Hotel Mode,
Look forward to flying with you sometime in the future. Anyone in BA since the Dan-Air merger(even Cali days) has lost out somewhere given our recent upheavals, B-Scales, etc. I have been on the wrong side of a slope for near 8years because of joining 2weeks later than my mates. There are loads of CApt's below my Seniority and good luck to them. The poor buggars joining now are even going to lose their FS Pensions.
All we can do is try to minimise the damage in the future by learning from the past. In some situations, someone is bound to lose, be worse off, or not better off than others(probably my Seniority again, in the coming Pay Restructuring)but as long as every attempt is made to minimise damage, who can object. Only if the situation is ignored completely is their a problem.
All fleets(including franchises) are audited by the same Quality Control Team under John Mimpriss, I believe. The 747/777 fleet are currently in their audit period. It is to spot anomalies that might develop in Safety if fleets where to remain Independant for years. Why not learn from things that have been spotted on other fleets and vice versa. I imagine the franchises are even more closely monitored(rightly or wrongly)because they have been outside the main recruitment/training. BA knows that a photo in the paper showing a burnt tail fin remains, lying in a field in BA colours doesn't matter whether it's a franchise or not. They would be up for serious litigation however if they couldn't prove they had a serious input to check the Safety Level of Franchises in the event of a Incident.
I don't deny that in BA there are a lot of guys who selfishly look after themselves regardless of the effects on others, but they are in the minority in reality and the BALPA team just coming into power are much more spread out across all the ranks/outfits(ex-CFE, ex-RAF, etc) and aware of the shortfalls in the Past. Scope is not a BA-Pilot stealth Plan to takeover BACX jobs or anyone elses. As I said, there are more BA Pilots being displaced, (more than Seniority alone would dictate) as a result of recent takeovers than CFE, BRAL Pilots combined. A lot of BA SFO's are not getting their 737/757/767 Commands this year and probably the next, and some BA Pilots/CAPT's are being forced out of Manchester after decades of service there. So it is hard to argue that BA Pilots haven't been more than accomodating than the stance they could have take given their #'s and weight.
Scope is about protecting all our jobs in the future and without it we would have no leg to stand on come any future Negotiations. I am not a blind Pro-BALPA Pilot as most who have read some of my other posts Know. I read the fine print off agreements and then make up my own mind. But this time Scope is a must for all of us, including those outside the BA umbrella.
Try to take a balanced view to the wider implications that Scope means for All UK Pilots. If in doubt, ask guys like Hotel Mode who have only just come through the Welcome grinder.