The pay and conditions of every UK airline is as a direct result of British Airways falling back over the last decade or so.
If BA pilots stand together (with BALPA's support) and make their new entrant rates considerably more attractive then these companies will have to follow suit. Otherwise they will lose many of their workforce over the next 5 years to BA.
BA's pay offer negotiations 2001 are the most important round of talks for UK pilots for a long time.