[handbag]

In fact many Mixed Fleet crew I have spoken to are indeed experienced cabin crew from other airlines (Virgin, bmi and EasyJet among others, and before you denigrate EasyJet people, their skills in managing the shorthaul workload are valuable). VK

If you look at the few post that I have made since joining this forum, I think that you will find that I have never denigrated anyone.

Every post I have made , I have tried to give the facts where I have the knowledge on BA related products and services. I rarely choose to post opinion on BA, as I feel this is inappropriate as an employee.

I too see the benefit of experienced Crew (no matter what airline they are from), as well as those that have come from nursing, teaching, police, army etc.

For any Company to benefit from skills of both new and old employees, I believe that training has to be consistent, so that Customers get the product that they are expecting.

[VintageKrug]

…in response to:

—

Henkel.Trocken – 24/10/2012 14:41 GMT who wrote:

Perhaps BA should take some initiatives which Worldwide and Eurofleet crew would like as part of an integration process.

An example of this was recently sited to me by a neighbour who is worldwide crew. She would love the flexibility to work on Eurofleet at times and would really appreciate a mixed model of working. The answer from BA is that she may join Mixed Fleet with no compensation at all. Obviously she is not going to do that but as she says, she wants it and would gladly go half way to meet BA but they won’t budge.

If BA don’t budge, mixed fleet will eventually become the norm but the death of worldwide and eurofleet will be long and painful and increasingly difficult to manage for BA so it’s in their best interests to start to be creative.

—-

It’s really not in BA’s interest to do anything other than prioritise the needs of Mixed Fleet.

Legacy Crew is in “run off”. BA needs to release itself from these onerous employment contracts as soon as it can.

It is too expensive right now for BA to make so many of its cabin crew redundant, though some limited voluntary redundancy is likely to be offered in due course, especially for those roles currently overstaffed and “working down”.

It is in BA’s direct interest if those legacy crew who are not happy with their current working arrangements leave voluntarily; especially those on the more lucrative older contracts.

Having said that, I do know for certain that BA does allow limited transfers between fleets as I was only last month talking to someone on board who had transferred from Eurofleet to Worldwide within the past six months. I’ve also met people who have transferred from Heathrow to Gatwick, which operates a Mixed Fleet, though that was a year or so ago.

So I don’t see where the statement that BA “won’t budge”. It plainly will and has done so in the very recent past.

I really don’t see any “long and painful death” – it will be a transparent and open process which will be managed by BA and not by BASSA; BA’s interest are best served by focussing on the future not dwelling in the past.

As others have stated so often before:

“It’s time to move on”

[BigDog.]

Hippocampus.

IMO Walsh’s short comings as a leader mixed with his pugnacious nature appeared to preclude anything but a route one approach, confronting the alleged opposition in an adversarial manner.

The objective of being seen to confront and defeat BASSA took primacy over creating a profitable company underpinned by high morale within well motivated teams.

His maladroit approach led to the baby being thrown out with the bathwater. Lacking the wherewithal to win hearts and minds Walsh sought to alienate and create division. In doing so created widespread disaffection throughout.

[VintageKrug]

This thread is repetitive and very reminiscent of the old BASSA threads of the past – the same old points, the same old personalities, in particular from one poster an unhealthy obsession with Willie Walsh.

It’s almost as if DisgustedofSwieqi and CallMeIshmael never left…!

Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.

[AnthonyDunn]

@ BigDog. – 24/10/2012 16:03 GMT

I am mindful of house rules around identities, but because I managed to post-date the BASSA/BA dispute – and its manifestations on BT – do you have any involvement with BA or what is the basis of your clear dislike of WW?

BTW, I have absolutely no intention of “digging you out” about this but my earlier posting in response to your advocacy of flying LX or SQ is because I believe in supporting our home industries first. In my view, business, not just charity, should start at home. If we don’t or won’t support UK products and services, then we should hardly be surprised if those overseas choose not to do so. It’s also the mercantilist economic model pursued by Germany, Japan, S Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Brazil etc and they do not appear to be suffering as a result.

[BigDog.]

Anthony, besides being an occasional passenger I have no involvement with BA. Having researched and practiced leadership for decades, I now advise on leadership, specifically in strategic change and M&A arenas. I have nothing against Walsh as a person, I believe he is a good aircraft pilot. However I dislike blatantly bad leadership, it frustrates the hell out of me. There are too many poor leaders out there.

As to your subsequent point, a better question should be – Why do leading UK companies feel it necessary to import lemon leaders, such as Tim O’Toole, Bob Diamond, Antonio Horta-Osorio, Willie Walsh et al when we not only have enough lemons of our own already but more importantly the UK has a history of, and some excellent infrastructures for, producing world class leaders. Plus it exports a great deal of leadership talent and advice?

The answer I believe is partly within the themes of 2011 film Moneyball, partly our craving for celebrity, self-aggrandizing form over substance types; plus our culture which now tends to admire a macho, high vis, watch me nuke-em approach over the Tim (and Jim) Collins approach, despite the results indicating otherwise.

(NB – Walsh was recruited when BA was British, am well aware this is no longer the case)

[AnthonyDunn]

@ BigDog. – 25/10/2012 14:49 GMT

Interesting: I will look up Moneyball sometime.

I have always been interested in “Anglo-Saxon” leadership styles which very frequently seem to involve loads of Mitt Romneyesque “don’t do as I do, just do as I say…” Personally, I have always believed that effective and motivational leadership involves leading from the front, not asking others to do what you wont do yourself, being seen to take it on the chin and setting an example. In this context, it has long been my view that there was no justification whatsoever for WW taking an enormous pay rise when he moved to IAG and was replaced as CEO of BA. If he had any gumption, he (and the rest of his senior exec/board of director colleagues) would have taken serious pay CUTS during the BASSA dispute as a very direct way of pointing out that the need for cutting costs ran from the top to the bottom of the organisation. But, as an exemplar of what is so wrong with so much British management, they took the money and simply switched off the “receive” button.

In this respect, WW simply did as many others have done from within the inner sanctums of the Directocracy – be they Bob Diamond, Fred the Shred and so on…

[Papillion53]

@ AnthonyDunn and Big.Dog

I learnt a new word today – Ineptocracy!

“Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.”

Apparently you can have a T-shirt with same! 😉 🙂

I suppose to keep on topic – if the hat fits!

But please this is not directed at ANYONE! 🙂

[BigDog.]

On mixed fleet there is a good chance the cabin crew will be queuing down the aisles during flights for your signature and even then still wake you up with their flash photography

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/17/david-beckham-tired-of-ba_n_2149832.html

…if your name is David Beckham. Classy.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/ba-stewardess-woke-beckham-camera-flash-121710764.html

[VintageKrug]

I always refuse to sign autographs.

I would be more interested to learn from BigDog’s insider contacts when exactly Mixed fleet took over the LAX route.

This event happened six months ago….could it be that this wasn’t in fact a Mixed Fleet flight…?

—–

Clearly a very obvious ploy by the incompetents at BASSA to push out a bad news story to cover the ineptitude which lead them to sending out a miserable grovelling apology in recent days.

Roll on the voluntary redundancy programme:

“LETTER OF APOLOGY FROM aaa aaaaaaaaa AND bbbbb bbbbbb.

Dear Bill,

We are writing to you as the BASSA Allowance reps, to apologise for our part in any misrepresented facts concerning the current situation regarding an allowance review.

Information came to BASSA’s notice regarding the BA allowance audit, and as a result various comms were published to our members. Somewhat embarrassingly a great deal of the leaked information was accurate, because it was already a part of the way forward we had both agreed back in March.

Not to have shared this fact was an error as it has now caused embarrassment for BASSA and to you. For this we unreservedly apologise.

We have copied cccc cccccc in on this letter. cccc has worked tirelessly to improve the relationship between both sides . We know it is creaking at the moment, but on this occasion we have to put our hand up, and admit that our actions have not helped.

In the spirit of moving on, we hope we can now meet with you to clear the air. Once that has happened we hope we can get a series of dates in the diary to commence the agreed review.

aaa aaaaaaaa and bbbbb bbbbbb
BASSA”

[BigDog.]

Oh dear VK – when was the last time you flew with BA? The articles note YOUNG cabin crew queuing down the aisles. Legacy crew recruitment required life experience, so candidates were well into their 20’s, not fresh from school. Given there has not been any recruitment into legacy crew for years, methinks it is highly unlikely you would find a plethora of YOUNG cabin crew except on mixed fleet, something you would know if you actually flew long haul.

Indeed you have noted you enjoy fraternising with the younger crew yourself – ie Mixed Fleet.

Why haven’t you provided evidence to the contrary? The reports indicate this was a recent event, so please back up your assertion.

As to your BASSA obsessive diversion by quoting a totally unrelated (internal??) letter of apology, I believe it takes stature to apologise… am still waiting for many from Walsh for his catalogue of far more costly/serious errors. Though as I said, apologising takes stature.

So when are you going on holiday so we can have some peace?

[Henkel.Trocken]

We were having some peace!

I think the point is that regardless of the fleet, BA cabin crew have behaved inappropriately.

That reflects poor training and poor management.

As BigDog points out, these are likely to be Mixed Fleet crew if they were ‘young’ cabin crew and there were a number of them on the same flight.

Disgraceful behaviour. I can’t imagine it happening on any other legacy carrier.

[MartynSinclair]

For once I agree with HT.

Give BASSA a rest VK – even your friends are finding your constant sniping at BASSA irritating to say the least.

[JohnHarper]

Many years ago when an undergraduate, I had a holiday job as an auxiliary in hospital. Before we were let loose on any wards we had three days training overseen by some very severe Sisters and a Matron who made the Sisters seem soft and cuddly.

We had a one hour session on privacy, dignity and respect for the people we would care for. I learned a lot from that session and the lessons have served me well over the years.

Perhaps that same one hour should be incorporated into BA’s cabin crew training.

Had we behaved in the way described, we would not have kept our jobs for so much as five minutes.

Come on BA, shake up your training!

[BeckyBoop]

In respect to the client confidentiality regardless which type of crew were responsible for the fowl incident which I agree there is no excuse but I am sure will be dealt with in a professional manor. I am bound by rules and regulations in my working contract in regards to client confidentiality and I would think the same applies to those forum members who do know me personally 😉

CX are also only partly guilty in a similar circumstance.

http://ca.omg.yahoo.com/blogs/the-juice-celeb-news/victoria-beckham-flight-antics-irk-cathay-pacific-airlines-155316593.html

[Author]

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