I believe BA is playing a dangerous game at letting 178 pilots go(more ?). I think it's offbeat now as the economy seems to be picking up again. Summer 2010 should be nice again and 2011 will be hot. Considering the length of training cycles for pilots, future growth needs to be tackled today.
Air France is walking around that pitfall by taking advantage of the legal possibility left of making employees "partially redundant" which implies you're only part-time. This allows the airline to reduce costs while keeping its pilots in the nest and up and ready for the restart. Nothing would be worse than having to go through unsustainable training again when things kick-in again as not being able to cope with a rising program makes you miss the train and keeps you stuck in the mud while the troop is rushing in tailwind growth.
If I were BA management, I wouldn't...But, hey, they surely know better after all.