Exclusive: British Airways reveals improved cabin crew pay offer – a win for Mixed Fleet
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British Airways has unveiled its revised pay proposal today for cabin crew.
This is, it has to be said, an improvement on the original package. The winners are current Mixed Fleet crew who will see a modest increase in their total earnings. This should be enough to finally put to bed any threat of strike action by cabin crew.
It does, of course, still represent a sharp cut in pay for legacy crew members. Legacy crew who accept the new package will also have to commit to mixed long-haul and short-haul flying with poorer working conditions.
This is how the proposed new package looks:
Cabin crew:
Total target earnings: £28,000
Comprising:
- Base salary – £17,000 (£16,000 for new entrants)
- Duty pay based on hours flown – £3,000 to £5,000
- Incentive pay – £1,000
- Flex allowance – £850
- Per diem – £3,500 to £5,500
Remember that the ‘per diem’ includes payment that normal employees would consider expenses such as meal allowances when away. The incentive payment is target based.
’Flex allowance’ is a sum which cannot be taken as cash but can be used towards certain employee benefits or paid into a pension plan.
Realistically …. if you assume that crew spend 75% of their ‘per diem’ money on living expenses whilst away, and that the bonus is not triggered, you are looking at £17,000 + £4,000 average duty pay + £1,100 ‘profit’ on the per diem, which is £22,100, plus the £850 of non-cash benefits or additional pension contribution.
For comparison, based on the latest numbers I could find, Virgin Atlantic crew start on £17,000, rising to £18,500 after four years. They receive additional ‘trip pay’ of £96 per return trip, with five to six trips per months, plus an overnight allowance. This is a different sort of role, of course, as it is exclusively long-haul flying.
Lead cabin crew:
Total target earnings: £31,000
Comprising:
- Base salary – £20,000
- Duty pay based on hours flown – £3,000 to £5,000
- Incentive pay – £1,000
- Flex allowance – £1,000
- Per diem – £3,500 to £5,500
Manager:
Total target earnings: £39,000
Comprising:
- Base salary – £32,000
- Incentive pay – £2,000
- Flex allowance – £1,600
- Per diem – £3,500 to £5,500
On top of this, all crew will receive pension contributions of up to 11% and staff travel concessions.
British Airways says that this is a ‘market leading package’. It will still be a tough pill for existing legacy cabin crew to swallow, however – even £39,000 for a Manager represents a 33% pay cut for most legacy Cabin Service Directors. For standard cabin crew on a legacy contract, the drop would be similar.
In the short term I reckon that British Airways needs at least 50% of legacy crew to remain with the business if it is to run a 60% schedule. Will enough stay?
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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (January 2025)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
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British Airways American Express Premium Plus
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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
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The Platinum Card from American Express
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We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.
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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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