Dear Fellow Cookers,

The past months in our airline have been very interesting. A lot has happened and here follows a brief summary:

• As one of the latest steps in the Common Labor Agreement on Cost Competitiveness, the management and the union delegation came to an agreement on the “Upgrading Policy”. Thanks to this agreement, pilots now have a sort of career plan and know what to expect when they decide to work for Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium.
• As we have seen during the past months, this winter we fly more and more for sister companies within the Thomas Cook Group outside of Belgium. Last year, during the winter, some colleagues got the opportunity to fly for Thomas Cook Scandinavia. The Thomas Cook Pilot Group (TCPG), of which BeCA is a member, has been discussing internally how we can facilitate this pilot exchange within the group. We are looking into solutions for volunteers without harming career prospects and with respect for everybody’s common labor agreements. We will keep you posted on further developments.
• Via our presence in the Health and Safety Board and our connections in the Company Council, we do the follow-up on a lot of items, including:
  • How is the Just Safety Culture implemented within our company?
  • How is the European law on reporting (EU 376/2014, which you have been reading about in this Cockpit Flash) implemented? This will become the new chapter 11 in our OM-A.
  • How will the new FTL be applied in our company? How will the staff be trained?
• Since the terrorist attacks in Egypt and France, the new travel advice for some destinations and the level 4 threat in Brussels, we have noticed that everybody’s nerves are very tense. As a result, there have been concerns within the flying staff on the safety on some flights to Egypt and a few incidents have been reported. Please be aware that BeCA and the Health and Safety Board are closely following the situation. When you have concerns, problems or questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

We wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!

Bart Smet, Vice-President TCAB