Demobcurious,
Well, I am not surprised. I believe another factor must be the relationship with Cabin Crew. For those considering BA, listen to this : on shorthaul, our cabin crew fly a different pattern to us which means that on a 3 sector day, you'll have 3 lots of crews onboard. The most you'll keep them is 2 sectors. So the CSD/Purser really is the boss down there. When coming onboard, most main crew won't say hello. Some won't even look at you if you're in the galley as they walk in. As a copilot, this can become rather frustrating as the dispatcher may also forget to shake your hand and you feel you're a nobody. Then if the captain is the same (rare, but happens, as previously described), you feel like screaming out of the DV window. Very sad indeed. In fact most people are OK but the company has let things slide the way of the cabin crew and our communities are segmented in a way that is sad to see. On long haul apparently it gets worse...
From what I understand this is much better at Virgin and I would be looking forward to their operation in that respect.
In the mean time, I have found some more info on the threads, Vol 1 about pay, and so it all seems to be very similar: Virgin now gets £45000+£12000= 57 000 + Allowances and at BA it is 45000+13000= £58000 + Allowances. I guess the difference I see on my relatively high take home is that I do a bit of draft and also don't spend all my allowances. Anyway, not a very big difference, especially when you consider SH command in 15y+ at BA ( I'll be 47!) and in 20y+ LH (I'll be 52!!!) when it is just 8y at Virgin giving me a hope for LH command at 45 if I made it reasonably soon !
Altogether, it seems like a no brainer really. Same pay, better pension, fewer hours, better atmosphere...
If anyone would have answers to my last two questions, I would be most greatful !