BA Strike - Your Thoughts & Questions

[wiggy]

I haven't heard that long distance commuting staff have any new concessions, but they might have, but relying solely on a normal Staff Travel standby basis would be fraught with hazard, I would have thought, tho' boarding using S.T is often ' who you know, not what you know' but it is more computerised now and less open to blatant favouritism by those checking the tickets. ( and don't tell me it never happens/ed )

Nothing new for the flying commuters...standby is still standby, though the relatively recent addition of "Hotlines" adds another string to the bow of travel options.

[Rollingthunder]

British Airways cabin crew who took part in the Unite union's three-day strike will forfeit their travel perks permanently, the company has confirmed.

...........

[ChicoG]

Willie Walsh used the slash and burn management technique in Aer Lingus, and look how well that airline is doing these days.

More BASSA tripe. Walsh SAVED Aer Lingus and they managed to survive for several years after he left. Their problems now are related to the global economy that's seen airlines as big as JAL go tits up.

By all means dislike the bloke, but when your next email blames him for the fines, please note that I'll only have to point out that the fines came from the profits made as a result of the price fixing involved.

If he was doing a crap job the people that hired him would have let him go by now. As it is they trust him and have given him their backing, and the share price should tell you that investors do, too.

Back on topic, I personally cannot wait to see the next batch of would-be strikers slink into work because now they are starting to realise that BA management, other BA workers and investors have had enough of their selfish, puerile crap.

[Ruthanne]

Morning to all

I have noticed that on the strike dates that the flight to Phoenix did in fact go but went as a freight plane ...answer to my problems pack myself as freight ...or can I hitch a ride with one of the pilots here!!!!

[oggers]

I have followed this IA from the sidelines since the pre Xmas strike vote. The more I read and hear from those involved (particularly on this forum) the more I am led to the conclusion that BASSA are a bunch of clueless barrack-room lawyers. Just my opinion of course.

But I'd also like to say, from plenty of experience flying on BA that the CC and service has generally been of a high standard, and I would not hesitate to use them again. Once this ridiculous union has been sorted out that is.

[binsleepen]

Exspeedbird

I feel sorry for your plight re staff travel and I certainly don't want to reopen it. Why don't you open a separate thread to discuss it then you won't need to go off topic in virtually every post you write to remind us of the upset you feel with BA.

Regards to all

PS Ruthanne, my wife and child are also off to Phoenix, on the 15 Apr, so hopefully these flights will be reinstated if there is a 3rd round of strikes.

[Ruthanne]

Binsleepin

I so hope they are reinstated, I always thought that Phoenix was such
a popular flight, I wonder why it has not been reinstated yet? I guess that BA can re route though for passengers

[binsleepen]

Ruthanne,

Pheonix is seen as a leisure destination not business. It therefore has fewer premium pax. If you look on board there is only a small J section downstairs compared to the 744s that fly to New York. I guess that there is a smaller profit margin.

Regards

[radeng]

I expect BA's answer will be 'you were not downgraded, you just didn't get the normal Club Europe service.' Which is a weaselly approach......but we will see.

[Global Warrior]

I expect BA's answer will be 'you were not downgraded, you just didn't get the normal Club Europe service.' Which is a weaselly approach......but we will see.

Actually, i suspect BA will say that due to their staff that VOLUTARILY gave up their Staff Travel Rights, they are currently operating a limited service!!!!!

[Final 3 Greens]

Radeng

Their email to you said "I can appreciate how disappointed you were, especially as we failed to offer you a seat in Club Europe cabin."

Prima facie evidence of a downgrade and they have to pay you 33% of the ticket value in 7 days.

End of.

[Ruthanne]

Binsleepin

I appreciate for obviouse reasons BA will depart their flights that give them the most revenue, but the Phoenix to LHR route has not been cancelled on all strike dates. Of course its a leisure route but we are coming up to the holiday season and leisure routes fill up.

I would like to see some sort of statement from BA that there is hope
for all us leisure passengers that are booked on up and coming flights...
when people have plans, they are usually planned well in advance, its very disturbing the situation that we find ourselves in now....it takes all types of passengers to keep an airline in the skys...a little information to what perhaps they do for us e.g. is there a chance they will re book us on another flight?

All I seem to be singing is By the Time I get to Phoenix....those around me are getting rather bored!!!!

p.s. Club is always full when I travel as is first....very nice service it is too...but then I rather like to fly BA

[SLFAussie]

Over in the BA CC thread this letter to the editor of the Guardian has been posted:

British Airways strike letter: 'Macho Walsh wants to break the union' | Business | guardian.co.uk

BA staff wondering why there might be support from these academics for the BASSA/Unite action might want to consider that large funding cuts are being imposed in academia because of the current state of the UK economy. Might these academics be looking for support from Unite in the near future in their own industrial action?

(Posted here because I'm (obviously) not BA staff)

[PaddyMiguel]

Might these academics be looking for support from Unite?

Maybe they should be looking for facts too. Unite never accepted any offer from Willie Walsh so how could WW reject their acceptance? They refused to recommend BA's offer if I remember correctly.

[call100]

Of course it would be naive to think that anyone could actually look at the content of the letter without coming up with some sort of denouncement. It wouldn't sit well with ones own political views, would it?

[Andy_S]

Originally Posted by call100

Of course it would be naive to think that anyone could actually look at the content of the letter without coming up with some sort of denouncement. It wouldn't sit well with ones own political views, would it?

I've read the content of the letter. The statement it contains which sticks out like a sore thumb is the following one:

What other possible interpretation can there be for Willie Walsh rejecting Unite's acceptance of BA's previous offer

That statement is completely incorrect, and as such invalidates the entire letter in my eyes. Unite never, at any point, accepted any of BA's offers. Either these 'academics' are very badly informed about this dispute, or they're putting their own rather partial spin on events. Either way, their credibility is badly compromised.

[ninja-lewis]

This is from a pro-union supporter elsewhere so I've taken it with a very large pinch of salt but can anyone verify it?

"they [BA] are now supposedly refusing refunds on flights they re-instated, at no notice, at the weekend. Stating that even though they didn't tell anyone which flights would be running, it is the customers fault and so don't deserve a refund"

[radeng]

Latest response from BA:


Thank you for coming back to us. I'm sorry for the error in our previous email.
For a refund of the difference in fares, I have passed on a copy of your file to our refunds team. They will calculate any applicable refund depending on the percentage of the fare you paid for the affected sector and based on the length of the flight. In the meantime if you would like to get in touch with them their address is:
British Airways PLC
P O Box 365 Refunds
HDA1 (R46)
Waterside
Harmondsworth
Middlesex
UB7 0GB
I hope you will fly with us again soon.
Best regards



So there you are! I look forward to see what happens.....

[Entaxei]

Guardian Letter

As professional academics, it is unlikely that they have ever held a normal job outside of academia, which potentially very much dilutes the value of any comments they make or opinions they hold of any situations in the world outside academia unless a full unbiased analysis is made of all aspects.

Whilst they lay claim to various areas of expertise in the field of employment relations in making an analysis, it is unfortunate that they display a total lack of such in their analysis of this particular dispute, in that they have obviously not taken into account any of the abortive attempts at negotiation during 2009, due to the unions refusal to have any meaningfull meetings and internal arguments. Neither have they apparently paid any attention to the courts judgement nor the details thereof or even read the proposals made by BA.

In their declaration of the current position, it is also apparent that they have not read the text of the statements and offers made by BA so far this year and, have totally ignored the unions responses and actions and the distorted and incorrect information that they gave out, which has led to this strike.

It is interesting to view the background and experience of the people whose names are appended to this letter as most - if not all - appear to have backgrounds associated with trade unions and union activity. An unbiased missive this is not and I would hope that any academics in these universities are cringing in horror at what is being said in the name of their establishments.

Propaganda is a two edged sword.

[The SSK]

How do 95 people, from - what? - 50 locations around the UK, write a letter? The answer is, they don't. Somebody writes it for them, they just sign it. Presumably the person who wrote it had all their names on a special contact list.