....yes but Northern Boy look at it another way. BA pilots might like to view themselves (and I am happy for them to do so) as the standard-bearers for the industry but so what?. They MUST stop management heavy-handedness. They MUST nip this nonsense in the bud NOW. Otherwise they will end up just like the very weak and sychophantic Qantas pilots, cunningly bypassed by the Trojan Horse that is Jetstar.
By quashing this threat now, BA pilots are not being arrogant - they are being the standard-bearers for not only themselves but the industry as a whole. Victory here will at least send a message to the idiots of the management world (read O'Leary etc) that you can't screw your troops forever.
Good luck BA pilots. You are not only fighting your own battle. Clamp down on this Open Skies now, and clamp down hard.