I remember the days when BA was the carrier of choice which I loyally booked and I flew all over the USA and europe with them for nearly 20 years . . . things have changed and they offer no value over the budget carriers . . . but still charge a premium price . . . If I'm going to get sh1t service I may as well pay less . . .
This got me thinking.
According to skyscanner, booking ahead and flying from LHR to EDI with BA will cost £64 return.
If Luton is convenient for you, you can fly from there to EDI with Easy for £59 return. I didn’t look at LGW.
Catching a train from Kings Cross will cost £61 return on the same date.
Ryanair would probably offer a similar service for £9.99 each way.
Too few customers will pay for a robust level of service, and no airline executives will sacrifice their (cost cutting = profit making) bonus to provide it. Of course they will charge whatever they can, but the customer has decided that price is everything!
This is rather sad to say, but the halcyon days of aviation have gone for a very considerable time to come, if not forever.
On many routes everyone is competing with Ryanair levels of cost and service. Because that is what customers in their droves have shown they want.