CAPT K,
I agree with most of what Yarpy says although I haven't notched up as many companies as he has as I moved from first officer to training captain! BA at LHR was my first airline where I flew B757/767 on a mix of short and longhaul routes followed by Airbus 319/320/321 on shorthaul. I'm now with easyJet based at LGW.
The one thing not to underestimate is how fatiguing airline flying can be even though 99% of it is done with the autopilot engaged. Even in shorthaul where you are usually no more than one time-zone away, sometimes two, it is fatiguing. The early starts can be bloody early - 0400Z reports are not uncommon - and the late finishes often don't see me home until after 0100. There will be an unavoidable effect on your personality which your nearest and dearest will have to cope with.
Join BALPA. No matter what you may feel about trade unions, join. It is half and half trade union and professional association and a great source of professional and financial advice as well as a provider of legal protection. Go to
http://www.balpa.org.uk. You can join now as an associate member.
The trouble with listing hot airlines is that the business is so cyclical and the fortunes of companies so variable that they may not stay hot for long!
I'd recommend going where you will achieve a command and a training appointment quickly. That means forget BA. At easyJet, we are looking for over 1000 pilots in the next couple of years and your military FJ experience would score highly; you'd quickly achieve the 3000 factored hours required to be considered for command. As to other companies, the best are probably Virgin, First Choice/Mytravel and Thomas cook/Thomson (I forget who is merging with whom at the moment!) but other people will no doubt add their opinions. Ryanair? Read all the threads about that company and make up your own mind. I wouldn't. If you do, use it just to gain commercial experience and move on asap. Emirates? you won't see much of your family and the money ain't what it used to be.
If you want detailed info, feel free to pm me.
WS