Are you sure about those Air France/Iberia conditions? Air France perhaps, but that is a partially state owned and state protected airline. The IB guys I've spoken to don't score themselves quite as highly as you do. I'm not really buying the BALPA submission line, particularly as one of the vice-chairmen is regularly hinting that they might need to call on members support over this issue in the near future. I suspect whoever is spreading the rumour of capitulation is closely associated with the dark side and indulging in some deliberate rumour-mongering.