Firstly, well done for getting BA longhaul..... however I know how you might feel. I'm just about to leave a charter airline and go to a scheduled one. I'll be going from a mixture of long-haul to short-haul only, as I've done the whole "long-haul" thing. I'm also 23, so I'm not speaking from a older person's perspective.
I'll just warn you that the pay is less in UK charter than BA, you don't necessarily work longer hours (not in my airline, one reason I'm leaving is because I don't work enough!) but you do get to know everyone, you can have great fun on trips, you can spend up to a week away each time (sometimes more) however you have to do some busy shorthaul "bucket and spade" flights in between. The working conditions are worse eg. galleys are made smaller so more seats can be added, pax ALWAYS complain about legroom, but I guess you get used to that. There are a few pros and cons.
The general emphasis of this post is that different airlines suit different people. No-one can make the decision for you, but for your sake I'd hate you to join a charter airline only to realise you prefer BA after all! Sometimes people think "the grass is greener on the other side" when it isn't. But if parties is what you want, then go for it!!!
