I have been 18 years in BA both SH and LH. I have never had my fuel carriage questioned.
I looked at the fuel tables 5 years ago out of curiosity and know of nobody who reads them let alone takes any notice of them.
It was emphasised during command training to take extra fuel if I felt it was warranted. BA's emphasis is on making everybody aware of the cost implications of excess fuel carriage and use their common sense and experience to make their judgement.
The last minute drop in ZFW procedure is a waste of paper as nobody bothers to implement yet another hare-brained idea from somebody who has only ever flown a desk.
The thread and first post are both stupid and inaccurate.