If GB had to pay its true share of the BA overhead, it wouldn't make a profit, just as BACX found when it was taken in to the BA fold as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The very great majority of the BA overhead has very little to do with pilot pay differentials and everything to do with overheads and working practises over which BA pilots have no control - even BA itself seems unable or unwilling to tackle them - perhaps WW will change that.
Most BA longhaul pilots fly 900 hours a year, shorthaul is up around 800 or so. I dont think we are that far out of touch with reality, and, for what its worth, the 'cheeseboard' went many years ago.
Most of us are concerned about easyjet and watch with interest their expansion. One of our ex-managers is amongst you.
I fly for a living. Of course my company's financial health is of vital interest to me. Would we, as BA pilots, like to compete effectively? Sure. Get rid of 100 anomalies I can name in the BA modus operandi, and then take a swathe through the job creation scheme that is our corporate HQ, Waterworld, and we could do just that.
I guess I fell into the well-laid trap that has BA affiliate pilots loathing us, us wary of them , and everyone adopting self-rightous attitudes to everyone else ("look - I wear a harsher horsehair shirt than you do") which leads to the the kind of downward spiral in all our working lives where, in some operators, "competition" has reached the stage of having to buy a glass of water from your employer company if you wish to hydrate on the flightdeck, and paying for your own sim conversions is the norm.
Heaven help the industry, and wannabes beware.