It is a BIG weekend in Gatwick and Manchester as we prepare to fully integrate GB Airways into easyJet and transfer all GB flights departing from Sunday 30 March onto a single Airline Operating Certificate (AOC).
The weekend sees the culmination of months of planning as the cutover team launch into action at 2000hrs on Saturday 29 March. The team will spend the next few hours making all the necessary changes to the 15 aircraft as they arrive at Gatwick and Manchester on Saturday night including the two Heathrow aircraft, which will operate back to Gatwick.
So, what is going to happen on the night? BA will handle the arrival of each aircraft and then it is over to the team to get stuck in.
The engineering guys kick off the process by changing the seating configuration to all economy – the A321s will increase to 204 seats and the A320s to 168 seats. The engineering team will also be making three software changes and 19 modifications to each aircraft as well as transferring the tech log. It is the tech log transfer that formalises the physical change of the AOC.
As engineering are busying away, the SAS (Strippers and Stuffers) will work their way through the cabin replacing any BA items with easyJet while the aircraft documentation team change all the manuals on the flight deck.
Meanwhile in terminals across Europe, ground handling teams will establish easyJet operations – switching to new handling agents, opening new sales desks and check-in desk. By far and away the biggest exercise is at the North Terminal in Gatwick, where we will also move to a split terminal operation.
Finally the cleaners and caterers will step onto the aircraft and do their part before the aircraft is ready to fly off again under its easyJet’s flight number and under the single AOC, with the first departure leaving Gatwick at 0540.
On the morning of Sunday 30 March all operating pilots and cabin crew will don their new uniforms and report for duty as easyJet crew to operate the newly united fleet. While the Manchester guys have a little longer to wait to see their newly refurbished crew room, the Gatwick crews will report to the rather fabulous new crew room at Concorde 2000.
And as if the guys didn’t have enough to do, we move to British Summer Time during Saturday night, so they have one less hour to do their thing.
A variety of managers and post holders from across the business will be on hand to help the cutover team over the weekend – Ops Director will be acting as implementation director for the cutover, and Andy Harrison and Kevin Hatton (GB CEO) will be in the new Gatwick crew room for the first two rotations on Sunday morning. People Director is supporting the team at Manchester.
We are planning to celebrate our arrival in Manchester in typical easyJet style by painting the city orange on Monday 31 March … although not literally. We are saturating the city with advertising and also sending the easyJet Fun Bus to town to herald our arrival and to give the public the opportunity to win flights.
The weekend sees the culmination of months of planning as the cutover team launch into action at 2000hrs on Saturday 29 March. The team will spend the next few hours making all the necessary changes to the 15 aircraft as they arrive at Gatwick and Manchester on Saturday night including the two Heathrow aircraft, which will operate back to Gatwick.
So, what is going to happen on the night? BA will handle the arrival of each aircraft and then it is over to the team to get stuck in.
The engineering guys kick off the process by changing the seating configuration to all economy – the A321s will increase to 204 seats and the A320s to 168 seats. The engineering team will also be making three software changes and 19 modifications to each aircraft as well as transferring the tech log. It is the tech log transfer that formalises the physical change of the AOC.
As engineering are busying away, the SAS (Strippers and Stuffers) will work their way through the cabin replacing any BA items with easyJet while the aircraft documentation team change all the manuals on the flight deck.
Meanwhile in terminals across Europe, ground handling teams will establish easyJet operations – switching to new handling agents, opening new sales desks and check-in desk. By far and away the biggest exercise is at the North Terminal in Gatwick, where we will also move to a split terminal operation.
Finally the cleaners and caterers will step onto the aircraft and do their part before the aircraft is ready to fly off again under its easyJet’s flight number and under the single AOC, with the first departure leaving Gatwick at 0540.
On the morning of Sunday 30 March all operating pilots and cabin crew will don their new uniforms and report for duty as easyJet crew to operate the newly united fleet. While the Manchester guys have a little longer to wait to see their newly refurbished crew room, the Gatwick crews will report to the rather fabulous new crew room at Concorde 2000.
And as if the guys didn’t have enough to do, we move to British Summer Time during Saturday night, so they have one less hour to do their thing.
A variety of managers and post holders from across the business will be on hand to help the cutover team over the weekend – Ops Director will be acting as implementation director for the cutover, and Andy Harrison and Kevin Hatton (GB CEO) will be in the new Gatwick crew room for the first two rotations on Sunday morning. People Director is supporting the team at Manchester.
We are planning to celebrate our arrival in Manchester in typical easyJet style by painting the city orange on Monday 31 March … although not literally. We are saturating the city with advertising and also sending the easyJet Fun Bus to town to herald our arrival and to give the public the opportunity to win flights.
