Dolly - BA cabin crew didn't get a 'fair deal' in the end, BA got everything they wanted. The only thing the cabin crew got was discounting of certain illnesses from the absence monitoring program, something which they were already supposed to get anyway. Apart from the that they still lost the 4th purser on the jumbo, failed to get the guarantees on CSD positions on shorthaul, had to self fund the increased pay for juniors by delaying everyones pay rise by 6 months, failed to reopen the MAN base and only got the pension deal that the flight crew had already negotiated. The point of all this is that 'sticking together' does not necessarily get results. A union needs to have a clear and realistic idea of what they want and how they are going to get. Having a 96% mandate for a strike but no real idea of what you want gets you shafted. The VS flight crew had solidarity and a clear plan of what they wanted and how to get it. At this moment in time it would appear that your unions position is much closer to the situation of BASSA in BA than BALPA in VS.
Re the BAA situation, the unions have forced BAA back to the negotiating table but the battle is far from won. There will now be a prolonged period of investigation and negotiation but I'll bet you a beer that in a years time the BAA pensions scheme as it is now will still be closed to new entrants, which is what the unions wanted to prevent.