altruism /alˈtroo-i-zm/
noun
The principle of living and acting for the interest of others
In this case others are "shareholders" and BA are proving to be a very altruistic company looking at the long term effect of allowing large numbers of LHR slots onto the market in competition at our main base and mitigating a future impact on the business.
Maybe BlackandBrown, the sooner "people" think of aviation as a business the sooner they will realise decisions from take overs to pilot selection are not personal. They are made to best fit a business plan. Sometimes the personal outcome is coincident and happier than others.
I'm sure there are 300 BMI pilots right now wondering what their future holds and 3300 BA pilots wondering how those futures will affect theirs. Short term pain for future stability? Who knows.
Depending on how many slots will be kept by IAG it could see a 20% increase in BA's slots for a 10% increase in pilot numbers. If those slots are converted to long haul over the coming years where the crew to slot ratio is even higher then it could be very positive for recruitment.
Time will tell.
Jazzy