I’ve heard of several people who left my outfit to join BA, did a few years, and then managed to walk back across the slightly burnt bridge, albeit on the lowest contract available at the time. For most who leave to BA its for the opportunity of long haul which is just never going to be a possibility here. For some it’s the thought that, in their early 20s, being in a loco forever more may not be the most “exciting” career (who’d have thought, maybe it really does benefit you to go and fly knackered old TPs With the auto throttle and only a basic Ap delivering mail for a few years?). I do have to question the logic of leaving a seniority based airline after only a few years (only 1 year in some cases) of SH flying with them before having tried LH, or gaining a bit of seniority but everyone’s situation is different.
As several people have already said, the fact this thread even exists is a worrying sign of the state of our industries Ts + Cs...