Two British Airway's Boing 777s
It is not often when a group of people can come together, see the big picture, and be willing to take a cut in pay to potentially save a company. The British Airline Pilots Association voted 94% to cut their salaries by 2.6% and save the company about $42million per year. No one wants to have their salary cut, but 800 other staff members already agreed to work for free and thousands more took additional pay cuts. The pilots can see the writing on the wall and realize it might be better to sacrifice short-term, to save the company in the long-term.
Image: CS Chaulk
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Wow, that is some determination and commitment to the employer. Good for them.
I just flew with British Airways from London to Seattle. I was very impressed with the level of service and comfort even for us coach class customers. The staff morale appeared to be very high. Good for them. Hopefully, their small sacrifices now will keep the airline alive through these bad economic times.
I was one of those pilots and the pay cut was closer to 8 percent, once variable pay reductions are taken into account. Having said that, the pilots do normally take a long term view and understand the clear linkage between the financial health of the company and their own job security. It is unfortunate, however, this view has not extended to all groups in the company – as this week’s industrial action demonstrates.