A huge 'thank you' to 412 for his eminently sensible ripostes to 411a that place him firmly in the context he deserves.
411a's habit is to ignore the facts and move to his own line of "spin" in nearly every reply he makes. Some are gratuitously offensive, (see threads related to former Concorde Fllight Engineers), and most seem motivated by a strain of bitterness that has nothing to do with airline economics and everything to do with a pathological resentment of the salaries that flightcrew earn.
People in this business have been savaged by factors far beyond any one entity's ability to control, and it is 411a's apparent glee at our collective misfortunes that I dislike most of all.
I reiterate my own position: if my carrier folds after all the years I've done in the seniority system and pension scheme I will leave the industry and never look back. I am not alone. My future was not compromised by my 'greed', but the arrogance of a chief executive who sacked any of his 'team' that dared contradict him and went on to beggar a fine airline by mortgaging it to the hilt, £4.8 billion to be precise.
Among my peers who are not in aviation I am the worst paid and have taken the longest to reach the peak of my profession. This may be 'the market' at work, yet even when we were at our peak as an airline I earnt an average salary for the European industry, so it appears a one way bet.
Doubtless this is as 411a would have it be, but in the end if you have any self respect one has to start wondering if the job's worth it, especially if you chuck-in working for delusional tyrants like Bob A@ling and his under-performing Lieutenants, or indeed the likes of 411a, who appears to aspire to such greatness. There are other things to do.
If BA goes under I hereby promise 411a that I'll cheerfully post a reply to let him know how I get on "out in the cold". Another of 411a's backround assumptions seems to be that everyone in aviation is incapable of doing anything else to keep body and soul together, such that they'll be queuing-up to be 'dissed' by the likes of him and his new airline.
It seems to escape 411a that the role model for the low cost airline sector, Southwest, is run by a charismatic entrepreneur who places the morale of his people at the top of the criteria that has made that company the most consistently profitable airline in history. 411a's potential bankers may like to take note of his very public views on the place an employee holds in the food chain.
If 411a can create employment in one of the worst downturns an already highly cyclical industry has ever seen, then I salute him. Perhaps with the aircraft in place and the reality of man management upon him, his views will change. I hope so, but I doubt it.
Meanwhile two factors give BA hope: the Government here has recognised the central role of aviation in creating prosperity through facilitating the interchange of commerce and the provision of leisure through tourism by providing the planning environment for vital airport growth to meet the ever rising trend demand for air travel. Reflecting this long term trend growth, BA's share price has risen such that BA is back in the FTSE 100. The Fat Lady has yet to sing, 411a: there is much hope for us yet and I know that everyone in BA will work to make that hope a reality.
As Christmas approaches, I send 411a every best wish for the success of his airline. I hope that it provides employment for many and him with the material rewards of entrepreneurship, as well as the necessary insights into human motivation and character that are essential to financial success.