First, thanks to those who sent PM's thanking me for posting this thread.
Second, its been a tough time for our industry, nobody can deny this and it's highlighted for new pilots entering it.
When I think of everything that's happened so far this decade I think you have go back to the 70's to get anything close and even then it wasn't on the same scale as the past 10 years:
2001 9-11
2002 SARS
2003 War in Iraq
2007 Worldwide Recession
2008 $140 barrel of Oil
2009 Swine Flu
No doubt there are other world events I have missed affecting aviation, however don't forget the retirement age being extended to 65 at a lot of airlines reducing recruitment needs and promotion prospects for a few years. Consolidation of a number of airlines resulting in recruitment freezes and redundancies.
As for BALPA, I can't help feeling they are just not getting it. There are serious issues affecting indigenous British/UK based pilots. I list 7-5 contracts, hiring of foreign nationals on reciprocal agreements (however it appears to be leaning heavily one way) and the constant raising of the training threshold (and consequently costs) newly qualified pilots have to attain to get into the industry. I keep on returning to the image of the behaviour of the pigs in Orwell's Animal Farm when I think of our union.
I signed on to the website last night and read through their forum. Very quick to congratulate themselves for getting PaddyPower to stop taking bets on next airline to go tits up, however I didn't see one response from any BALPA exec on the Easyjet/CTC/Pay 2 Fly scheme thread despite going onto 5 pages.
On the pertinent issues their priorities are questionable and their silence is deafening.