BA Is Shite

BA Is Shite

Text

The latest news and views on British Airways, the world's "favourite" airline.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

BA Strike Update - Turkeys Voting For Easter

Unite intends to drag the seemingly never ending dispute between it and BA on for ever. It has announced that it will hold its 4th ballot of members in 2 years, the results of which will be announced on March 28.

In the event that they don't screw this up (as they did the last one), a yes vote will mean that they could go on strike over Easter and the Royal Wedding weekend.

Doubtless the union is happily allowing the media to speculate on these dates, as a means of "scaring the monkey".

However, the reality is somewhat different:

1 BA have sufficient cover in place to take up the under capacity incurred by any strike.

2 The members who strike will simply be damaging their long term employment prospects, as the brand of BA will be damaged and the customers will book other airlines.

3 The government will eventually tire of the damage being done to the British economy, and enact legislation to ensure that Unite cannot call its members out on strike as readily as it is now doing.

The customers of BA are the ones who are currently suffering from this nonsense. However, in the long term, it will be the cabin crew who end up the real losers.

www.baisshite.com the latest news and views on British Airways, the world's "favourite" airline. This site contains updates on the ongoing strike action, and dispute between BA and Unite.

Wednesday 9 February 2011

BA Strike Update - The Farce Continues

The ongoing intractable dispute between BA and Unite continues, and has degenerated into an immature argument between Unite and BA akin to an argument in a divorce court between a husband and wife in a failed marriage.

Unite, following a barrage of legal objections from BA, have been forced to call another strike ballot; as last month's vote (which garnered 43% support from its members) appears to be invalid.

Seemingly the Electoral Reform Society, were concerned that the number of ballot papers issued may have contravened "Section 226a of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act".

Unite and BA are now engaging in some remarkably juvenile public name calling, which of course will do nothing to resolve the dispute.

As ever it is the long suffering passenger ("customer"? LOL!) who will suffer.

www.baisshite.com the latest news and views on British Airways, the world's "favourite" airline. This site contains updates on the ongoing strike action, and dispute between BA and Unite.

Saturday 5 February 2011

BA Increases Fuel Surcharge

The Telegraph reports that British Airways has increased its fuel surcharge for the second time in two months, meaning that a family of four have to pay a £704 on a return long-haul economy flight.

"..BA's fuel surcharge on mid-haul flights is now just £3 less than it was in June 2008, when the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil peaked at $147 a barrel. The price this week rose to $103.."

BA are quoted:

"The move reflects the continuing substantial increase in the price of oil and a 14 per cent rise in the spot price of jet fuel since our last fuel surcharge increase in December 2010."

However, in October 2008 the Telegraph reported the following:

"The cost of fuelling a British Airways’ transatlantic flight can be covered almost entirely by the surcharges paid by its passengers, it has emerged.

Since May, BA has charged passengers between £78 and £98 in fuel surcharges for long-haul flights of less than nine hours. This earns the airline nearly £19,140 from surcharges on a 224-seat Boeing 777 flight from London to New York. The surcharges charged by Virgin are the same.

Airlines have long complained of the high cost of fuelling their planes. But tests by the manufacturer Boeing show that a Boeing 777 carrying 305 passengers – some 80 more than a full BA flight – requires 44 tons of fuel for a London-to-New York flight. This includes luggage and cargo. At today’s current oil prices ($800 a ton) this would cost the airline £20,173 – an amount that is almost covered by the extra fees levied on passengers...
"

www.baisshite.com the latest news and views on British Airways, the world's "favourite" airline. This site contains updates on the ongoing strike action, and dispute between BA and Unite.