Any work contract gets overriden by progressive law changes in terms of age equality, sex equality and anything else you care to mention that has involved a law change. I'm not sure how the LIFO/Age discrimination problem stands in terms of law. Until it is confronted head on in the High Court with a test case to establish exactly how firm it is, then I would think BALPA is not keen to commit its (members) assets on a very expensive High Court test case. Trying to look at it dispassionately, can the pilot body effectively hold a company to ransom by forcing it to make large scale expensive base changes for pilots rather than simply closing a base down and making those at that base redundant? Is it ethical? Any other company in the land would simply close a factory and make those working there redundant. I don't think pilots really have the power to demand large scale base changes prior to redundancy by seniority. Having said that, I still feel immensely sorry about the situation, and I wish you the best with resolving it satisfactorily. BALPA not only has to chose which side to support, it has to bear in mind its assets and ability to fight a test case. At the end of the day, I do think they work for all our benefit.