Excuse if I have to take exception to some of the postings:
I am interested in moving to OS from BA Mainline.
Not least since I'm a foreigner myself.
I can't see why one would not be interested. The Mainline group of pilots is so diverse that yes they will view it as a distinct possibility.
Pay is not that much worse if you start considering tax benefits and the ability to be paid in Euro's at a 1.4 conversation rate. In fact if a command is on the cards for many FO's it might actually be a healthy payrise in the scenario above.
So yes I do have a vested interest in OS.
However there are another couple of reasons:
1) one of my friends has got an OS contract whilst working for another 75/76 operator and the plans are not 'just' for 6 aircraft.
You are already alluding to 9 aircraft, whilst he was talking about a possible 30 if/when BA orders it's next big a/c order. (think 787's)
2) the golden goose that LHR is at the moment will not remain as it is today. The economics will simply prevail and margins on UK-US routes and external competition will make it drop pretty heftily over the coming years.
AI the profit margins of an operation like OS and BA will come closer together.
You might well find that routes that were viable in a pre Openskies (the agreement) will not be viable anymore after Openskies (the agreement)...
Futher to that it means that expansion will probably be focused on routes with higher profit margins and so you'll find that life at London might well become very stale for a lot of guys.
3) sorry if i'm slightly biased and probably egoistic in my views but I joined BA for a reason.
And I will not just roll over and die when it's clear that my union and it's members want to make OS a success on the companies T&C's but without the infighting that is going to happen between 2 different companies from a pilot's perspective.
BA Plane = BA Pilot