IF this thing is going to work, some form of sensible compromise surely has to be found. It is an emotive subject, agreed, but if a mutually acceptable formula for integration is not forthcoming, the workforce will be so divided as to make the whole thing untenable.
FlyBE's ambitious expansion plans are linked with aquiring at a shed load of pilots, many of them command qualified or capable. They will not be able to do that without this deal - to believe that most redundant BACon pilots would come to work for FlyBE is wishful thinking in today's pilot market.
A bigger airline is going to be better for all concerned - if you consider for a moment the scale of expansion, opportunities for existing FlyBE pilots will most likely better should the deal be done even with a merged seniority list, rather than if the deal falls through.
on the subject of seniority lists, which group would be in the majority on any new joint list, existing FlyBE or former BACon ?.