Do not be a scab! Thats easy to say when you are in work and can feed your family!

Perhaps. Please keep in mind that a BA/BALPA dispute at this level is not something to be trapped in the middle of. Rumour has it that other companies are recruiting as well.

As far as Open Skies is concerned, I would seriously advocate waiting until an agreement is reached (and it will be) before you apply. If you don't, likely as not you will be a pariah and potentially leave yourself unemployable. If you wait, at best you could end up on the BA seniority list and in the long run, your family will thank you.

Do yourself a favour. Hang on for a few weeks until there is an outcome.

I am in work and can feed my family. I also get emails every week from a recruitment website, bombarding me with job offers.

BA mainline need 200 pilots in the next 12 months. Why risk being an outcast in a dodgy start-up experiment with a dubious future, when you could join mainline on vastly superior terms??

BA need nearer 300 pilots by early 2009 to meet the needs of the expansion plan. Longhaul and shorthaul positions will be available.
The managers are so concerned about the ability to attract enough applicants that a new ab-initio course will almost ceratainly be starting up in the near future.

mighty mouse

There are plenty of jobs out there.

Don't be a scab. This is going to get very messy!

You'll be caught in the middle!

Your family won't thank you for being unemployable!

OK, so it's easy to say if you're in a job. But if people accept this, it will have an effect on all terms and conditions for many jobs in the future. Sell out now for a bit of easy money and accept that you will earn less in the future. But I would say that if you are good enough to get throught the BA recruitment bullsh!t (which I'm assuming there is some of with this job) you are good enough to get a better job elsewhere.

And don't underestimate an IFALPA ban. There are a lot of companies out there who respect them and you could make yourself unemployable, not to mention a pariah.