To tweet BA pilots that I earn less than the INCREASE they're demanding?

[CheapSeats]

I earn 18000 a year. BA pilots are asking for an increase of 20000 a year. Yeah I know about skills and responsibility blah blah blah but AIBU to be upset that my holiday might be ruined? They're bleating in the papers today that they're upset that they now only get to stay in 4 star hotels instead of 5.

How much does it actually cost them to train? This thread has stated figures from 40k - 130k!

My friend paid 90k 3 years ago

Tbh OP I dont think you have he necessary experience to fly a plane but if you insist...

My friend is training currently and it’s costing £127,000

Tweet what you like at them. What outcome do you expect?

My DH is a pilot at another UK airline and although my opinion may be biased, the money they earn is justified IMO. It reflects their high skill and responsibility level and compensates for the quite frankly shit hours and loss of family time. He's been away at Christmas, always misses family events and could well be late getting to the birth of our first child. And I'm pretty sure that most people wouldn't enjoy getting up at 4am 5 days in a row and working 13 hour days with no break.

As a captain he is 100% responsible for the lives of the other crew members and all passengers on board, and is expected to read up constantly and be fluent in all the current procedures and regulations around the aircraft he is flying.

And for those of you who think its as easy as being a bus driver, next time you're on a flight take a look inside the cockpit and tell me that its as easy as sitting in the cab of a bus and simply turning on the ignition.

So yes - the amount they earn is very justified OP!!!!

Andysbestadventure
I am a ba Pilot... the pay increase for me would be a net of around £120 per month. I’m not from a rich background by any stretch of the imagination and I’ll be going camping in the UK this summer.

The cost of training is around 100K

The pilots are asking for a pay rise in line and linked to RPI

@Andysbestadventure wow. Bitter much? My DH is a pilot, in the forces. Guess I'm screwed then.

I think the OP may have meant her holiday that she’s saved up for on a relatively low income may get cancelled because high earning pilots want to earn even more? A friend works for BA and doesn’t agree with the strikes, thinks they are being greedy. I have sympathy for the pilots however wrt the cost of training and think this system needs to be changed. How are they ever going to have a diverse workforce when it costs so much to train? It undoubtedly puts a lot of bright people off, the idea of so much debt when you aren’t guaranteed a job.

YABVVVU.

BA will not assume the costs of training because - you can only assume - that would be more expensive for them than paying the pilots. The failure rate for the exams must be pretty high.

No God forbid i didnt shag the ba pilot ffs

@ScatteredMama82 poor you!

But yes. He probably is having it off or has at some point. The forces, emergency services etc are rife. Don't be so daft to assume he's 'different' than the rest.

Also I was referring to commercial pilots. I'm not so sure it has an impact on forces pilots, but maybe it's accumulative 🤷😂

Andybestadventure it is absolutely awful how you have generalised the description of this job. I suppose you are so high up on a horse that, on moral grounds, you never get anywhere near a plane so you don’t breathe the same air as such individuals.
Can I also point out that there is an increasing number of women pilots.

I expect pilots to be highly paid. The job deserves it due to the level of expertise and responsibility

A close friend’s husband is a pilot. (Not for BA mind) he is, ultimately well paid but it’s a stressful job, with long hours - 11 hour flights each way for his typical route. His only real break is in his hotel at a changeover- if he doesn’t get a good sleep that’s 22 hours work on very little rest - responsible for over 300 people. He has enormous debt to pay back to the airline corporation for the training costs which I believe are something like £140,000....

They took a pay cut when the company wasn't doing well so should be rewarded now that it is

Ha, anyone can be a bloody bus driver, not everyone can tolerate the pressure of being a pilot. Yabu

Well, the first part of that is bollocks for a start.

Stop being a crab in a bucket, I’m tired of this race to the bottom mentality so many have these days. Meanwhile the billionaire oligarch elites are laughing their heads off as the peasants squabble amongst themselves over who has the bigger pile of leftover scraps.

@Andysbestadventure no need for your pity. I pity you for whatever happened to make you so bitter and twisted. You sound like a barrel of laughs.

Who else thinks Andys the most bitter on this thread!

@Gruntvsgunt me! Maybe failed the pilot training and is busy working all hours to pay off the debt...

Blimey. What's with the shitting over people on MN these days?! They are asking for a reasonable increase given the profits of the company.

If they have it so made, off you pop and go and get your license.

The courts have also upheld their right to strike, which might - just- suggest that their 'demands' are reasonable.

And, don't forget, part of the reason for the strike is that they took pay cuts when BA were struggling. They're now making significant profits:

In 2018, BA-owner IAG reported a pre-tax profit of €3bn (£2.8bn), up almost 9.8% on the previous year, and declared a special dividend of €700m. from the BBC website today

... so I think it's entirely reasonable that they should have salary increases that not only reflect the demands of their job but also reimburse them for their lost earnings/potential earnings.

I don't think the OP has thought this through.