WW bonus is more than just operating margin, so get over that particular piece of incorrect information. Skylion, I admire your cool-headed approach. A pragmatic approach may wring further concession from BA without the letting of blood.
Beaver Eager, if you think this is EXACTLY about WW getting a fat bonus at your expense your so far off beam it's not true. All the big public companies are closing and re-basing their pensions.
Human Factor, as I understand it, they can't afford to pay the pensions. That is what the deficit is all about; the assets in the fund will not meet the liabilities.
I am strongly of the view that a BA collapse will have serious repercussions for BA pilots, especially those in the short haul game. Sure, past CEOs have said they don't want to close it. It does bring in passengers and the cost of closure (redundancies, aircaft leases etc) is large. If the company collapses, however, because the pilots refuse to fly, many of those liabilties don't stand. BA2 arises, takes the good bits and cans the bad bits. Leave many of the marginal short-haul routes to the LCCs and concentrate on the really important feeder traffic (UK and euro capitals only). So a lot of you will be out of work. And not all the routes will be taken straight away. Skylion is right; other airlines will think twice before hiring short-sighted, hot-headed folks who drove their company into the ground. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, huh?
Hand Solo, you are right, Walsh will not push BA to bankruptcy. You will, by the sounds of things, and who's going to lose more then?
Be cool, not emotional. There's too much revolutionary fervour going on here, too much personalisation of the debate based on a pre-conceived notion of what WW represents. Not enough rationalisation of this in the context of the broader business landscape. Why do I care? I don't, really. I am not BA. I do have sympathy for the situation you are in. If you want to minimise your loses, however, the barricades approach ain't gonna work.