That's a good piece Thick E. I agree that Walsh's bluff should be called. Let him start BA Express and he will lose money with that as well. Also with the Olympics not far away, does IAG really want to provoke a fight with their BA pilots?
VIRGIN seems to survive without a shorthaul network to feed its routes, so would LGW longhaul also limp on without the B737-400's. Inevitably, shorthaul is all but finished at LGW.
After concessions are made by BA's pilots at Eurofleet, what would be next on Walsh's shopping list? Perhaps mainline pilots pay flying longhaul holiday routes out of LGW will suddenly be unsustainable? Where does it stop unless BALPA draws a line in the sand now?
Walsh will push his luck and does not care if industrial action is provoked. He will take the short term pain for the long term gain if he can get away with it. BA pilots will find themelves in the unenviable position of their cabin crew "colleagues" (sic), of having their ballots for strike action injuncted and a campaign in the national press rubbishing them (as has happened before) and printing for all to see, how much they earn and the privileged lifestyle they enjoy.
Don't forget that Walsh will soon play the "this is the best deal you are going to get, the next offer will be worse. Take it or leave it" card, if it appears things are not going his way.
If BA's pilots are not sure where this is all going, just contact APA President Captain Dave Bates of the Allied Pilots Union at American Airliness, for some advice on where they went wrong in the past. Walsh hasn't re-invented the wheel here, there is a blueprint he is following and he will break BALPA's grip on BA at the same time if given the chance