M Mouse, I've just taken a quick look at the latest annual report (which is very well presented by the way) -
Your £26M comes out at about 1% of total employee costs.
Less than a percent of fuel & oil costs.
About 5% of accomodation, ground equipment and IT costs.
It is less than one third of a percent of yearly revenues.
By that token it's chicken feed.
In return for you forgoing £26M, if certain conditions are met you will be given a one time payment of £13M of shares in three years time - by which time, I note, the bulk of any capital gain will have already accrued. That is to say, you will receive a single compensation for today and you will miss out on the growth between now and then by receiving a fixed value of shares. In the meantime your annual pay, and that of your future colleagues is permanently lowered. So rather than a diet for weight loss, you've opted for stomach stapling.
Current liabilities come out at £4.1 Billion vs cash of £1.4 billion.
By that token you'll all need to work for free for a year. £26M in this context is irrelevant.
I don't believe in industrial might as it happens, if I were WW I'd be looking at every way of bringing my costs down. You and CC would be high up on my list - you are both paid way over market rate for negligible added value. I'm simply stating a fact when I say you are powerful and that you hold all the cards. If your aircraft doesn't have fuel it can't fly. If it doesn't have you in it, it can't fly, simples. They employ you not for your company but because they absolutely and completely need you. You can afford to be intransigent and refuse because let's face it, they can't wholesale replace the pilot body a la the Lindsey Oil refinery. What they can do is whittle away at the bottom of the demographic, so that when you're long gone - that 2.6% saving will be reaping rewards way beyond £26M.
Anyway, it's your fight to fight and I wish you good luck in it all, I hope it all works out for all concerned.