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brighton_rocks
General Info and questions about Mixed Fleet
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brighton_rocks
I have started this topic to answer general questions in regards to working for British Airways as Mixed Fleet, instead of the numerous other posts which make it hard to read for potential new recruits.
Please add any info / questions to this thread and I will update it, if / when things change.
Any attempts to hijack the thread, will see those posts removed as this thread is only for general info and not the usual slanging match

"Pay"
Pay is worked out in different ways, you have your starting basic of £12,000 per annum and an elapsed hourly pay which is paid from check in at Heathrow, to when you check out at Heathrow. There is also incentive pay which is paid quarterly in arrears which is up to £150 per month based upon performance (inflight assessments) customer feedback scores and punctuality (ie no days sick / lateness) You also get commission on duty free sales (paid monthly in arrears) All pay is taxable as in all other jobs. Average achievable wage after all your allowances is around the £20,000 figure pre tax. Average wages are between £1250 - £1600 take home, depending on what you bid for and how successful your bid is.

"HOST"
Host is a way of funding your allowances down route. There is a maximum limit of £500 per month if the duty pay for the flights you operate cover that. It is your responsibility not to go over the amount you are due to earn in duty pay. You should also be aware that this amount comes out of your pay 1 month in arrears. This is why people incorrectly "quote" low wages, because they forget to tell you they used £500 on HOST the previous month.

"Standby Duties"
There are two types (Home Standby - 2 hour call out & Airport Standby) you may get used for Long / Short Haul duties for any standbys.

"Rosters"
You bid for the type of work you prefer to do - there is no guarantee's you will get what you bid for as this is a preference bid only. You normally achieve 70 - 80% of what you bid for. You will find that the less specific you are, the more chances you will achieve what you bid for. For example if you bid for all 5 day Rio, there are only 4 - 5 flights in a month that are 5 day trips to Rio, so out of 1000 crew, your chances are pretty slim. If you changed that bid to 3 day trips there would be over 250 flights a month, so a lot more chance to achieve you bid. (more in depth advice for bidding is included in a booklet when you start)

"Trip Lengths"
Short Haul can be a mixture of there and backs, 1 night stopovers, 2 day tours, 3 day tours ect.
Longhaul usually are 3 day trips - go day one, land back day 3 with usually around 24hrs down route.

"Days Off"
You are legally entitled to 9 days off a month, which has to be 1 day off in 7 and 2 days off in 14. You can bid for your days off as a preference bid, but they are not guaranteed until rostered. Days off are in addition to any days leave you take.

"Leave"
New starters (cabin crew) receive 30 days annual leave April to April (pro rata if you join throughout the year) which increase with length of service. You are allowed 15 days in Summer and 15 days in Winter. These can be booked as either single days or in blocks for 1 - 2 weeks off (or any other combination)

"Aircraft Types"
You are trained on the Airbus A320 family so 319/320/321 the Boeing 777-200 & 777-300 and the Boeing 747

"Routes"
As of 13/11/12 the route list is as follows: "UPDATED"

Prague (PRG) (There & back or nightstop as part of a tour)
Pisa (PSA) (There & back)
St Petersburg (LED)(There & back)
Denver (DEN) (3 day trip -2 day off minimum ) returns to WW January 2013
Las Vegas (LAS) (3 day trip - 2 day off minimum)
Nairobi (NBO) (3 day trip - 1 day off minimum)
Kiev (KBP) (There & back)
Haneda (HND) (4-6 day trips)
Luanda (LAD) (2 day trip)
Manchester (MAN)
Rio de Janeiro (GIG), (4 & 5 day trip)
Hamburg (HAM) (There & back or nightstop as part of a tour)
Paris Orly (ORY) (There & back or nightstop as part of a tour)
Chicago (ORD) (3 day trip - 2 day off minimum )
Abuja (ABV) (3 day trip - 1 day off min)
Accra (ACC) (3 day trip - 1 day off min)
Lyon (LYS) (There & back or nightstop as part of a tour)
Los Angeles (LAX) (4 day trip - 2 days off min)
Vancouver(YVR) (3 day trip - 2 days off min)
Almaty(ALA) 2 day trip plus 1 non usable day)
Baku(GYD) (3 day trip)
Tiblisi(TBS) (up to 6 day trip)
Seoul(ICN) (4 & 5 day trip)
Tehran(IKA) suspended at moment
CAI (starts January 2013) (3 day trip)
KWI (starts January 2013) (3 day trip) replaces Denver)

*minimum days off can be less if called from standby
Short / mid haul do not trigger automatic days off where you must have 1 day off after 7 days or 2 days off in 14 days (HARD GRAFT)

Plus other adhoc flights as and when required in times of weather disruption ect

"Commuting"
Commuting is possible and a lot of people do commute, but you must bear in mind it is your responsibility to arrive in time, and be fit to fly and not be tired before a duty. You must also bear in mind, you may not achieve what you bid for, so you may have a Manchester there and back for example, 1 day off then a longhaul. To overcome this there are quite a few crew houses around Heathrow for example www.babedz.com. BA do not provide accommodation during training as LHR is your main base and this may prove expensive if you have to stay the 6 weeks for training.

"Promotion"
Promotion is based on merit and not length of service and as mixed fleet is growing currently, promotion is fairly quick (but has slowed down with people being successful awaiting 9+ months for courses) for people who have the skills and ability to join the Future Talent Customer Service Manager Programme - This has been adapted to a 3 year programme and there is now an access to FTCCSM course which you need to complete before you apply.

"Part Time / Married Rosters"
Limited part time opportunities, not guaranteed but you may discuss it with your manager about the possibility.
Married Rosters ARE NOT AVAILABLE - (no matter what you are told)

"Ground Duties"
Legally you can only fly 900 hours a year (at the moment) and it is possible to hit that limit with endless long haul especially if you have joined from another airline. If you think when your bidding and try to aim for a 50/50 split of longhaul and short haul trips, you will keep your hours below the 900 limit which mixed flying is designed for. For the few crew that do go over their 900 hr limit, there MAY be a possibility of ground duties, if they are available and they MAY include helping at cranebank, waterside ect.

"Important to remember"
You only get basic pay during training, and when you come online your flight pay is 1 month in arrears. Your performance pay is 3 monthly in arrears.
You are responsible for getting all the immunisations required/recommended and that is at your own cost.
You also pay for your own US Visa which comes out your 2nd pay day.
Uniform is provided free of charge (so don't listen to the rumours) but you can purchase additional shirts/blouses, jumpers, gloves and scarf if you require them.

You may be able to claim a tax rebate for work related expenses - http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/how-to-get.htm#2

Hope this covers the majority of questions, if you have any more please post in this thread
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bagsy2ndbreak
Well done brighton - it was on my mind to do something similar to keep threads down but in between getting ready for work you've done a sterling job yourself.
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90kaw
Thanks so much Brighton, this post was definitely needed and I am sure it will be of great help to all us new recruits!
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brighton_rocks
No problem
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mallorca001
ok mate! will do!
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bacalaca
Any word of YVR coming over to Mixed Fleet? As well, do you sometimes wind up with more than 9 days off in a month or is it always 9 days? Thank you
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brighton_rocks
Not heard about YVR - sorry.

9 days off is a minimum, this month I have 12 days off
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josh8
Thanks so much for the information, as someone about to attend my first AD this really helps.

This may seem like a silly question, but what happens about food when you leave LHR, I assume you get to eat on your flights? Do you get an allowance for food while you are away, or is this something you have to pay for yourself?

Also, do you get to use the dry cleaning facilities at hotels, or again is this something you would have to pay for yourself?

Many thanks x
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brighton_rocks
Depending on length of flight, you get crew food onboard provided. When you are down route on a trip, it is your responsibility to purchase your own food as this is what the duty pay is for (£2.60ph before tax).
Dry cleaning is available at most hotels, just depends if you have time to use it before pick up, and you have to pay for it locally. There is a dry cleaners in crc at T5, which is reasonable priced and very convenient.

Good luck with your AD!
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mls22
This is really helpful brighton_rocks, I'm waiting for my starter pack to come through and this has answered some questions in the meantime, it's nice to get some information about mixed fleet from someone who works on mixed fleet.
:)

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