Why not apply and give it your all. You will only have a dilemma if you actually get offered a slot.
Good advice....
max, you may well get a pay rise by moving to BA, but the other hand don't forget to factor in the cost of buying/living etc etc in the south east in the financial calculations(apologies ahead of time if you've already done that).
As for commuting as an option, yep, certainly possible for Long Haul and certainly possible on a short Haul part time roster....whether it's really possible and sustainable on the sort of rosters full time short haulers are working these days ( and over which you'll have almost zero control) I'll leave for somebody else to answer.