As a LHR ATCO (to use Sir Alan Sugars words) it's my personal opinion that BA are 'a total shambles'.
Not the front line staff, the idiots in management that have reduced the support functions to the bone.
Never mind 27L as the departure runway, we can use any runway for departure and BA never seem to be ready on reaching a quiet holding point.
Whether this be loadsheet or cabin not ready. Why can every other airline play the game but BA can't. When you factor into the equation the lack of dispatchers to park the inbounds and the finite space at LHR it's not long before BA can bring the airport to it's knees.
I have the upmost respect and empathy for my friends and colleagues on the flightdeck who have to come up with excuses on a daily/hourly basis to explain things to the SLF. I admit this is a rant but I hear a lot worse from friends in the pointy end.
Everyone keeps saying it'll be alright with T5
BA also promised us that they'd pull out all the stops to help us with the transition to the new tower. We kept our end of the bargain and managed to reduce the flow control to standard within a couple of days. BA were back to the usual tricks of no dispatchers also within a couple of days despite promising us the highest level of support for a month
I understand my position, BA are the customer, but if they aren't going to play the game, then to protect my license, my colleagues and I will have to introduce inbound and outound flow control so every user of the airport suffers.
Rant Over. Been brewing for a while!