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

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British Airways has just given cabin crew details of the new contract and pay package for staff at London Heathrow which they must accept if they wish to remain with the airline.

It is VERY grim reading for legacy Eurofleet and Worldwide crew members, many of whom will have to accept a substantial pay cut of up to 50% if they wish to remain.

the new British Airways cabin crew pay offer revealed

What is the new British Airways cabin crew package?

BA is promising an OTE package of £24,000 for standard crew.   This comprises basic pay, flight pay and other allowances.

There is the potential for extra income on top, such as commission from in-flight sales.  There is a contributory pension scheme and optional health and insurance benefits.

It is worth noting that the unions have often claimed that British Airways ‘OTE’ figures are more than the majority of crew receive.  For example, the £24,000 figure includes the allowance that crews receive to pay for food in hotels whilst travelling.

Initial feedback is that even existing Mixed Fleet crew will be taking a cut in overall pay and benefits on this new contract although the exact figures are not available.

The contract allow for 30 days of annual leave, but this includes public holidays.  The equivalent for an office worker would be 22 days holiday, given that there are eight public holidays each year.

For clarity, there will be no ‘zero hours’ contracts offered.

New British Airways cabin crew contract

What grades are available?

The new structure has only two grades.  A substantial number of existing senior crew members will be required to downgrade to the level of ‘basic’ crew if they wish to remain.

  • Manager – leading a team of up to 21 cabin crew members
  • Cabin crew – standard crew roles

Some short-haul flights will have no managers on board.

Managerial crew must be willing to take on standard cabin crew roles on certain flights if required.

Crew must agree to work in departure and turnaround roles inside Heathrow if required.

What aircraft will be flown?

All cabin crew will fly a mix of long-haul and short-haul services.  

This will force many existing legacy crew members to resign.  Eurofleet (Heathrow short-haul crew) are unlikely to want to move to spending large amounts of time away from home.  Worldwide (Heathrow long-haul crew) are often based outside London – some even live abroad – and commute to London for each of their 3-4 monthly flights.  This lifestyle is not possible if a short-haul requirement is added.

One upside of combining the fleets is that those who remain will be able to bid for flights across the entire network.  At the moment Heathrow crew are restricted to the routes allocated to their particular fleet, ie Mixed Fleet, Eurofleet or Worldwide.

All crew will be licenced on the A320 and Boeing 777/787 family, with an additional third type on top – either A380, A350 or Boeing 747.

Conclusion

In general, this is what we expected to see – and, for legacy Heathrow crew, it isn’t pretty.  I would expect the majority of Eurofleet and Worldwide crew, who by definition have at least 10 years of British Airways service, to refuse to accept the new contracts.  Most will find it financially or logistically impossible to continue.

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Comments (503)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Novice says:
    16 May16 May 10:43

    A sound business approach but won’t be popular as I’ve already said.

    If a person is too moral then you shouldn’t get into business. After studying Economics and it was paid for via bank of Mum n Dad, I realised I just didn’t like the idea so I changed career which my parents did get annoyed about due to paying for my studies.

    It’s hard for the crew affected but one has to be realistic as to why this needs to be done by the business. A lot of businesses will need to restructure and make cuts in order to survive and thrive.

    If legacy crew was paid good then I hope they have been investing/saving some money in the good times but I still don’t understand the concept of staying working for the same place, being loyal and doing the same job as MF when you know their conditions are dire and not trying to fight for MF just on the principle that a person can’t become a legacy if it’s not fair conditions. I know I would never work in a job and keep quiet if I knew somebody else was doing the same job but was a newbie. I would try to fight for fair conditions on the principle that the young person is doing the same job and requires incentives to become a legacy in the first place.

    A legacy was once a newbie. I ask where were the legacy crews’ morals when they knew newbies are getting paid so low for the same job and such bad conditions?

    Also do we know if female crew was getting paid less than male crew? I bet this is the case. What about equality? So if one was to involve morals into the equation, I despair to think/know everyone has been looking after their own bacon. So, that’s what BA management is doing too.

    It’s all morally ambiguous.

    • Nik says:
      16 May16 May 13:18

      Absolutely, this is a point everyone leaves out in favour of BA opportunism bashing which is naturally an offshoot of being a profitable business and not a charity. Legacy fleets unions were perfectly content with a new much lower paid fleet being in place and for them to be completely segregated for them whilst they continued to earn higher than quite a lot of UK jobs.

    • J says:
      16 May16 May 16:21

      The only way euro fleet/worldwide fleet could have helped mixed fleet would be in uniting on industrial action, but this would be completely illegal under the UK’s anti trade union laws.

      • Nik says:
        16 May16 May 16:37

        Ok sure. Let’s now bash the country’s policies as a whole now for our arguments sake. This still doesn’t explain some (and not I say some) legacy crews attitudes towards Mixed Fleet crews that are frankly childish. For example (and believe me I have heard quite a few first hand accounts), silly things like turning heads away and not answering, or being snooty to Mixed Fleet crew during changeover of crews on turnarounds on jet bridges…On a more “serious” level, a combined strike along with Mixed Fleet isn’t alone the way to show solidarity. So trying to claim a moral high ground when it has been questionable quite a few times in the past certainly makes the waters murkier.

        • J says:
          16 May16 May 16:46

          This is anecdotal and does not justify sacrificing thousands of experienced crew.

          • Nik says:
            16 May16 May 17:06

            Nor solely from a business point of view does it justify BA needing to keep on going with legacy contracts any more.

  • Dave Winchester says:
    16 May16 May 10:44

    BA are being arseholes, but that’s business.

    There are lots of people who will want to do the job on those terms, not least as the service industry is going to be decimated for the foreseeable. It’s a job with some excellent perks that you don’t need a degree to do so they’ll be no shortage of recruits – it’s not a career for the vast majority doing it

    • Nik says:
      16 May16 May 13:20

      Exactly. They get circa 50K applications in every advertised Mixed Fleet recruitment round and only circa 2K get through. So any shortage will have absolutely no problems to be filled. Any aspiring UK based cabin crew applicant would also want to flock to BA, not least for the sheer size and vast destinations it offers (or offered rather pre-COVID)

  • C says:
    16 May16 May 10:44

    This is crap but similar thing happened to me 5 years ago. Been at a company over 12 years, never off sick always worked hard but company wanted to sell to venture capitalists and needed to get rid of higher earners. Offered me a new role which was same job with lots of additionl responsibilities and for 10k less plus no more travel paid for.

    I took the redundancy pay and they ended up employing someone in their early 20s to replace me for half the money, and they did exactly the same job I did before, there was no ‘new role’. No employment solicitor was interested, ACAS pretty much said they can do it.

    • Lady London says:
      16 May16 May 12:29

      Did the new person that replaced uou do exactly the same job as you had done, or did they do the new job with more responsibilities that you’d been “offered” and with less pay? And was there and difference in the “value”/quality delivered by the new person?

      • C says:
        17 May17 May 02:51

        Exactly the same job, I trained him and he was given no training for the additional duties of the new role. I checked with colleagues after I left and they told me he was doing exactly the same role and was struggling to keep on top of that let alone anything else!

        • Lady London says:
          17 May17 May 10:04

          so it was just a way to get you out then. Constructive can pay more than redundancy/potential extra remedies, with hindsight I might have looked into that.

          • CC says:
            18 May18 May 12:05

            Yeh I had a feeling there was more I could’ve done but I did make an effort to explore options. I called a few solicitors, ACAS, and on a couple of forums asked the question, but all seemed to indicate that it was fair. Should have asked on here!

  • mr_jetlag says:
    16 May16 May 10:50

    Air travel is a service industry and like most service industries will be very different after the crisis.

    I sympathize with long serving Worldwide crew, but the status quo was clearly not sustainable even before COVID19. Whether BA have gone “too far” remains to be seen, and any industrial action will obviously be ineffective during the lockdown. Not many options other than to walk away.

  • Nick G says:
    16 May16 May 10:53

    I think the BA legacy crew on here are missing the point. I have no desire to live in France or wherever else, I’m not jealous because I wouldn’t want to do that job. I did say I don’t agree with everything BA is doing, changing the contracts like this is one of them. Many years I got made redundant one day and vowed never to work in the private sector again for that reason. Is robs article wrong then that a 50% ish reduction means you didn’t earn £48k ish?

    The points people make about jet lag and days off etc etc is just poor. Try working shifts. See what that does to your body, body clock, length of your life etc. And if you think you’ve been treated badly try having your pension that you signed up for changed half way through your career so you know have to work an extra 7 years to earn what you would have done. Oh and that’s not to mention being spat at with Covid 19, assaulted, run over, shot at, stabbed etc in your work place.

    So while I don’t agree it’s right I know how it feels do you not think it’s right. We’ve all been shat on from a great height at one time in life but your no different to other people. It’s awful and I do feel for those that will now be at a total disadvantage in life through no choice.

    • Rob says:
      16 May16 May 11:16

      For those who joined, say, 10-12 years ago the drop is more like £32k to £24k I believe. Contracts had already started to tighten up by then.

      • Nick G says:
        16 May16 May 11:23

        Cheers rob. What are the figures for say those that have worked 20 or 25 years? I assume it’s those that were on the circa £48k?

        • Rob says:
          16 May16 May 11:26

          Gets complex. There are still some around who came in from British Caledonian in 1988 for example and have legacy contracts from there.

    • Rebecca says:
      16 May16 May 11:17

      We do work shifts

    • Rebecca says:
      16 May16 May 11:28

      As for covid19, (we’re not often spat at, but puked on is a regular occurrence in turbulence), there are few worse places for contagion than a tin can packed with coughing people (who don’t wear masks onboard) for 10-12 hours at a time. Social distancing is impossible onboard.

  • Davie says:
    16 May16 May 11:17

    I have done the maths and after over 25 years service, I will actually be taking a pay cut of 63% at best. The OTE that BA suggest is not the reality. Factor into the mix an extra £200 fuel costs per month and the figures simply would not make the job a living wage unless you are 21 and living at home rent free. We all accept that redundancies are inevitable but to force a loyal workforce out in this manner is very sad. Staff have given months, years and decades of loyal service to make BA the profitable company it is today. Sadly, it is the mmoral behaviour one can hardly be surprised to see from management consumed with utter greed. How can this company ever expect to be great again with this total disregard for those that ensure customers return again and again?
    Let’s hope the 42,000 employees vote with their feet, along with it’s customers.

    • Mikeact says:
      16 May16 May 11:48

      63%. ?
      I was never any good at maths. Could you please explain, thanks .

  • Rebecca says:
    16 May16 May 11:25

    Our pension has changed too. Final salary was stopped years ago. 55 year retirement age originally signed up to has long gone.
    Our T&Cs have been periodically attacked many times over the years.

    A lot of nonsense is being written here. 3-4 flights a month on full time longhaul is not true.
    As an example we can do 4 longhaul flights in 5 days on a ‘back to back’, this is just one trip.
    There are 4 – 5 ‘trips’ in a month, but these are a minimum of two sectors (flights) each trip, often a trip is multi sectored e.g. LHR-BAH-DOH one night and then the return the next night.

    • Briandt says:
      16 May16 May 11:51

      But ending final salary pensions and retirement at 55, surely ended years ago for most of us ?

    • Novice says:
      16 May16 May 11:57

      I keep asking the question that nobody is willing to answer. I ask again; why didn’t legacy crews’ fight for their MF colleagues in their own good times? Why not try to fight for them and try to use your power with unions to make it fair for all. It doesn’t mean if someone is young they should be paid pittance. Young people have a life to live too. No wonder nobody stays.

      As I repeat; a legacy was once a newbie.

      This is a bit like some firms only hiring based on experience and never younger talented people because they don’t have experience. In order to gain experience, you have to start somewhere. It’s common sense.

      • Nik says:
        16 May16 May 13:26

        Exactly! Glad there are a few that bring up this “immoral” stance. Legacy crew unions were perfectly happy to accept a completely new segregated fleet 10 years ago that were essentially doing the same job, even harder in fact, for much less money. They striked till the end of time in 2010 and ultimately agreed this new fleet would be “morally ok”. Hmmm, I guess that immorality doesn’t play convenient to the whole BA opportunism and immorality push. I mean if BA were a charity then of course it would be scandalous, but BA like most firms are there for their profits and shareholders.

      • Andy S says:
        16 May16 May 18:36

        @novice heres the answer you think nobody is giving you. Stop living in the protected world of Mum and Dad and grow up. Once you actually get yourself a job, if any exist that you can do. You will see this equal life for all “Nirvana” you keep banging on about doesn’t exist, I’d have thought you might have got that already, Was everyone at university totally equal? Must go to show how molly coddled you’ve been up till now.

        In most walks of life once you are in a job, it won’t matter to you what terms of employment newer people are on, they have the choice of accepting the job or not. Which is the crux of the BA argument. Mixed fleet are in general bitter they aren’t on the contracts that WW are.

        In the Fire service and the Police as an example, pension contribution and retirement ages have been changed, how worried do you really think the people who weren’t affected were by this?

        Maybe you should find a forum where you have a valid point to make from experience

        • Derek Scott says:
          17 May17 May 08:57

          Is there any weight to your argument by being rude?

          • Andy S says:
            17 May17 May 16:56

            Yes.

            He needed telling. He’s been posting ill informed rubbish all through this post.
            Why do kids think once they’ve been to university they suddenly know eveything and the whole world wants to know their views, althought they have no life / work experiences in which to form them.

            “Oh why isn’t everyone treated the same. Lets all love each other and everything will be fine, experience doesn’t matter I’m young but worth paying equally”

            In what real world situation does a new entrant with no experience or proven track record command the same pay and conditions as someone who has done the job for years. Only maybe in a scenario like Rob presented where if someone doesn’t perform they don’t get paid.

            Police, Fire, Nurses,Teachers shall I go on. All have pay scales commensurate with qualifications and experience.

            The last Willie Walsh experience comment sums it up.

            Hope this hasn’t been too rude for you.

      • Carlos says:
        16 May16 May 22:36

        You seem determined to ignore the answers given to your question, why didn’t legacy crew support MF crew. What do you think the 2010 strike was about?

        • J says:
          17 May17 May 00:27

          Because it would have been illegal for them to. Illegal. UK’s (anti) union laws are very clear. You can thank Margaret Thatcher if you disagree.

    • Aston100 says:
      16 May16 May 12:52

      Still can’t compare it to key workers.
      You lot have had it good for too long.
      There should never have been a time when cabin crew were paid more than police, and did less hours too.

      • Rob says:
        16 May16 May 12:55

        BA is a private company, it isn’t comparable.

      • Spaghetti Town says:
        16 May16 May 13:52

        You could argue the same about bankers and doctors

        • Rob says:
          16 May16 May 14:55

          Fundamentally if you want to make money you need to be in a job where you create value. You then get to negotiate with your employer how much of that ‘value’ you get for yourself. This is why a banker with a track record of bringing in £5m per year of advisory fees will easily find a bank willing to pay £1m for their services. If you’re not creating financial ‘value’ then your worth is simply a factor of the scarcity of the skills that the role requires, with an adjusting factor for job security / job location / perks etc.

          Bottom line is that if someone came to me and said that they could bring in £250,000 of advertising from new clients to HFP next year but wanted paying £125,000 if they achieved it (and only £25,000 if they didn’t) I’d hire them, as would any sensible business person. I couldn’t care less if that is 6x more than Mixed Fleet earn.

  • Nic says:
    16 May16 May 11:27

    While I agree with Martin, the reality is airlines are fighting for their lives. Traffic is forecast to be down 42% this year and only return to 2019 levels in 2023. And if business travel is impacted by people shifting to conference calls (I doubt I will be attending the 2-3 conferences a year I used to) then airline profitability will be destroyed. It may be a case of accept lower pay or lose your job entirely. nziegelasch@yahoo.co.uk

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