LNIDA, yes OTP at LGW has been shocking because of a certain handling agent that will soon be ditched, and which is not a problem confined to Monarch. Average sector length is significantly longer than e.g. EZ or FR so two sectors are the norm for the moment but this could change.
The only extra money is for working days off and as for "lax expense claims for ground training" this is utter rubbish - pilots get nothing extra for ground duties at home base and normal day/voyage rate if at another base - they don't even claim via the expenses system for ground duties as this is done via the rostering system!
A "loyal but aged" customer base - what so older people's money is somehow worth less on the balance sheet? The older generation appreciate Monarch's customer service as they don't like being treated like cattle.
Monarch started moving to a scheduled model over 10 years ago and have been competing with easy and Ryanair all of that time, very successfully on their core routes.
Non-reclining lightweight seats have extra legroom built-in because of the thickness of the seat itself and are much preferred by passengers as the seat in front does not recline (I believe a recent survey showed that 95% of passengers don't like reclining seats). They also give a much more spacious cabin as on single aisle aircraft passengers can walk past trolleys and the iPad/tablet holders they contain are very popular with passengers accessing the in-flight Wi-Fi or just doing their own thing on their own devices - of course the seats also save considerable weight and thus fuel.
The Boeing deal, which will soon be signed, was significantly better, all things considered, than what Airbus were offering.
FANS, not sure what you mean by the "change of Ts and Cs for new joiners". Following the recently agreed changes with the union, all Monarch pilots will be on the same contract.