Do you know what was the straw that broke the camel's back?
Picture this: a 747 from the west coast full of passengers and unable to land at LHR due bad wx. It diverts to a Scottish airport. The pilots (3 of them on a WC) and 4 of the 14 CC were willing to fuel and go on to destination; they had plenty of hours in hand. One of the CC decides that it would break the rules and calls their union. Under their "agreement" if an aircraft lands where it's not destined to, they should have 2 local nights before continuing or..... arrange a huge payout for the inconvenience. You must bear in mind that legally they would have been able to carry on for a total duty of 18hours and they had used some 12 by the time they had fuelled up.
The union stated to all the CC that if they chose to continue, they would be DISCIPLINED by the UNION!!!! Something unheard of since the 70's.
The upshot was a huge bill for BA, and loss of face for BA. WW was so incensed by it that the CC were MADE to in a B&B for 2 nights and the pilots got home. So please do not lecture me about loss of prestige.
So, you might argue that it would have been cheaper for BA to pay up and go. However, how far does a company (who has been pandering for years to this sort of thing) go before it says: ENOUGH!. Truth is that when BA were flush with money it was a regular occurrence but in this day and age, something had to be done.
A previous incident similar in vein meant that another 747 had to divert into an American airport for similar reasons even though it could have continued using discretion, which by the way, is the CAPTAIN's discretion.
Now, as LD says, let's get back on track.
It seems to me that SEPLA have totally shut themselves away in the past few years; they seem to think that the company whose interests they are supposed to be protecting for the benefit of their membership is immune to market forces and the competition that surrounds them. In a typical Spanish attitude to such things, they have chosen not to look after their basket of eggs and thus have allowed many better run and structured companies to steal their market share. The Spanish have done the same with tourism and agriculture, once the staple diet of a less industrialised nation.
It is not BA's fault that the likes of EJ, Ryanair, and Vueling have a leaner business model, it is not IB's either, but the harsh truth is that an Airline either adapts or dies and whether SEPLA admit it or not, their main responsibility is to ensure a viable airline for their members and if BOHICA (Bend Over Here It Comes Again) is the way to achieve that, then BOHICA it is.
Notwithstanding the above statement and at the risk of repeating myself, they should take the time to understand their business so that what management insert isn't bigger than it needs to be, or inserted for longer than it needs to be.