British Airways Mixed Fleet cabin crew have accepted a new wage deal at the airline. This will mean the end of industrial action which has forced the airline to hire in replacement aircraft and crews to cover the schedule.
Flight Global indicate in an article by Michael Gubisch that the Unite union states crew “will receive inflation-adjusted pay rises between £1,404 ($1,864) and £2,908.” This is good news for all parties concerned.
What Is Mixed Fleet?
Cabin crew at British Airways are divided into three separate groups. One group is called Worldwide and they operate long haul flights only. These crew are a legacy of BOAC which was the UK’s long haul flag carrier many years ago.
Another group is called Euro Fleet. These crew operate throughout Europe and are a legacy of BEA which operated the UK’s European flights many years ago. BOAC and BEA were merged to form British Airways in the 1970s and the crew separation continued.
At some stage the airline decided it would like to reduce the costs of cabin crew as the salaries were higher than the industry standard. The employees of course did not want that and negotiations reached an impasse.
Instead, BA created Mixed Fleet in the late 2000s. These crews are on new contracts at the going industry average which is less than what their counterparts earn. They fly both long haul and short haul services.
Overall Thoughts
It is great that the Mixed Fleet people are being provided with pay increases. Having known several of these crew personally along with having been served by countless members of the fleet, I know they work hard and the increase is deserved.
During the strike, British Airways hired in a number of aircraft from Qatar Airways along with their crews. Frequent flyers generally had high praise for the standard of service and the proper business class seats. They were certainly something different compared to the usual European cabins.
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
To never miss a post, you can follow me on Facebook, and I am on Twitter and Instagram too!
All my flight and lounge reviews are indexed here if you want to see more.
Featured image via British Airways.
Disaster for passengers. The Qatar crews were so much better than the unionized staff that they replaced. What BA should have done is negotiated to extend their assignment with the objective of making them the permanent staff.
If BA would like to have the same service standard as Qatar Airways, all they need to do is to change their training and service standards. It is up to them to decide what they want to deliver from a service perspective. Thanks for the comment!
They want this, but they are patently incapable of accomplishing it. Plus, the current bolshy union workforce is incapable of change. Ergo, keep the Qatar Solution.
Interesting, they should ask QR to borrow their trainers on a consultancy basis. That might solve the problem!