LiviLion

What the actual .... does this have to do with BA.

And, you've been offered and extra £2k a month to make up for it - that is £40k before tax. Do you know where that would put you on the scale of highest earning in the UK.

MODS - I'm not sure if there is a considerably richer than you forum but can we get this to .....

Raffles

BOH

Error - did not read post properly!

LiviLion

It might be a fair area for discussion but the BAEC forum isn't the correct place for it.

V10

The OP did at the outset link this to the possibility to offset the Y-only policy with AUPs and so on. As we know nothing is guaranteed here, the way the ticket is booked can make a world of difference and this is very much relevant to BA. OP seems to have some investment in BA, and is UK based.

The money isn't everything either - I'm at an age and stage in my career where an extra 2k is not incentive enough to take this kind of thing on. That's not because I'm earning enough to spend my evenings quaffing DP with a wunch of bankers in the City either - indeed 2k after tax would represent a significant pay rise. Rather, it's that I value not having to spend time in an environment that on BA, in common with other airlines, has deteriorated and will continue to do so to the detriment of my wellbeing.

JD1905

I work for a Small company that is expanding and doing well right now. We have 1,000 employees and turn over £10m Profits every year. Every single person in our company travels in economy, from the CEO down to our Engineers, it's our travel policy. On the occasions where I have been fortunate enough to travel in Business, this has been paid for out of my own pocket as a choice because it's something which I enjoy.

ng1265

In my Y-only company, travel to a customer is booked according to their travel poilcy...
I ended up on DY Y for a recent East coast trip where I had to go straight to work and back over a weekend...never again!

EuropeanPete

Everyone has their own needs, but for me personally I would be happy (well, content) with a Y only job in the volume of flights mentioned provided I could control the other variables. My major policy is "no getting in the way of my sleep", so I don't mind long-haul trips in Y but I will be going to a hotel for the evening (and if necessary the day) when I land. Similarly, if I'm expected somewhere at 9am on a weekday morning I will take a flight the evening before.
Like others here though, I think the notion of a job which has you doing 48 flights a year in Y and expecting you to squeeze them into your free time/ tag them onto the working day is not an attractive one.

All She Wrote

Yes, 40k before tax, and about 20-25k after tax, as it'll certainly be in the 40% if not the 45% bracket. I'm not assuming anything about what you do here but as someone that works highly erratic hours I can tell you it's very tricky to explain to people that have a more balanced lifestyle just how much frequent timezone changes and erratic working patterns can affect your health if not managed properly. People tend not to understand this problem until they have actually experienced it themselves. And once they have they'll understand exactly why the Op wants a J travel policy.

RoyalSwazi

At interviews, candidates should ask questions - this is when you have a chance to find out if the job or the employer is right for you. Obviously, base pay is important, as are bonus schemes, share/options schemes, insurance policies, pension setup, mobile & internet, flexible working, holidays and if the job entails frequent travel then the travel policy is an important part of the total package. I find it worrying that several posters who work for HR are critical of candidates asking about it.

A friend end of mine once asked what the working environment was like in the office. The manager and HR person looked at each other rather funnily. He duly said no when he received the offer.

MSPeconomist

OT, but this is an oversimplification. Faculty at some but not all state (public) universities in the USA would be considered to be state employees and generally subject to state government travel policies, but this isn't true for all state universities. Some allow longhaul J travel. OTOH, some private universities insist that tickets be booked through their travel office or travel software, using the cheapest flights available and staying in preferred hotels, even if there's an official conference hotel at a somewhat different location. The university might or might not insist on a preferred airline or use of LCCs where applicable.

layz

Well my current company has started to grow and for some of us travel may be required when it wasn't when we joined. They introduced a formal policy a few months back and I'm not impressed.
Trains: under 4 hours has to be standard class, using advance purchase fares if available.
Flying: under 5 hours Y, over W
Subsistence: breakfast inclusive hotel rate + £25 per night for dinner when an overnight stay. If you're not staying over but needing to leave home earlier or arrive home later due to travel it's only £5 for breakfast and £10 for dinner

It's quite stingy considering what they're earning from us, but I'm not sure if it's deliberate or just put together with someone who doesn't travel much.

Let's use the trains as an example (as currently most of the people who travel are doing short domestic trips for work). A few are doing London - Manchester every week, travelling Monday morning and back on Thursday evening. So they need to get up early, have £5 to spend on breakfast, have to plan to get there early so they don't miss their prebooked train and then have the pleasure of spending a couple of hours on a cramped Pendolino. If they were allowed a first class ticket they'd get lounge access at Euston and Manchester, get fed on the train in both directions, plenty of tea and coffee so they're ready to go when they arrive.

In my case if I was asked to do that I'd rather travel the night before, wake up to a hotel breakfast and I'd be happy with standard class in that situation. Then again using that example LON-MAN I'd be the oddball that insisted on flying.

As for if they asked me to travel internationally if it was occasional and they allowed me to select the airline I'd be happy with their policy. The status benefits and seat selection are critical. I feel trapped in economy in a window seat so always want the aisle unless I'm in row 1 or one of the exit rows on A321.

It's important to remember that any business travel is going to impact on your personal life, it's very unlikely that all your business travel will fit in your work hours and overnight stays take away time with family or friends. Therefore it's only fair that a company compensates you for the extra time, whether this is business class travel, better hotels, overtime payments or in the case of the OP an extra monthly payment.

Calchas

CMH1k

I think that the bigger issue you'll likely face with this company is the bookings that the corporate travel dept. will make for you. I'm betting they will default to the cheapest flight and/or airline, regardless of the hassle (layovers, connections, etc.) that you will incur and they will not budge or allow you to make your bookings.

YuropFlyer

Take the job. Play/game the system.

I was in a similar position once.

By careful engineering, I got opup's approx 60% of all flights (and this actually sucked me into what flyertalk was back then..) - and generally got quite some bit backs.

With status, flying Y often isn't so bad - good chance of upgrades, lounge access, priority if anything goes wrong etc. - generally, you can play the system.

And if they pay you decently extra.. I'd take that.. MOST people would take 2k $ extra per month over 2 long haul flights (I know, two C flights cost more than 2k $ more than Y flights in average, but it's money into your pockets, not "slightly more comfort")

Have them fly you Y but get you an extra day on arrival.

Tell them that flying Y means you won't get any work done (but still write it down as work time) - a few beers and an exit row seat on paid hours aren't that bad