Dolley, I'm shorthaul at LHR so I stand to be corrected, but I believe LGW crew are on hourly rates; LHR crew are on an allowance system which is completely different, hence the disparity in pay.
Yes, it's unfair and it's because of the fact that Gatwick shorthaul (which recently ceased to exist) was formed from the ashes of Dan-Air, an airline which BA bought in the past - the ex-Dan Air staff were also bought by BA BUT their old Dan-Air Terms & Conditions (pay) were kept in place and formed the basis of the BA LGW Eurofleet terms & Conditions.....when LGW became single fleet, I believe BA decided to pretty much apply the old Dan-Air-style conditions to the new set-up...this is why you may find some people going on about the LHR pay vs LGW pay....
LHR crew (Euro and Worldwide) generally earn more and work less because their contracts have a different origin...on Eurofleet, what we get paid depends (amongst other factors) on what time of the day we work (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and the cost of that meal in the hotel that we stay in overseas.....if you spend a whole day in Zurich say, then the allowances you get for that trip will depend on the cost of breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Zurich hotel, NOT the number of hours you work etc. On balance therefore, the allowance system seems to trigger more £££ than the hourly rate paid at LGW.
Hope that makes sense...........