ChocksAwayUK
Very old BA Capt here ( 20,000hrs+ in 30 years
)
The big difference you will notice is size - 3300 pilots out of nearly 50,000 employees. On my own fleet (747) we have 800 pilots - that's more than some international flag carriers have in their whole airline ! The result is that you would come across all possible types in a career here. But bear this in mind - there is no such thing as a "typical" Nigel anymore. A huge proportion of BA pilots have been recruited as DEPs - thus they are ex BMI,Ryanair, TCX etc etc plus lot's from the military and not forgetting a sizeable overseas contingent from Europe and beyond.
Total number of ex Hamble BEA/BOAC cadets? Less than 200.
Of those - how many stuffy old farts? A couple I must admit
Chances of you ever flying with one? Zero
A huge question for you is how long can you keep flying your EZ Airbus/737 on SH European routes. 5 years? 10 years? 35 years?
In BA you would have the chance to fly the same types but with tours and later in your career swap to longhaul and (if you didn't like it) change back to SH.
The downside is seniority - joining now only makes sense if you are young and are prepared to bide your time waiting for people like me to "drop" - and I've got potentially 10 years left
Last point is important. Every pilot I've spoken to says the same thing. The reality inside BA is nothing like the picture painted by outsiders.........