And if short haul goes sideways then who knows if you will ever get it
I think if S/H goes "sideways" time to said command will drop sharply, the caveat; that command will be with an IAG subsidiary. Not BA.
The standard BA career path and freedom to move between SH and LH on one seamless BA contract and set of T&Cs may well cease to exist at some point in the future. IAG is not going to support the benefits our legacy agreements bring anymore, that much is clear. I would hazard a guess the music will stop sometime in 2016, at which point it will be important to be in a seat you don't mind sitting in for a long time.
If you are 35 or above and leave Ezy, or even the Middle East, abandoning a command or an impending left seat promotion then I think you are nuts. If you have 35 years to play with and accept the airline is in a state of massive change then come on in, the water is decidedly lukewarm.