BA strike

[Sniff]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by blott
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Sniff
Many businesses will take a temporary loss in order to stay in business for the longer term. If the losses are sustained over a long period then clearly it's not economically viable, but to say that business only function when income is higher than their operating costs is just not true.
[/quote]Making a loss is something anyone, competent or incompetent, can do but isn't 'in business' though is it? It's actually 'on the way to out of business'.

You only have to look at Globespan to realise that and I have Scottish guests telling me that their prices were more expensive than other carriers so I gather they weren't exactly doing things on the cheap anyway.

To function on cheaper prices in the short to medium term means being able to sustain the business on greater internal funding - in other words, it depends on how much money you happen to have spare to prop up the business. If a business doesn't have internal funding or is unable to find this, then it will shortly be 'out of business'.

BA is not changing its prices to 'cheap' or even 'cheaper' and neither are any other of the airlines who are putting up their prices and are hoping they can mop up any desperate passengers. So the other airlines are 'in business' and not 'on the way to out of business'.

Anyway, this is now going completely off topic as BA isn't (currently at least so far as we're informed) going out of business, just having a strike.
[/quote]
Any company run by competent management should be able to sustain itself through periods of non-profit...that's part of being "in business" and it has nothing at all to do with going "out of business".

How long they can sustain the periods of non-profit varies from company to company, and depends on a huge number of factors. But any business that relies upon constant, continual and uninterrupted profit to survive is not going to last long, especially in the airline/travel business.

I agree the thread has veered off from the OP's question

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Sniff
How long they can sustain the periods of non-profit varies from company to company, and depends on a huge number of factors. But any business that relies upon constant, continual and uninterrupted profit to survive is not going to last long, especially in the airline/travel business.[/quote]Not necessarily profit but turnover. And remember we were talking about home owners here in response to Father's question <blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Would it be okay for someone to ask owners to lower the rental prices on their villas citing the current economy? [/quote]and not airlines.

Please, let's have the next post (if there is one) on topic about the BA strike and its customers.

[Sniff]

Blott, I fail to see how you can possibly consider that the state of BA's finances and how long they can continue in the current loss-making form, are not related to the BA strike and its customers. The two are inextricably linked - if BA was making a healthy profit it's unlikely the management would to be attempting to change the employees' pay and conditions, and therefore the employees would not be considering industrial action. The strike could (whether it goes ahead or not) have the effect of driving BA into further losses, which could result in redundancies, reduction of routes, cuts in services and ultimately (in the worst case) the failure of the airline. This seems to me entirely on topic.

To answer your specific points, my comments on a company's profitability were made in response to Steph, not Father. Turnover is, ultimately, irrelevant if there is no profit.

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Sniff
Blott, I fail to see how you can possibly consider that the state of BA's finances and how long they can continue in the current loss-making form, are not related to the BA strike and its customers. [/quote]I don't think I said that I did consider such a thing.<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Sniff
To answer your specific points, my comments on a company's profitability were made in response to Steph, not Father. Turnover is, ultimately, irrelevant if there is no profit.[/quote]It doesn't matter, both posts are about 'companies' of one sort or another. One's about BA and the other is about home owners.

Turnover pays the bills (or it should in a well founded company) and profit pays for the cake icing in terms of expansion, improvement, diversification or such things as increased staff or salaries.<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Sniff
But any business that relies upon constant, continual and uninterrupted profit to survive is not going to last long, especially in the airline/travel business.[/quote]Exactly why turnover is important also.

And now, totally back on topic - I have no idea as to the resolution of BA's current problems. Let's hope they can sort their issues out in a way that is responsive to their customers, without whom there is no turnover or profit.

[Katys Grandad]

Latest twist is that the High Court have now declared the action unlawful. I'm not sure this helps and, ultimately, might even make things worse.

(I am of course referring to the strike not to discounting villa rental[msnwink])

[mfairhurst]

May be the courts are talking sense at last as with P & O Ferries they strike at bank holiday and the only people to lose at the end are the workers .
It is time we worked and did some talking and not be so keen to stike at a moments notice ,Then maybe we will book with them in the future .
As we have lost faith in some companys that are expensive in the begining as Ba are cheaper flying out of Usa into UK why
We flew out with Vigin on the 10 December and it was on time and the crew was excellent the only problem was with one family of 8 2 men 2 woman and 4 children and they went for more beer and drinks all through the flight must have thought they were in a british pub and the staff could not believe it and too polite to say any thing or refuse ,Hope none of the adults wee driving when they got of the plane .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[i]Originally posted by mfairhurst
As we have lost faith in some companys that are expensive in the begining as Ba are cheaper flying out of Usa into UK why

[/quote]

It's not always the case Maureen although the higher taxes over here certainly contribute to the situation. I think you'll find that return fares aren't that different on the whole.

[ShirleyD]

<span style="color:red">Cabin crew strike - called off</span id="red">

We are delighted for our customers that the threat of a Christmas strike has been lifted by the court.

It is a decision that will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands of families in the UK and around the world.

There was never any need for a strike and we hope that Unite will take this opportunity to reflect before deciding its next steps. We believe the public would want that too.

In recent days, we believe Unite has formed a better understanding of our position and of the ways in which we could move forward.

It has also become very clear that our customers do not believe that old-style trade union militancy is relevant to our efforts to move British Airways back toward profitability. Financial success is essential to build the kind of business our customers want and provide long-term opportunities for our staff.

[mfairhurst]

At least someone as seen sence in this instance with the economic climate in the UK Unions are not always right in thir thinking .
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavillas.com/villas/1683.aspx

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:At least someone as seen sence in this instance with the economic climate in the UK Unions are not always right in thir thinking .[/quote]Whatever our views on the merits of the BA strike, the court decision is a disgrace.

It has overturned the clear will of the Union members on a technicality.

BA refused to give Unite a list of those leaving the company.

Even if every ineligble vote was disregarded there would still be an overwhelming majority in favour of strike action.

The law is an ass!