Having followed this thread with interest as a fellow employee (not cabin crew,engineer) I can see that people from both sides of the fence have made valid contributions to the debate and glad to see that we are all adult enough to keep this thread from turning into a name calling playground episode,I feel it would be unfair to generalise/tar all crew with the same brush with the 'me me me' attitude as I guess every profession has a few idiots.Yes your pay is below the industry norm,yes the company could probably spend their money more wisely,and yes the terms that you guys/girls unions have negotiated (I use that word loosely as I'm not sure how much of a fight they put up) but was striking going to alleviate the situation or make it worse not only for yourselves but the rest of the company?I wont even dream of saying you know where the door is if you dont like it because I realize things are never that straightforward.Admittedly the payrise for ground/non unionized staff at less than the rate of inflation was a bitter pill to swallow,and like many I feel undervalued (who doesnt,right?) but if the money aint there then what else were we going to do?At the risk of being flamed (but this is open debate right?) the company need to stop recruiting people who are effectively school leavers and only stick around for a few months,maybe a year,and take some more mature,dedicated staff but then who else with a bit of maturity and dedication is willing to work the antisocial hours for not a lot of money?Tough call but it certainly shows in the level of care and service from 'more experienced' crew members,maybe not everyones idealogical view of the virgin way but as has been previously mentioned would you rather be served by a thirty something crew member who was attentive and happy to help or a disinterested 20 year old who is only looking forward to getting to the bar/beach/Abercrombie shop(sorry I couldnt resist) down route?Apologies if this doesnt make much sense 12 hour shift plays havoc with the mind....Take care out there guys and girls and mind the treehuggers at LHR