Just a selection of the 'anti' comments:
"baby time should be factored into pre flight planning."
"the rest of us are getting a little p*ssed off with continually having to take up the slack as one or other of these guys has a day off for doctor/dentist/little johnny's ill."
"She should perhaps look towards getting a less demanding job."
"I'm shocked and appalled by this lady's behaviour"
"thoughts - don't get pregnant then."
"BA mainline is too nice to its crews sometimes"
"BA management will make her life hell if she should wish to continue to work with BA"
"Having a child isn't an illness or a disability, it's a lifestyle choice"
"She got pregnant anyway and now expect the company to adapt to her new life with the kid." Well that is little unrealistic, don't you think so.
"If she loved her career so much, she should not have had a child. "
"She is no champion for anything other than her own agenda."
After September 11th 2001 I took voluntary redundancy in order to look after my wife during a family crisis. We now have two young kids and have decided not to return to flying. Any airline job I look at trashes my family life. I find the real value in having children is actually spending time with them. They are much more interesting than adults - I have nightmares about being stuck on a slip with airline crew gossiping and talking shop etc. Downsizing and changing direction is problematic. We are both poorer and happier.
Sitting on the sidelines of the great UK PLC machine I observe the following:
The macro economic situation is driving a long working hours culture in Britain. The culture requires that you work hard, earn lots of money, pay for goods and services to make up for lost time and then give the rest to Gordon Brown. Where I live Mums put their kids in nurseries at 2 1/2 years and return to work or employ nannies from an earlier age. When Mums work they get home tired and stressed and spend little time with their kids. Familles lose out in this stressful situation whilst big business and the tax man wins. The kids are bored.
The whole Big Brother Nanny State culture is moving towards 'eight 'til six' working days in Primary Schools. Blair is planning over 2500 state run nurseries for pre school children. The State is gaining control over every aspect of our lives.
Here is a young Mum who wants to reduce her working hours to care for her child herself. Well, good on her I say. Probably the biggest problem in our society is the breakdown in the family which gives rise to all the other issues. It is doubly hard for couples working shifts never mind the random nature of an airline roster. This couple are stronger and smarter than most
Really, what is the problem with flying half a line? There probably won't be that many takers in the industry. It is as easy to write a two week roster as a three week roster. The currency issue is a complete red herring. Forty hours a month is plenty for currency on anything other than ultra long haul. If BA can get their head round this issue then the young lady might stay for a full career and they would surely recoup their investment. More importantly it would be better for the family concerned.
I don't but the 'politically correct' society. Some of the rubbish I hear daily makes my socks rot. Family values are priceless and worth far more to society than company profits or government policy.