Notwithstanding the dork element who frequent a thread such as this, some of the comments here are most unfortunate. As one who has nothing to do with BA, I recognise that this battle was not just for BA pilots but for all unionised pilots everywhere. There will no doubt be much carping by the disenchanted and misinformed, but the simple fact is that BA have won a huge victory here, and that is bad news for every member of BALPA in every company. I have not the slightest doubt that BALPA would have stayed to fight it out had they thought they had any chance of winning - most regrettably it appears that they did not. The way is now clear for BA to effectively sideline the BA seniority list and build a parallel world that completely ignores the industrial agreements of previous years. They will undoubtedly do so and I hope there is a will to resist that within BA.
The right to withdraw labour is a fundamental right of all employees won over many years by brave people fighting almost impossible odds - the current European legislation has done away with that right in one fell swoop. An obscure piece of legislation has been used to really stuff the BA pilots. Nonetheless, the necessary lessons will be learnt and next time BALPA will win. If the BA pilots really want to fight this, there are still many ways of doing so - from sickouts to working to rule. My sincere hope is that they will not just walk away and lick their wounds. I truly wish them well and hope they will step up to the plate for Round Two.