As I think all would no doubt disagree, the merger (considered a merger by virtue of relative sizes of both companies) or takeover (as it is officially) was outside the control of staff from both sides of the fence.
Timing has been crucial in proposing a sale date for BACON and at present there should be enough time for all to reflect on what has happened and subsequently decide whether they are staying or voluntarily leaving the company since it has been decided to keep the pilot community employed.
Moving on from past years and hearing people complain about being treated badly and having to suffer yet another form of disruption will not make THEIR situation any better.
There may be unfortunates in the company who have worked hard and feel that they were next in line for a promotion etc. At the end of the day, there is a business to run and the transition should be managed as smoothly as possible to avoid existing longterm BA customers from making alternative arrangements (say routeing through London) rather than get a point to point service which they are already used to and enjoy. (Perhaps executive club points could be cashed in for the first year on Flybe routes at a preferable "exchange rate" to continue interest in the business)
What we should be concentrating on are not which equipment we will get to play with when the dust settles, but minimum disruption to our lives. YES THAT IS RIGHT - we need to protect what we have got and not try to sulk too much about what failed opportunities this whole experience has caused.
As deciding seniority etc. The only fair way is by DOJ, however this should not put one pilot into the precarious position of wondering which pilot more senior can displace him/her from their present position. Promotions should be decided based on relevant experience (the same way as if you were applying for a job outside the company), so all factors eg. Total time, PIC time, jet time, turboprop time aswell as training qualifications (TRI, TRE) should be considered before looking at the list and deciding, who is next?
Those who do not wake up to that could be
for a very long time