1) Foreign franchises are not included in the Scope agreement.
2) BA pilots don't have a very expensive allowance structure, they have a fixed rate per block hour and a fixed hourly rate for time away from base. Just like many other airlines.
3) Our UK regional operators seem to be able to pi55 their money up the wall without our help.
4) Shorthaul 'profitability' is whatever the accountants say it is, particularly when they divvy up revenue for transfer traffic based on percentages of trip mileages rather than the going ticket rates.
5) Cathay seem to do pretty well out of their in-house freighters, as do Lufthansa. BA is already one of the worlds top ten cargo shippers on belly cargo alone, they know exactly how to make money out of the industry. Its worth a damn site more than most passenger fares currently.
By the way, HZ123 is a ramp trainer at LHR, so if you want to know why it takes two men to operate a one man tug, or why only one union can chock an aircraft then he's your man.