Mildly Militant
In post 2542 you say BA should be comparing the T & Cs of it's crew to those of other flag carriers such as AF/LH/CO/UA. Fair point, apart from the following:
Their home base isn't London, one of the, if not the, most competetive markets for international air travel. To say that Easyjet, and the like, are not a fair comparison, misses a very important point.
Easyjet is only irrelevant if our customers don't see them as a competetor. Unfortunately, in Europe, where I operate as crew, they very much do. Many people may prefer to travel BA, but they will only do so if the difference in fare is relatively small. I am constantly shocked to see how little some of our customers have paid - fares you would have dreamed about paying 10, even 15 years ago.
The case is less clear cut on WW admittedly, but have you seen the TV ads for Emirates? - flights to Australia from SIX different cities across the UK. The same airline with orders for 90, yes 90 A380s.
I don't know where you get your information on AF, LH etc. Are you sure they still have T & Cs superior to ours?
I was on one German nightstop where a Lufthansa crew was at pick up and I asked them what they were doing that day. They were just about to start a 6 sector day!
Qantas have, I believe, had for some time their version of Mixed fleet and a variety of different contracts as well as their legacy crew.
A number of the US carriers pilots and, I think cabin crew took a pay cut when the recession hit.
I was a passenger on an Air France 2 years ago and I asked the SCCM if they'd had any changes to their T & Cs and she confirmed there had.
Sometimes we might WANT something to be so, because it allows us the luxury of staying as we are; that's what BASSA plays on, but it's only by being realistic about what the situation actually IS, that we can work to make sure our long term future is assured.