Are BA's conditions really a benchmark nowadays?
We now see some airlines charging for type ratings and even for line training, however these ideas were not developed by any flag carrier in Europe. If an airline wishes to erode their Ts & Cs then they don't wait for innovative ideas to be formed by large airlines. With the unstable economic environment - if our employer perceives that they have a need to erode our conditions then they will, regardless if BA lead or not.
The working life for flight crew has changed over the past decade or so, with flag carriers now offering a working life which is becoming rarer as time passes with the touring and night stops etc. Many LCCs and smaller airlines like to advertise that if you join us then you don't night stop and you get home every night. Also coupled to that is the fixed roster that easyJet and others now offer. For some people this is a significant benefit but none of these initiatives have been modeled on any flag carrier airline such as BA.
Airline management now need to be as ruthless as ever and they won't hesitate in altering our conditions or lifestyle for the worse if they see a need for it and they won't wait for big brother for follow. With the business models and the resulting working practices being quite different between BA and many other airlines, the days of comparing 'like with like' are starting to become numbered. If conditions were altered for the worse at BA - I don't necessarily see that the ripple effect will be as large as some may think.