BA long haul purser after eight years: the seniority system, the bidding, mixed fleet history and what the job is like now
-
#1 Eight years at BA Heathrow, long haul, purser since last year, and there is a lot of out of date information about BA on the internet because the airline has changed its crew structure more than once. Here is where things are as I see them from the inside.
The fleets, briefly, because it matters
Historically BA had legacy crew on old contracts (Worldwide and Eurofleet) and then Mixed Fleet from 2010 on a different contract with lower pay, and the two groups did not fly together. That structure was merged in the last few years into a single new fleet with a single contract for new joiners. So if you read a 2018 post about 'mixed fleet pay' it is describing something that no longer exists in that form. New joiners today come in on the current single contract and fly both short and long haul.
Seniority and bidding
BA runs a bidding system for rosters where preferences are considered in seniority order within your fleet. What that means in practice for a new joiner: you get what is left. For the first couple of years the roster is a mix of short haul Europe and the less popular long haul (the ones nobody bids for, which change over time). Over time you climb, your bids start landing, and by year five or six you have real influence over your month. It is not the American pure seniority system, but seniority is real.
The purser role
On a long haul the purser is in charge of a cabin or a section with a Customer Service Manager (CSM) above. I run the World Traveller cabin most months, sometimes Club. The job is a mix of service, the briefing, the coordination, the complaint handling and the paperwork. The step from crew to purser is an application and an assessment, and the step from purser to CSM is a bigger one.
The flying now
Long haul on the 777, 787 and A350 mostly, with the A380 on the biggest routes. Layovers are 24 to 72 hours, the hotels are decent, the allowances are paid per hour away in the local currency, and the network is the whole world. Short haul out of Heathrow is intense in a different way, Europe and back twice with full cabins, and new joiners do a lot of it.
Money
The current contract basic for new joiners is public and it is not high for London. The hourly flying pay and the allowances on long haul are what make the job pay, and after a few years on long haul it is a decent living for someone without a mortgage in zone 2. Pursers get an increment. I will not pretend BA pays like the Gulf tax free. It does not. It pays like a London job with a lot of travel.
Culture
A big airline with a long memory. The crew community is enormous and there are still cultural differences between people who joined in different eras. Some people find that tiring. I find it interesting. What is universal is that the operation is professional and the training is excellent.
For applicants
BA hires regularly, the assessment is competency based and polished, they like hospitality and retail backgrounds and they like people who can articulate why BA specifically. The Heathrow commute is the hidden cost. Living near the airport is not glamorous and living in town means 5am trains.
Questions welcome, and if any legacy crew read this and think I have oversimplified the fleet history, you are probably right, and it is still the useful version for a new joiner.
-
#2 BA Heathrow, three years, on the current contract, and this is the version I wish had existed when I applied. The bidding for new joiners is exactly 'what is left'. Year one I did Europe and the less popular long haul. Year three I am getting my first choices some months. It moves.
-
#3 BA Gatwick, and I want to add that Gatwick is a different operation: leisure long haul (Caribbean, Florida) and short haul, a smaller crew community, and a completely different commute. If you live in Sussex or Kent it is the better base. If you want the whole world, Heathrow.
-
#4 Heathrow, and the 'long memory' line is kind. The eras thing is real in the crew room. It is also fading, and the new crew coming in now do not carry any of it. Give it five years and it is gone.
-
#5 Ex BA, left after nine years, now in Cape Town. The fleet history part is right and I lived through the merger. For applicants: none of it matters to you. The job you are applying for is the one Gavin describes, and it is a good one.
-
#6 @charlottecpt thank you, that is the endorsement I was hoping for from someone who saw the whole thing.
-
#7 Failed the BA final last year, reapplied, got the offer, joining date in November. The 'why BA specifically' question was the one I fixed. First time I said something about the brand. Second time I said something about the long haul network and the training reputation and I meant it. Different result.
-
#8 Manchester, aspiring, and the Heathrow commute paragraph is the thing that has stopped me applying twice. Is there any way to make it work from the north, or is it really relocate or nothing?
