Pilots go part-time in bid to save jobs

PILOTS at Britain's second largest airline, BMI, are being asked to halve their hours and pay in a bid to save jobs in the wake of the crisis hitting the airline industry. The work-share arrangement was secured by the pilots' union, the British Air Line Pilots Association said.

The airline industry is reeling from the global economic slowdown exacerbated by the 11 September hijacked plane attacks on the US. Passenger traffic has slumped, forcing airlines to slash thousands of jobs, ground aircraft, cut routes and seek delays in new aircraft orders in an attempt to remain in the skies.

Christopher Darke, the general secretary of Balpa, said BMI agreed that the job-sharing scheme would limit pilot cutbacks. BMI had announced it would slash 109 pilots, one fifth of its pilot workforce, part of a move to cut 600 jobs from its 5,500-strong workforce.

'Under the part-time working scheme, for every two pilots that opt for reduced hours, one more job is saved,' said Darke. 'When good times return to the industry, it will also be easier for BMI to expand by asking pilots to switch back from part-time to full-time working.'