Hi there 737!
The way I see it, and the way I have been told in my debrief last year, was "do not teach yourself to fly, cos we'll do that". However, I think that a few hours in your log book WILL count, for this reason.......one of the hardest jobs in the interview to do is convince them that flying commercially and for BA is THE thing that you want/need/have to do with your life.
If you have no hours then it will be very difficult to convince them.."how do you know you want to fly if you have no hours logged?"..very difficult to answer. There are of course other things that need to be stated to answer this question, but basically a few hours could make all the difference (I will let you know in about 3 months if I get through lol!!!!!)
It is true obviuosly that they will teach us to fly, but they need to be convinced that we are making the correct choice in career, but also they need to be convinced of it too.
Therefore, the "why do you want to be a pilot" question is a crucial one (as of course they all are but..)
We are all applying against a set standard, and not against each other. For this reason, comparisons should not be made between individuals because we are all different and there are so many variables in the equation.
Flying hours WILL help, but the whole package needs to be there!
I hope this helps...this is my view point on the topic
Good luck if you are applying now, and all the best for the future.
(btw I have my aptitudes on mon 5th feb so heres hoping :-) )
LORI