The BALPA Campaign Website
Welcome to the BAplane-BApilot Campaign Website
If you are reading this, you may be doing so because you have seen that around 1000 British Airways Pilots held a rally and march at Heathrow on Saturday 15th March. You may be wondering what the dispute is about, concerned over flights you have booked or just intrigued as to why British Airways pilots felt compelled to demonstrate their feelings publicly.
British Airways is launching a new airline called OpenSkies. A very exciting new venture, one that will exploit the upside of ‘deregulation’ (routes being opened to non-national carriers) by flying out of European hubs across to the United States.
It should be a good news story, but it is not turning out that way. British Airways don’t want these British Airways planes to be flown by British Airways Pilots. They want to outsource these jobs.
We understand that ‘Openskies’ can only be successful if the employees initially have salaries and contracts commensurate with a ‘start up’ airline. That is not our issue.
Our issue is the fact that British Airways won’t allow the two pilot groups to be as one. This leads us to believe that the BA management has a different objective. That objective is to divide the pilot workforce and push any further new jobs generated by ‘deregulation’ through this ‘cheaper’ pilot cost base. This has happened in other airlines around the world.
This dispute is about job security. It is about protecting the jobs we train so hard for, the jobs that provide for our families.
BALPA has been working to resolve this issue for almost a year but it seems that British Airways is determined to proceed regardless. The only way in which we can secure the respect of BA’s management – a respect that is in very short supply, despite the job we perform, is to stand firm against such a direct attack. We sincerely hope that this does not lead to strike action, and we will exhaust every alternative means of influence before taking this course of action.
Please take the time to browse through this website and learn how this golden opportunity is being squandered by BA, why pilots have said ‘enough is enough’ and why we ask the public to support the stand we are making.