a job for less pay and less benefits. Does that mean it should happen? I don’t want to see you lose your house Ian because your employer can find someone cheaper. Why can’t you afford the same generosity to others? If everyone had your attitude there would literally be no weekends, no sick pay, child labour and sexual/racist harassment in the work place would be OK. Cabin crew are not equivalent to staff in Costa – that you stand by this comment shows how misinformed you are.

      • Mikeact says:

        17 May17 May 20:01

        I guess the major issue that affects all in this situation, not just BA, is many people living way beyond their means…the biggest mortgage with today’s low interest rates, the best car, on a personal lease contract, and last but not least credit cards maxed out to the limit.
        And then, it all comes crashing down.

        Interestingly, in the US, the flight attendants union has written to all at United, basically saying look carefully at your financial situation and expenditure in the light of mass layoffs expected in September. Pretty good advice.

    • Lady London says:

      18 May18 May 13:31

      “Let them eat cake”, @Ian?

      • Ian says:

        18 May18 May 18:35

        We live in a free market economy so don’t be surprised when the free market determines levels of reward. What all the hysterical comments on this thread demonstrate is that there are many people who can’t grasp that simple fact. Ryanair, amongst others, realised long ago there are so many people who believe cabin crew is glamorous they can actually get people to pay for their own training. When people stop applying for jobs at £20,000, BA will increase its levels of pay. Again, simple economics.

• Briandt says:

  17 May17 May 17:05

  Just asking for clarification.. something wrong with that ?

• Craig W says:

  17 May17 May 18:37

  @Novice

  I said a few weeks ago that I liked reading your posts as half the time I nodded along and half the time I rolled my eyes so hard my head nearly fell off.

  Don’t stop posting because of one individual having a bitter view towards your opinions (some people can’t accept opposing views/debate) – whether I agree with them or not, I always find them interesting and read them!

  • Josh says:

    17 May17 May 18:48

    Agreed. Wouldn’t want anyone to stop posting. Please keep commenting, Novice.

    • Lady London says:

      18 May18 May 08:59

      just try not to keep telling us you’re young all the time! you’re not alone you’d be surprised at the age range on here.

• Alex Clarke says:

  18 May18 May 07:24

  I feel very sorry for the staff involved, many of whom have been with the company since leaving school. It’s been their life. They need to be offered a decent redundancy package. If they stay on the new terms they are likely to spread resentment and bad feeling throughout the remaining staff – I don’t blame them – I would! But that’s bad for business and customer service. Sickness levels will rise and it won’t end well. Pay them off – do the right thing – in the long term the cost is negligible.

  On the other side, since 9/11 everyone working in the airline sector knows how vulnerable the industry is. It’s not a an industry I would venture into for job security. Plus the green lobbyists are all over aviation so in the next 10 things will change.

  People are quick to jump all over capitalism etc but are quite happy when capitalism brings competition and cheap flights.

  The very best of luck to all those in aviation & hospitality.

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