Well said Doug The Head,
My advice to easyJet cadets is the same. Remember a lot of posters here have only worked for easyJet (or worse employers). Take your hard earned licence to an airline that treats you with respect. 40 years with a UK low cost carrier really is a life sentence.
Don't believe this is as good as it gets, as WWW and 'he who cannot be mentioned' will have you believe. They simply don't know any better.
You will have a better quality of life, a more interesting career and more opportunity elsewhere. Get your hours do your sums and get out you owe easy absoloutely no loyalty whatsoever.
Dont pay to much attention to WWW and others, they have their own agendas. easyJet will always do what they want in the interests of the bottom line, it will never be a great employer, fullstop, period, and no union will ever change that.