I come back to my originally-stated view that Astraeus are a 2-bit company who are simply union-busting at Aer Lingus. I openly wish them to come to no good and for Aer Lingus to provide their own operation at Gatwick crewed by their own pilots. For ex-BA pilots with massive pensions to take jobs at Astraeus on massively-reduced salaries is simply outrageous. If that applies to Rainboe and his mates, so be it. These people benefitted for a whole career from the trememdous sucesses won for them at BA including the best pay, conditions and pensions in the business. To now knowingly participate in a union-busting ploy by a disreputable company, whilst supplementing the dire salaries with their own BALPA-won pensions is human nature at its disgusting worst. If you are a low-houred pilot needing the money I have some sympathy. If you are an ex-BA pilot who has had a blessed career on the back of all BALPA won for you, I have no sympathy whatsoever. Astraeus's success in this venture is in no one's long term interest.
Aer Lingus are clear competition for my own company, easyJet. Clearly I want them to lose out in the battle that is ensuing. Nonetheless, I recognise their legitimacy and that they constitute fair competition in their own right. We have been unbelievably foolish by effectively providing the lion's share of First Officers to both Aer Lingus and Astraeus for their operation. That is something for our penny-wise and pound-foolish managers to reflect upon in their baths at night - we would have been far more effective in defeating the opposition by not training all their pilots for them and then kicking them out to save a few quid for a few months. Instead we gave our competition a head start by providing top-quality, highly-trained and immediately-available Airbus pilots. Crazy but there it is.
Anyway, time will tell who wins the war at Gatwick - my money is still on the Orange Order. I am not the slightest bit embarrassed to wish that whatever happens, Astraeus are not in the picture.