dear bananasbananas
One of the many reasons I have such respect for douglas planes over others is this...
the MIC for the PA system is a huge telephone like thing. One must pick up a completely different instrument (than the RT mic), press a button/switch more than 3 feet away to actively address the passengers.
Unless one is used to calling approach control on the telephone, it would be unlikely to make the VC10 boo boo,
and if BA insists on using the intercom (not a bad idea), why not an always open (hot) intercom(pilot to pilot) system, interrupted only by RT ptt?