This is not a moan, just an observation some have pointed out before. It is ironic that a pool with probably some of the best candidates is disqualified. That is those of us to which flying means almost more than anything and would spend all the pennies we can gather over the years to get that elusive CPL licence, some in very creative ways. At this point, don't get me wrong. I do not for one second suggest that those who are eligible do not deserve this opportunity. If you go through the list of qualities BA state they are looking for though, there is ready evidence of that from low hour CPL candidates.
A natural response could be "well, you are already qualified, why would you look to apply to a cadetship". I would say look at it this way, military pilots can still apply, but more crucially, in flying there are several routes to working in the seat of an airline, but let's look namely at self-sponsorship vs cadetships. With self-sponsorship, one cannot under normal circumstance apply to an airline such as BA after qualification. It would take years of hurdles to get to this position if at all, whereas with cadetships you are on the fast track. The point therefore is that there is a disparity, resulting in a handicap against the qualified vs someone who just decided to take a chance. It is as though something which should be seen as a quality is being looked down upon. I have not delved into whether this is a unique phenomenon to aviators or not, it just seems somewhat absurd.
For myself, I got to the last stage of a previous FPP programme and as was always my plan, pursued self-sponsorship as a Plan B. My opinion on the matter has not changed by virtue of being in the situation of now holding a CPL, it has just become a personal reality. Previous programmes did not clearly state that you could not hold a CPL and in fact, I "heard" of situations where CPL holders had got into the scheme. The restriction then appeared limited to having taken ATPL exams, so the flaw in my plan was that I thought by attaining an FAA CPL that I would still be eligible to re-apply, since it was not EASA. Also, I could not wait another year in hope, not knowing the reasons for not getting the final nod in the first place. There was simply no assurance that anything material would have changed the following year, since I had already worked pretty hard for that application that even with self-criticism I was still without real clue as to what I needed to do. To my detriment, I took what action I could to move forward based on what I knew.
I'll end by saying, I'm not naive to there being unstated reasons for why these programmes work the way they do. Suffice to state that British Airways is a business and dynamics pertinent to such an environment and external factors must come into play.
With all that said all the very best to those applying!