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Speedbird Stalling?
by Paul McGoldrick
British Airways – and their previous incarnations as British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA) – have tried to kill me a number of times on various flights. At the same time they imbued with me a love of flight from the cockpit. The first time I ever sat on an active flight deck was in a BEA Vickers Viscount en-route from London to Belfast’s Nutts Corner. Seeing the Isle of Man, the Irish Sea and Northern Ireland spread out in front of the cockpit windows was enough to convince me, as an eleven year-old, that I needed to fly.
Nutts Corner had a treacherous approach for civilian aircraft: a very steep descent over Divis Mountain onto runway 28. It had started life as a civilian airfield and then became an RAF base during WW-II and was one of the main fields for landing newly-constructed airplanes that had been ferried across the Atlantic from the US. When Belfast City Airport was closed down (too many cranes!) Nutts Corner reversed to civilian operations again.
The year after I flew into Belfast a brand-new Viscount 802 crashed on a precision approach into Nutts Corner with the loss of seven lives and with the cause never determined. Fortunately the flight was unscheduled and had been put on to to pick up a Crown Minister from an event in the city. You can tell how few civilian aircraft there were in the UK around that time, considering I learned to fly in a Cessna 150A registered as G-ARRF (ex-N7197X), not that far ahead of the crashed Viscount’s G-AOJA, and in the midst of G-ARxx registrations for BOAC 707s.
The most memorable thing about Nutts Corner to me, as a child, were the thousands of hares that occupied the grassy areas.
RAF Aldergrove, just a few miles Northwest of Nutts Corner, was converted for civilian use, has two runways that do not entail a mountain approach, and remains the international airport for Belfast; meanwhile, Belfast City Airport has a new lease of life with domestic Q-200 and Q-400 turboprop traffic.
My next BA flight, to add to the many thousands already taken in my career, is supposed to be on March 24 with a flight from Vancouver to London. It is a trip to the UK that I have promised to make anually for some years to come. The day after I booked my non-refundable tickets (with my return flight going to Phoenix for the start of EN-Genius’ Product of the Year Award tour) the union representing the majority of the company’s cabin crew voted to strike. The union, Unite, has a problem with BA trying to cut the number of flight attendants on long-haul flights from fifteen to fourteen; there are also concerns that the company is attempting to introduce a lower grade of flight attendant on new services and equipment.
The latest noise from the union is matched by the latest public diatribe from the company. The company is not only training fill-in cabin crew replacements but is also negotiating for complete aircraft/crew rentals from other sources to keep their passengers moving.
From a passenger point of view the proposed cutting of the Cabin Services Director (often earning in excess of £50,000 per year) is hardly novel. This position is mostly supervisory. Before departure the CSD will announce the names of the crew members serving customers in the four classes on the aircraft. Passengers will probably never see or hear from him (and it always does seem to be “him;” I don’t ever remember a female CSD) again until he passes through the aisles offering landing cards.
He is like a butler hanging out in his pantry polishing the household silver. Yes, he has his finger on the recordings for declared emergencies (I’ve heard the “ditching” warning a couple of times at 30,000+ feet, when the button was pushed in error) but he is otherwise anonymous. In days gone by his most important task was to hand out packets of cigarettes (in fives) to first class passengers…
BA thinks the CSD should find the occasional drink for a passenger, or even, heavens forefend, help with meal service. I think that is well overdue.
One of the big sticks that BA has in its punitive arsenal is to pull travel privileges for cabin crew – which allows staff to travel worldwide on standby for about 10% of the lowest airfare. It is a major reason why staff join the company, and a hefty benefit to lose. You cannot land at Nutts Corner anymore, with runway 28 blocked by industrial buildings, but there are hundreds of other places crew can safely go.
With the civilized laws over industrial action that are now in place (thanks, Maggie), Unite must announce strike dates by March 15 or put things to another vote. Wish me luck, and hope this isn't one of the flights where BA attempts to do me damage...
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