At the risk of being contentious, is there any reason why BA pilots would want bmi to be integrated?
I would have thought so. BA/IAG have said that if the integration goes ahead, then the career opportunities for BA pilots will be significant; so if it doesn't, then one can imagine where the recruitment/expansion will take place:- in the so called "standalone" entity that was bmi.
The slots that bmi would bring to the operation would have a significant effect on promotion prospects, etc. Consider 1 A319's daily operations between LHR & EDI, for instance: 5x takeoffs + 5x landings into LHR (5 slot pairs). 1 early crew, 1 late crew : 2x Capts & 2x F/Os = 4 pilots. Convert those slots for a longhaul operation with 5x Capts & 5x F/Os outbound to somewhere & the same number returning.=20 pilots (& that's without a 'heavy' crew which would increase that number still further). And that is just the effect from 1 aircraft.