The LT are going to get their fingers very burnt over this. Just imagine if the proposal was for mainline aircraft to fly from Manchester to JFK, using the BA brand, but with Polish aircrew.
Would BALPA's position of 'fine, you can even pay them less, but they must join on the seniority list' be even remotely surprising - indeed it would seem a bit mild!
As we are in the EU, there is absolutely no difference between basing these mainline aircraft at MCT or BRU/MAD - and therefore BALPA's position is not just unsurprising, it is entirely right and understandable.
Previous 'examples' have no bearing on this at all - Go was not using the brand/aircraft of mainline, the various regional operators were really just the b*****d offspring of 9/11 when the whole operation was on life support (bit different now with a 10%+ profit margin on £500m+ profits).
I wouldn't argue for a second that I am looking after anyone but my fellow BA pilots and me - but funnily enough our position benefits anyone joining PL without any downside - as has been explained, being on the seniority list doesn't force you to do anything, it merely opens up options.
For what its worth, I reckon the new 787's will go to PL before mainline. How else are BA going to attract people off our competitors - using 20 year old 757's at the limit of their range? I think not.