Barden,
Firstly many thanks for your sympathy. I was not digging for or even hoping for such as a by product - merely stating a fact. I always knew that when I started training I was older than ideal and that there were no guarantees even in a good market. I'm very glad I did it, actually, because at least I gave my dream ((tm) - every wannabe, ever) my best shot - I can honestly say there's nothing I could really have done differently that would have made a difference. I know that come the final reckoning I won't have to wonder "what if I'd given it a go....". It was just unfortunate timing, but thems the breaks. At least I didn't bankrupt myself to do it!
However, the point I was trying to relate when talking about my own position is purely that for those who are NOT flying regularly for an organisation, Balpa can't form a CC. Therefore I (and any others in my or a similar situation) CAN'T get involved and CAN'T help to improve things (picking up on stakeknifes post). Balpa - IMHO - do nothing whatsoever to help
aviation as a whole and I feel strongly they'd do their OWN cause a huge amount of good if they would organise a body - a cross industry cc if you like - that functioned across ALL airlines that represented the needs and views of the industry as a whole - including all of us...the experienced and working, experienced but out of work, newly qualified and working, newly qualified and yet to find work and those training. Who would they engage with? The CAA. EASA. The government....this industry desperately needs someone to fight to stop the things that are independent of compant, but that affect every facet of aviation - FCL, FTL, P2F etc. Balpa is the only obvious choice to do this, but currently it is set up to ONLY react to individual airline fights and serve those who are currently working...and inevitably this leads to the
industry idetiorating and a feeling of disenchantment with the union as a whole from those that the union [appears to have] distanced itself from.
On the rest of your post, I wholeheartedly agree - I suspect our views are very similar overall...