I know for a fact that the recruitment team campaigned long and hard to retain those already selected but were over ruled by the HR department.
BA is an 'Ivory Tower' airline still in many respects/departmentd and the 'BA way' or, more truthfully, 'that's how we've always done it' mentality prevails in many cases.
I realise that this is of little comfort to those who have been messed about but I would certainly defend Lindsay and his team in this one. HR is another matter and I have discussed this at various levels, hopefully, seeding the idea of change in the future with those who have influence, especially with respect to Ex-Mil DEP's who have specific timescales to adhere to. As with all things BA don't expect changes quickly!
I see DEP recruiting coming up soon. It all depends on route re-structuring and aircraft procurement. As a mere line-swine I am not privvy to the management briefings but the promise of substantial expansion was sold at the recent BMI merger. There are not, currently, enough pilots in BA to cover a small, let alone medium size long haul expansion. It may take a year or so but BA will not only take FPP, they will always want to pad out experience with DEP's.
All IMHO of course!
