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BA axes jobs and flights after jet wrecked in crash

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Published Date: 26 May 2009
By CHRIS MARSHALL
BRITISH Airways is to axe 25 jobs and reduce services between Edinburgh and London after one of its planes was written off in a crash landing.
The plane was badly damaged after a heavy landing at London City Airport in February which led to 67 passengers and four crew being evacuated via emergency slides on to the runway.

Now BA has reduced the number of its daily CityFlyer services between Edinburgh and London from eight to six after taking the damaged plane out of service.

The airline, which last week reported a pre-tax loss of £401 million for the year to 31 March, said it was also looking for 25 voluntary redundancies from CityFlyer staff working at Edinburgh and City.

A spokeswoman said: "The extent of the damage following the accident at London City Airport means that it's likely the plane will be written off by our insurance company.

"There will be one less aircraft as a result, so we are reducing services. We are looking for 25 people to leave by voluntary means and are in discussions with unions at the moment."

One member of staff, who did not want to be named, said the airline was using the damaged plane as an "excuse" to cut jobs.

He said: "The crew all feel let down by the company after all the commitment we have shown. Most of the redundancies are likely to be in Edinburgh.

"The crew believe the written-off aircraft is being used as an excuse, because the company are getting a new fleet of planes in September which only need two cabin crew, as opposed to the three currently working on flights at the moment."

The CityFlyer service, which operates between City Airport and destinations such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Zurich, currently employs 95 pilots and 161 cabin crew.

BA said it was seeking voluntary redundancies among cabin and flight crew following the crash landing, which was caused when one of the plane wheels failed on a flight from Amsterdam.

Four people were treated for minor injuries and one was taken to hospital as a result of the fault on the BAE Systems-manufactured Avro RJ100. Aviation writer Jim Ferguson said he was surprised by BA's decision to lay off staff rather than buy a replacement aircraft.

He said: "It doesn't make a lot of sense. Is this just a crafty way of trying to minimise the losses?

"Like many of BA's employees, I wonder if there are wheels within wheels on this decision."


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  • Last Updated: 26 May 2009 9:57 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: British Airways
 
1

alfonsa pedrosa,

embra 26/05/2009 11:59:01
Why not try BA no frills airways,save a few bob and a few jobs.
2

Jams,

Edinburgh 26/05/2009 12:41:45
Seems to me that if the insurance company writes the plane off then BA get a cheque from them. They could therefore use that to buy a new plane, If they really wanted to.

Just an excuse to cut the service then? Why not be honest gents and say we can't support the current level of service because it costs us money, therefore we are cutting the number of flights per day.

I would have more respect for a statement in that tone rather than a stupid transparent lie which just makes them look bad.
3

C.,

26/05/2009 12:49:44
why don't BA just do what they want to do anyway and stop flying from scotland, and change their name to LA (London Airways), as they only seem interested in the London bases.
4

A Friend of Fernando Poo,

26/05/2009 12:56:00
I'd rather go to space than London anyway. Give Virgin Galactic this slot.
5

Bill MacD,

26/05/2009 13:34:16
Blaming this on the crash is ludicrous. They could easily lease another aircraft if the route was profitable. It's a cutback. Just call it that.
6

SS,

26/05/2009 14:14:20
Nothing to do with the crash at all - how ludicrous. More to do with falling passenger numbers on the Edi to City route due to less financial services travel and competition from EasyJet to Stansted where there is the direct link to Liverpool St in the city. Having used both frequently I cannot fault the EasyJet route at usually at a fraction of the cost. It never cerased to amaze me over the last 5 or so years how many more business travellers I met and saw on the Standsted route. I never had any problems with the BA service to City other than its cost.
7

SS,

26/05/2009 14:19:19
And on another note BA seems to be trying to be all things to all passengers, and failing miserably (last weeks heavy losses). Its trying to compete with Virgin etc on international routes and Easyjet et all domestically and in Europe. These airline are much more focused and much more profitable for it - witness Virgin's profits today. So in response to C above - it may one day rationalise and stop flying domestiacally within the UK - i think it would be all the better for it. Sadly I doubt the unions will ever let thathappen
8

East at Easter,

Edinburgh 26/05/2009 15:16:30
always a scary landing at London City airport.
9

Edward,

26/05/2009 16:06:31
Unless you were doing business in the City of London, why would you want to fly to London City Airport?
The cut back by BA of the London City route IS more to do with the drop in business passengers (partly due to Banking sector cut backs) than a plane crash in February.
As someon correctly stated, these aircraft are fully insured (they have to be), so BA will be receiving a big cheque from insurers. Which no doubt they will be put towards the new aircraft they are purchasing to replace the type that crashed
10

Road Raga,

EDINBURGH 26/05/2009 18:35:08
the Glasgow - London plane suffered a puncture and British Airways, sorry London Airways, could'nt afford a punture repair outfit. So I was told #11.
11

My other car's a Bell 206,

27/05/2009 00:47:58
So they have an aircraft written off and claim it on the insurance.... They then claim that due to it being written off they are shelling jobs as they are one aircraft down... REALLY????.. So what about all the BA planes that are sitting in hangars and covered in plastic and various locations around the world doing nothing?. Where did they suddenly vanish to that a replacement can't be pulled in?.

Have they all been 'damaged' somehow and are about to mysteriously appear on an insurance claim?.

...and with numerous aircraft of similar design available 'off the shelf' why doesnt the insurance company offer a replacement?.

I need a new 50" plasma... Think I'll take my old one off the wall to clean the wall paper and....... Oh S...ugar H...oney I...ce T...ea, I appear to have dropped my brand new, slightly burnt in, scratched and Wii remote dented Plasma screen. Heavily insured and well used but a little outdated without HD and Freeview.

Oh thank you mr Insurance man. Nice doing business with you. Hee Hee Heee all the way to the bank. Purchasing a higher performance HiDef 50" with freeview, HD decoder, 600Hz ultra scan with built in BluRay and £600 spare cash for a new PS3 and a stack of games on the way there. All the other suckers paying premiums can now pick up the tab.

Next we'll hear that Ryanair have gone bankrupt as thay cant afford the insurance premiums... Never mind , Good ol' BA will still be there flying the flag... Or crashing it if moneys a bit tight.

12

My other car's a Bell 206,

27/05/2009 00:50:50
........... I wonder if I can claim my premiums on Expences. Nah, need to become a politician to get away with that.
13

My other car's a Bell 206,

27/05/2009 00:53:30
....... And if I was a politician I'd have claimed a 60" screen. You need a big screen to get the whole house of lords in and a mega surround system to get just the right accoustics for the perfect sound of snoring.

 

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