Isn't it about time this went on the BA dedicated forum? I can't help feeling that neither BA nor BALPA are quite as desperately essential to everyone else's life/job/pay/conditions as some posters on this thread seem to believe (I haven't read all of the 25 pages or so because it's too boring).
Whilst I can fully understand that the BA fraternity will wish to protect themselves from the cold winds of commercial reality, for the many who are not a part of that august establishment does a new airline not offer a new opportunity? For them is it not A Good Thing? I don't know what the pay and conditions are as I'm not interested but if they are not good enough they won't get the people and if they do then they won't stay. If that is what happens then the management will have the choice of improving them or shutting up shop presumably.
Some years back the Germans did something similar with Suedflug, Condor and Lufthansa; did the LH mainline chaps suffer as a result? I don't think they did ... but I stand to be corrected.
The commercial reality of the new operation may well be that it cannot be competetive in the market and support the lavish lifestyle and restrictive practices that are enjoyed by BA mainline.
And just to anticipate some of the possible objections to me venturing to suggest that the sun does not actually shine out of the collective BA orifice; yes I am a pilot, yes I do know BA pilots past and present, yes I have been around a long time and worked for a number of different outfits in various sectors of the industry, and no I don't really care one way or another whether BA's new baby lives or dies on the breast.
Oh, yes, and I did used to be a member of BALPA but soon realised that unless I was in BA it was nothing more than an exorbitant subscription to a magazine that had no relevance to life outside BA (although it was two separate airlines back then).
Can't hang around here all day gossiping ...