A friend of mine who flies as a commercial pilot has some interesting insight into the scope issue facing BA's OpenSkies. I've covered the issue of US pilot scope clauses on this side of the pond many times (this 2006 piece has nearly everything but the kitchen sink), but the issue is now hot-button with my British counterparts. Is my pilot friend dead on or dead wrong? You decide.
"I told you that British Airways wasn't going to stop with ONE airplane in their OpenSkies endeavour. So it come as no surprise to me at all, that BA is acquiring French carrier L'Avion and suddenly tripling the size of their 757 fleet.
"Now let's say you're a senior First Officer at BA. You'd be looking for a Captain upgrade bid. Here's 25 Captain jobs that have gone to the outsource garbage-dump...a third of them are an actual reduction in Captain bids at BA because one airplane went away. So now instead of looking at Captain upgrade, you're actually further away from the left seat....and at the bottom of the list, instead of hiring 50 new-hires, we'd be talking possible layoffs.
"I hope this illustrates in real terms why scope is important to pilots."
(Pic from British Airways)
on July 4, 2008 12:03 PM | Reply
I think your pilot friend doesn't quite get it. First of all, BA has never made a secret of the fact that they would grow this operation to 6 757s pretty quickly - all sourced from the BA mainline fleet.
Secondly, these jobs are not 'outsourced' from BA at all. Two thirds were operated by L'Avion which had nothing to do with BA in the first place. And BA is growing a new market for them (mostly anyway, save for a few French transfer passengers that might now go direct).
Thirdly, these 757s were to be retired by BA anyway. And BA still has 60 aircraft on order - that would suggest a growing airline with left had seat opportunities abound for your friend.
And finally - Willie Walsh is being pretty shrewd here in extending his business. If he sits back, and simply lets AF take over in LHR (see the flight to LAX they are now running), BA will eventually be reduced to a second tier airline - with a lot more job losses for everyone.
on July 7, 2008 6:07 PM | Reply
While I agree with most of what BlackBerryAddict said, if it's flying done by or on behalf of the corporation, and not crewed by pilots on the BA roster, then it's a job that's been outsourced. Period.
Air France is using AF-rostered crews to fly LHR-LAX
Actually this was an attempt by BA to completely destroy BALPA. BA wanted to push a strike on the issue, then take BALPA to court for violation of Article 45 of the Treaty of Rome, which states that it's illegal to prevent a corporation from establishing a subsidiary. BALPA didn't want to prohibit a subsidiary, they just wanted to do the flying. If BALPA had struck, BA would have taken them to court, and if the court found in favor of BA, BALPA would have been liable for treble damages, which would have bankrupted BALPA instantly.
It continually amazes me that airline management will spend time, money, and management talent on picking a fight with their own employees, rather than using those same assets trying to beat up on the competition.
on July 7, 2008 7:50 PM | Reply
Smells a little like the Pan American Airways debacle, during which management shifted Boeing 727 flying operated by Pan Am to non-unionized Boston-Maine in anticipation of Pan Am’s November 2004 closure.
on July 16, 2008 5:59 AM | Reply
First, Blackberry addict is right about the numbers. Second, if BA Open Skies can get pilots for less than it pays BA LHR pilots, then it is probably paying the LHR guys far too much. Scope agreements and overpaid pilots have been a major factor in driving US airlines into bankruptcy, repeatedly. The world owes no-one a living, or even promotion to the left-hand seat.