Current Holdpoolers
There are under fifty guys treading water, living from speculation and very little hard evidence. Current happenings at BA have made it very difficult to forecast and I genuinely feel the only real guidance that can be given is 'you must be prepared to wait it out and see what develops.' The purchase of bmi is undoubtably a major long term coup for IAG, however it is posing as a massive swerve ball in the short term. A multitude of people have been affected.
It seems a little selfish to talk about those waiting patiently in the wings whenever 1500+ will loose their jobs due to the integration. We aren't even touching on the outcome of those within Baby and Regional. However those currently in the holdpool applied to BA when the purchase of bmi from DLH wasn't even part of the public domain. I know this means little, however the last four to six months have seen a major movement of the goalposts for potential DEPs. New joiners will now arrive on a vastly different pay scale with potentially 300+ pilots ahead of them on the MSL; and that's IF they get to join. I realise the later is undecided, however it could offer considerable consequences to someone joining an airline where the motto is "Seniority is Everything."
The above is not a complaint. Business is business and timing is everything. IAG appears duty bound to the integration of mainline, and I for one hope the transition is smooth, timely and painless. This, I think, is the best outcome for those within the holdpool looking for some degree of clarity on their positions. However I envisage a substantial wait ahead before anyone hears anything conclusive.
Who knows if what SkyRocket10 claims regarding the Regional and Baby guys will infact transpire? However I, for one, will be royaly pissed if it occurs. I am not detracting from the pain that pilots within Baby and Regional must be experiencing and I am all for giving them opportunity during the next campaign, however surely logic appeals to the holdpool being emptied first. I've just about come round to the fact that there are guys within mainline who were deemed unsuitable by assessors at Cranebank not so long ago. They will be starting their BA OCCs soon.
So I've ended sounding like a selfish soul, however I'm hoping for a fair crack of the whip somewhere down the line. A simple case of protecting your investment, which seems to be the running theme during the BA/bmi integration process.
Goodluck to those concerned.