elitetraveler

I won't comment on FR employee relations - but when BA outsources stations longtime BA employees find themselves with the option of being out of work or rehired to keep doing the same thing the next day for minimum wage.

I don't think BA is better or worse than other companies. Perhaps FR is doing something beyond what anyone else is doing - but I certainly don't see BA as being ranked anywhere as a place that treats employees particularly well.

navylad

I hear what your saying, but FR are treating their employees worse from what I'm being told, I'm not saying BA treat their employees particularly well.

There is plenaty of evidence from over the years of FRs poor behaviour. To give you one example, a friend of mine who is FR CC was injured at work whilst in the air. They are British working out of a British airport hub, they have been working for long enough that they are no longer employed by a agency but by FR directly (that in itself a shady practice) but FR took off 4 days pay off him as under his Irish contract he could only self certify for 3 days but his GP declined a unfit to work note as he hadn't been off for a week (the UK statuatory requirement to allow self-certification). I mean he was injured at work ffs

IAN-UK

Lord knows i hold no torch for Ryanair, but this carries not even a nodding familiarity with my experience of the airline: which is generally slick, good-natured and efficient. I don't recognise the food options as "shocking" (sic) and I've had no problem getting a simple coffee.


To weed out some more hyperbole, Chopin airport is about 15-25 minutes drive from the city centre; Modlin airport (the Ryanair one) 30-45 minutes.


What exactly are the BA service standards ?
FR's scratchcard selling is annoying, but I guess there's a demand for it and it helps keep fares low. So why ruin a reasonable criticism with the silly "every ten minutes" dig?

HIDDY

Self certifying sickness for three days is the usual in the UK...at least it used to be when I last worked. After three days you have to provide evidence from your doctor you are unfit to work. No idea why he was refused one by his doctor.
I take it if he was injured at work he filled out an accident report?

elitetraveler

I know one of the reasons I hear U.S. FAs use when refusing to help pax w carry-on bags into the overhead bins is that their insurance won't cover/protect injuries related to that action.

IAN-UK

Third-hand anecdote is unreliable evidence.

GPs, or hospital doctors for that matter, routinely supply fitness notes after seven days. They'll supply them on request earlier - though often for a fee

navylad

I'm afraid your incorrect. Self-cert is for a week in the UK.

Firstly it is a 2nd hand not 3rd recollection of events and it is pretty reliable when you ended up helping him challenge his employer and became actively involved (which then makes the evidence 1st hand).

And thanks for the tip on whether I should supply fitness notes earlier, I hadn't realised in all the years I've been working as a doctor

His GP had offered to write him a note earlier, but had wanted to charge him £80 for the privilege (which, whilst I disagree with the amount, they are technically able to do as it is then a private practice note). Unsurprisingly, at the time, he had declined this offer (he'd have to sell a lot of scratchcards to make the money back) as he thought his employer wouldn't be as unreasonable as it subsequently was, particularly given his injury was at work.

IAN-UK

It's unlikely we'd forget medic is one of your many caps... you remind us often

That's why I was surprised at your earlier comments about sick notes.

Neat to see you are adding an advocacy cap.


For me, doctor to patient, to you and then to us makes your original comment third hand. But let's not quibble, gossip is gossip.

navylad

Sorry if I remind you too often, I try to only mention it when it is relevant

It wasn't doctor to patient, as I thought I had said clearly it was a friend who was FR CC to me (1st hand) and me recounting this experience (2nd hand) and I have to confess I wasnt being a patient advocate in this instance, just a supportive friend.

If your looking for 1st hand accounts, look at the Ryanair page of glass-ceiling, of course the questions asked in parliament and the media coverage of their poor record is also 2nd hand.

DYKWIA

The same one that said FR make £2500 per flight on BOB?

navylad

HaHa! Now now, put the claws away #friendlyposting

Ber2dca

If I'm entirely honest, I fly legacy carriers short-haul over the LCC/ULCC competition primarily because of the crowd. I don't intend that as a blanket statement about people flying those airlines, but from my limited experience I'd say that it's the Ryanairs of the world that are especially attractive to the stag party/hen party/lads-on-tour holidays/housing estate troublemakers on holidays/large family clans type passengers.

While this is based on limited experience (1 of 2 Ryanair flights I took descended into chaos due to the antics of an already hammered group of 'lads' though the FAs did seem to act as if that was not a new or particularly strange thing), I believe there is a certain logic to this.

If you offer a more or less similar product at a significantly higher price then this will reduce the interested customer base to those who have no choice (connecting long-haul pax, business travelers), those who have not insignificant financial means at their disposal, those who value 'a premium experience' (whatever that means to them). Most people will go to the cheaper offering and that typically includes most of the above mentioned groups. That's no guarantee you will avoid all these issues on a legacy carrier and by no means do I think all LCC flights suffer from a rowdy, disruptive atmosphere, but you're increasing the chance of having the type of flight experience you wish to have.

dougzz

Maybe I'm just unlucky in my limited use of these. Firstly on weekday rush hours they're so packed getting on at Kings Cross* heading south, especially with a case is really difficult. Secondly, they seem to frequently not run at all at weekends, as if victim to an unusual amount of engineering. Last time I used them from Gatwick it stopped at London Bridge as they were not running through for some reason or other. As I say, limited sample size, and I may have been unlucky, but in my experience not to be relied on.
*Yes St. Pancras now which is very inconvenient compared to the old KX station in Pentonville Road.

navylad

Yes I think you've been unlucky, I've never had any problems and use them whenever flying from LGW, although I've moved most of my flights to LHR, shame JER flights only go form LGW (I'm sure Uncle T will agree). i'm sure many a FTer would like JER to LHR flights for the TP runs as well, maybe if LHR get's the additional runway slots, (particularly given LHR's commitment to dedicating some of these slots to domestic flights).