Furious Backlash against 12-day BA strikes
Passengers reacted furiously today as the 12-day strike by British Airways cabin crew threatened to ruin their Christmas holidays.
Among those scrambling to make other travel arrangements as prices soared were a honeymoon couple and pilgrims heading to Lourdes.
So runs the front page splash of London’s Evening Standard newspaper on Tuesday.
To recap, BA cabin crew have overwhelmingly voted to strike for nearly two weeks over the peak Christmas period because of a row over staffing levels.
The airline cut the number of crew on most of its flights by at least one from November 16, a move unions claims is a change of contract. Also, new cabin crew will be hired at rates lower than existing cabin crew.
But what do cabin crew at BA get paid?
Here’s Jarrod Castle, airlines analyst at UBS again:
While we do not express a view on whether the cabin crew are well remunerated or not we do think it is worth highlighting what they currently get paid (yearly and hourly).
For cabin crew we have base the hourly rate on 900 hours, which is the maximum legal number of hours someone in cabin crew can work a year (it is unlikely that most personnel work the full 900 hours a year). It is also worth noting, the annual leave for Heathrow short haul crew is 31-37 days and for long haul 30-36 days. For Gatwick crew it is 28 days. The allowances received may vary and will depend on routes flown.
Click to enlarge:
BA average cabin crew pay 2009 - UBS
And here’s how that compares to the average hourly wage in the UK:
Below we also show the most recent average hourly rates earned in the UK per the Office for National Statistics (released 12 November 2009) based on a c40 hour work week. Based on the above and below once allowances are factored in it appears that cabin crew personnel on an hourly basis earn more than all other categories defined by the ONS in the UK.
And crucially to BA’s rivals:
Furthermore, in terms of cabin crew pay relative to competitor companies it does indeed appear that BA is paying a rate materially higher than competitors. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, average costs of BA crew are twice those of their Virgin Atlantic counterparts.
Of course, what the above does not reflect is the fact that BA cabin crew often surrender a bit of their personal lives to be on call for potential work, and Virgin flight attendants earn far less because they are (supposedly) compensated in other ways, like the prestige and goodies of the wider Virgin Group.
Nonetheless, BA boss Willie Walsh appears in no mood to back down.
Update:
From the Guardian:
British Airways today started legal proceedings against the Unite union over a 12-day Christmas strike by cabin crew, as the airline prepares to block a crippling walkout in the courts.
BA is seeking an injunction to prevent the strike going ahead between 22 December and 2 January due to alleged irregularities in the ballot.
Willie Walsh, BA chief executive, said: “We are absolutely determined to do whatever we can to protect our customers from this appalling, unjustified decision from Unite. We do not want to see a million Christmases ruined.”
Related links:
The economics of airline strikes – FT Alphaville
British Airways pension fireworks – FT Alphaville