R. Don
On one hand (Mainline BA) you have a high cost company that is costing an arm and a leg to run, allowances, salary, pensions, transport [from crewroom/aircraft] etc.etc.etc.
Allowances/salary - much the same thing. How many FOs at Go/Easy are on £19K? None, Id guess. Factor in allowances and then a BA FO is starting to make comparable cash.
Pensions - Pensionable pay of £19K? That'll really break the bank compared to DC contributions on a £30K+ salary.
Transport - obviously never flown out of LHR. What do you expect us to do, cycle around the airport? Its not our fault the bus drivers won't carry pax in both directions or allow us to use the same transport as cabin crew.
Anyway, lets not forget that last year the highest earning BACE jet pilot made around £70K, with jet FOs earning considerably more than £21K. Not that great a difference in many respects, particularly given the difference in aircraft size. You may think BACE could take over shorthaul, but where are you going to find 737 drivers on the open market willing to work for £21K and £21 per night when they're away 12 nights each month?