Regional work really needs a bigger a/c such as the 737 or airbus. The poor old 146 can't manage the work load at present out of the regions. Where will SCOPE be when BA eventually puts the old 737 out of LGW into the regions? My bet is that there will be a few words said by BALPA then it'll all go ahead. Its an impossible situation for the company to have its hands tied in this way, market forces must rule. The same thing will eventually happen at LGW (unfortunately) but then its already started with the capping which will eventually find its way to LHR. I wish I was wrong in my thinking, but times are changing fast in the aviation world. Scope will bring lower salaries in through the back door.
It was written with the best of intentions, but at the end of the day you will not be able to stop what has been started by the low cost outfits.
The public have seen and sampled the low cost and are demanding lower and lower fares. Scope will be used or bypassed by the company when and how they see fit. It has not prevented LGW from being a standalone outfit. Just take for example the way our cc are being treated, compared to LHR. Look at scheduling, look at the Hotels, look at a whole raft of differences. You must recall the days when you were based here Diesel I can assure you it has not changed that much. Scope at LGW has allowed the company to continue to keep things different or if you prefer a B Scale.