First of all: VS, how can you have worked in First on your first long haul flight? At WW, there are crew specifically trained and rostered to work in First. But that's beside the point.
Marlowe, a few things for you.
I do realise that you want Cityflyer to do the lcy-nyc route as you say you're the cheapest option. But are you really? You would have to be trained on the following:
A318
Club World product and service
Also, you would need US Visas (two of them)
It may not seem like that would cost much, but a Visa is around $80 per crew member (plus transport). Yes, BA could force you to pay for it yourself, but you still need the day off to go to the embassy in London.
To be able to train you, you will need to be on the ground, ie not operating flights. As has been pointed out previously, you don't have "spare" crew to take off line for training. (Please do not confuse this with capabilities)
You keep saying that BA don't want you to have a union and that the unions are not interested in you. It's fairly easy to set up, but you need all the crew to join in the "fight". You can't do it on your own. Contact a union and ask them what you need to do to set up a LCY department. Unions will not chase you, you have to approach them. They can then advise you on how to get recognition from the company, how to recruit members, elect reps and so on. If you want better working conditions for yourself and your colleagues, you have to do something about it.
At LGW, the only rosta stability we have is the following:
Our days off are set in stone, they cannot be changed on a whim from scheduling. The only time this would not apply is if we get stuck down route for some reason (tech, weather etc) and can't come back in time. We then get another day off (lieu day), although it's difficult to get it allocated.
A change to the rosta which means a clear time (finish time) or more than 3 hours later must be notified to the crew member at least 24 hours before duty commences. This means when I turn up work work later, I can be doing something completely different, but as long as I finish within 3 hours of normal finish time. (This can still play havoc with plans such as child care, appointments etc).
What I'm trying to say is that LGW is mainline, but not the glamorous version. We get paid macadamia nuts (a tiny bit more than peanuts), and we are dependant on longer trips to be able to house, clothe and feed ourselves. For crew with children or other dependants, it is a difficult juggling act. (I'm not saying it isn't for Cityflyer crew as well).
The company decided to operate the LCY-NYC route with LGW crew. Basically it must be the cheapest option, as otherwise you would be operating it. I don't know how and why the company do their figures, but I'm sure there's a method in the madness somewhere.
Do fight for a union though, get your friends together and make it your mission to fight for better conditions for LCY (and EDI) crew.
ATB,
Gg