Some of the vastly more worldly chaps such as Wiggy etc have far more informed opinions.
Thanks but I'm probably more Christmas crackered and cynical than worldly.....
I can't add much about lifestyle to the comments you guys who are living the shorthaul dream have posted, it ties in with comment elsewhere.
What I would say is that the management line of "we're in a fight for survival so we need cuts" has been the standard line at BA since the year dot, even when the shares were up at over £7 decades back. If we're doing well there will always be a caveat of "but looking ahead things aren't so good, so...." ...I think that is why you are seeing morale so low, because the troops feel they are always always under the cosh - and away from the waterfront some departments such as IT have already been decimated. Ultimately I don't think I've ever read or heard an unqualified "well done" from the BA head office.
As for the comments about BALPA at BA - IMHO it, or some of the hierarchy, are going to have to pee or get off the pot shortly. Bidline has been dismantled month on month in a series of small calculated steps that management know won't trigger a "call to arms", shorthaul were clobbered particularly badly by the move to EASA FTLs. I think even most of the Company council must realise that you can't solve everything by negotiation when dealing with some of those in power (who seem increasingly gung ho and are imposing changes to agreements at short notice) but it does seem that often as not a series of newsletters to the troops is the company council's weapon of choice. I'm personally not surprised the new joiners feel let down.
OTOH even the cynic in me would agree that BA can be very very good if you have a major family crisis, but the description about small problems and treacle rings true. If asked I'd still recommend Longhaul at BA, but I think shorthaul is becoming increasingly difficult to sell - other than as a route in to BA with a view of going Longhaul ASAP...which might only take a few years now but who knows what is down the road - not that long ago a few years was easily a decade.