Further to my last.....................
The change in emphasis here is based on BA's alteration in the description of the new aircraft orders. The 4 B772's coming in early '09 were described as for "expansion" - they are now being called "replacements". Similarly the newly announced B773's are both "787" stopgaps
and expansion/replacement - the decision about that being deferred until their delivery in 2010. This would give time for the economics to become clearer.
In terms of new pilots there will be recruitment again as by then (2010) some senior guys will be approaching 60 years old (like me
) so will be retiring.
(yes I know the max age is 65 but we all ticked the "60" box for pensions)