BA seat 60B – upstairs 747-400

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Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 179 total)

  • craigwatson
    Participant

    sorry Rod, but BA flight crew wages are already in line with industry averages. If you take an average aircrew salary then Qantas, Cathay Pacific and LH are all paid more. Ryanair is close to the same, as is Virgin ( this is AVERAGE wages, not starting wages, in which case Ryanair is sorely at the bottom, but their pay does ramp up fairly quickly)


    RodLondon
    Participant

    Actually, after a little research, it seems BA Flight Deck £145k, Virgin £94k, Easyjet £77k. I am talking published salaries.


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    As a gold card holder and having 60J as my favored seat I can confirm that I have never seen any flight deck crew, never mind a Captain using 60B. What I have seen on numerous occasions are “WAGS of the flight deck” occupying 60B. This is despite BA requesting that family of the operating crew do not fly on the same aircraft for security reason.

    Craig Watson states that the Captains seat 60B is part of a contractual requirement as well as concern over the number of times pilots have both woken up at the same time.

    Disgusted agrees that it is best to have the Captains seat close to the office.

    1. The number of cabin crew on the 747, has been reduced, due to cost cutting measures. There appears to be some cost cutting that could be made from within the flight deck, without any compromise on safety. It is preposterous that a Captains contract can allow for a highly paid pilot to be given a rest seat, which the pilot is able to allocate to whom they please and never use, when this seat could generate revenue for the airline.

    2. I acknowledge pilots are highly skilled, highly trained and work in an environment of 40 minutes of sheer pressure at the start of a long haul flight followed by 10 hours+ of cruise and ending with another 40 minutes of pressure for decent, approach and landing. For this a BA captain gets paid ca.145,000 sterling + benefits. The pilot stays at 5 star hotels, enjoys long periods of rest and not only benefits from a comfy pilots seat on the flight deck, but also a bunk bed to sleep PLUS a prime business class seat in case the bunk bed isn’t comfy enough.

    3. I can see no reason for an operating pilot (even during a rest period), to leave the confines of the flight deck save for the use of the rest room, where one is not fitted within the flight deck area. I certainly do not accept the need for any crew member to have revenue seats blocked for their use whilst on duty. Sufficient crew rest areas have been designed into long-haul aircraft.

    4. Most operators include in their operations manual a protocol and check to monitor whether pilots are asleep or not. Perhaps it is understandable why pilots do fall asleep, when they know the Captain in snoring away outside the cabin and another pilot is snoring away in the crew bunks.

    5. Positioning BA pilots (this means pilots who are being flown at the company’s expense to start a flight away from their normal base) are permitted to refuse a seat if it is not in business or first class. They still have a rest period between the time of the positioning and the time they start work. Another area of revenue that needs to be looked at. Why should positioning pilots not fly economy.

    I have never worked for the airlines, but I have a vast amount of experience in long haul jet travel, both in the cabin and on the flight deck. Once the flight deck door is closed it feels the same whether you have 12 or 350 passengers behind you. The crew rest area on the ultra long range Bombardiers and Gulfstreams are way smaller than the 747 bunks, but is sufficient to allow the non-operating pilot(s) to rest so flights in excess of 11 hours can be achieved. There is definitely no need to encroach into the private space of passengers so a pilot can be even more comfortable during rest periods.

    So going back to the start of the post, it seems from the answers given that 60B is not being used for the purpose originally intended. Personally, I would prefer a couple of extra cabin crew on the 747 and 60B released for revenue purposes as opposed to 60B being given to a Captain and then being used as a Captains giveaway.


    DisgustedofSwieqi
    Participant

    Martyn

    I look forward to your intervention at the next AGM, raising this point.


    BusinessClass
    Participant

    If it is the Captain’s seat, then why was I allowed to sit in it from SYD to BKK in March? I was not upgraded, I had a CW ticket and I selected 60B at online check-in!


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Hi Busienss Class – because the sector time SYB-BKK, does not fall into the “contractural arrangements” explained by Craig, as being a sector long enough to warrant this “rest seat” . Had you being going through to London, you would not have been able to book 60B.


    BusinessClass
    Participant

    Thanks MartynSinclair!

    Where is ‘the captain’s’ seat on a 777?


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    BusienssClass – I am not sure as I generally dont fly BA’s 777. I am sure others will be better qualified to answer about the 777 better than me.


    Stowage222
    Participant

    BA’s Long range 777’s have a pilot bunk area forward of Door 2R and on the new arrivals Boeing are fitting flight crew rest areas in the ceiling opposite Door 1L – I understand these units are referred to as the ‘Lear Jet’ for it’s spaciousness and comfort!


    LHRtraveller
    Participant

    Tech crew rest seat on B777 all version is 11K, and depending on the lenght (like SIN on BA15) it is 11J and K.
    On the B777 that have the crew bunk above seats 1EF there is no need for a crew rest seat blocked in the cabin as the bunk is equiped with 2 seats (cradle type), with full IFE and power point and 2 beds. The fleet is slowly equiped with this new bunk generation when they go for heavy maintenance in Cardiff.
    As an asided this bunk is reffered, within BA, as the Shagging Pad


    DerekVH
    Participant

    Photo available at
    http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/images/commercial/crewrest_location.html

    Next time I am on a 777 in first I will be paranoid listening for noises from the shagging pad!!


    RodLondon
    Participant

    On the 777 it has been known for a Flight Deck member to sloppily occupy a vacant seat in First or Club (using duvets and blankets which I have witnessed on one of my journeys – ties undone and making themselves very comfortable indeed). Apparently it is their prerogative, another example of how they have management wrapped around their fingers.


    openfly
    Participant

    As we dont seem to have a definitive reply from VK on this subject, 60B is a Balpa negotiated right for flight crew rest on the 747 on certain sectors. It is also considered a Captains perk, for the wife, girl/boyfriend or for anyone he wants to allocate it to….and why not!?
    There are perks in all jobs…even yours I suspect.


    JordanD
    Participant

    Have to say I’m a little confused why people are getting so uppity about seat 60B. On some flights it isn’t bookable and there is effectively one less seat on the aircraft. BALPA, the pilots, whoever have negotiated themselves something for their contracts and whilst it might not be liked by those of you who are seated upstairs, kudos to them for getting the perk.

    As they say, if my job had such perks …


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    Indeed open fly, without the contributions from the forum’s British Airways “analysts” this is indeed the only conclusion one can arrive at, that 60B is a perk for the Captain. Whether it is an excessive perk or not, (nobody really needs 2 rest areas, pilot or otherwise) is something that BA and their pilots / managers should consider.

    All I will add is the next time you read a post about crew and service reductions, such as Disgusted’s often critical view on the CE offering that you think about the lost revenue of seat 60B that could easily cover the cost of 1 may be 2 cabin crew additions back on to the 747. The same seems to apply to the 777.

    This thread was never about pilots pay/perks, but about BA’s lost revenue and reduced services. Remember that when these long range aircraft were designed, Boeing considered the rest needs of the crew all of which have been approved by the CAA/FAA.

    The flight deck staff has a perfect opportunity to lead by example and show the cabin crew that they too could make an equally valuable contribution to savings for the airline by suggesting that they forgo a perk that is clearly in the main not being used as intended.

    I get “uppity” Jordan as this perk is unnecessary, excessive and as a shareholder is the direct cause of reduced revenue and services.

Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 179 total)
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