I realise that a poster on the original BA DEP thread called for less pessimism, however those within the holdpool have to be reminded of a casual fact. There is no guarantee of them joining BA at all! A scale, B scale, BA Express; whatever. Unfortunately the world continues to revolve and goes much further than a few thousand pilots voting on a new pay and productivity scale. For those hoping for employment within mainline, I would be more concerned about the performance of a company within a very volatile marketplace which is only to become more volatile. Also, the amalgamation of 300 odd pilots, which will forerun any DEP or FPP requirement. After all, the short term concern related to this pay restructure relates to them. Obviously, as I aleady stated, the proposal, as intended, will lead to long term changes.
I think I would reiterate though that BA remains an aspiration and it remains one of the very few career airlines left. The proposed 'B' scale is a kick in the bollocks for all concerned. Those currently within BA and those aspiring to it. Yes, it may lead to some having to reconsider. However in an industry which is forever on a downward spiral, I can't say it's surprising. WW and IAG will not run SH at a continuous loss, they will not run bmi forever in its current form (assuming the sale goes through) and I very much believe that if they were given the opportunity to establish an entity with a much lower cost base, they would. I believe this vote is about choosing the lesser of two evils, for time being. WW is there to make money. He is only as good as his previous quarter. Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is king. A very wise man told me that every CEO lives or dies by that phrase. That's all WW is interested in protecting. Whether that is right or wrong, causes disagreement or not; that's the fact. I have no opinion either way. I still regard BA as an aspirational airline for pilots to join.