I thought that you clever pilot-types were objective, impassive, steely-eyed and all that?
Fantastic posts Devillish! Actually, some of us
are as you describe above, that is why this thread has provoked so much debate from within and without BA.
Some of us also agree that a seniority system is bunkum - you don't find it in HM Forces! Unfortunately, the seniority system has been in place for a long time, and has actually worked to the advantage of the employer as well, although with decreasing returns in recent years - hence some employers attempts at changing things. You wouldn't find a consultant surgeon having to start again on the ward floor if he moved hospitals, and the same should be true of pilots. I think OS and the inevitable copycats will bring this to an end sooner rather than later. Innovation and change are what move things along, and while BALPA has proved very useful in maintaining Ts and Cs for BA, I think this will, looking back, be seen as the first crack in the wall.
The future of air travel is bleak anyway, and as you say, generally aviation is a rubbish sector with utterly pathetic margins when compared to other sectors. The future is more and more expensive air travel, which will lead to the less well qualified and skilled airline pilots, and hence the airlines they work for, going under.
Darwinism has finally caught up with Aviation, remarkable that it was a union which precipitated things!