Tagron,
A good post but you do have the air of someone who has worked within as you say and not the understanding of where avaition has moved to in the last 10-15 years.
You are 100% right in terms of customer experience.
The BA brand is damaged, severely damaged to the point of being the laughing stock of global aviation - easpecially in Europe.
You are right in terms of the gulf between the CEO and how services are delivered to the paying customer.
I disagree with you in your view that sort the customer experience out and everything else will fall into place.
One of BA's main problems is one of cost. Costs from:
Too many staff - YES, still too many for the size of airline - just look at Waterside!; the number of levels of staff in every facet of the operation etc.
Ancient work practices - just look at the crew/groundstaff/customer service staff T&C's against any well run and progressive aviation company. People say Alitalia is bad but get into the detail of BA and it is horrific, probably worse than both Alitalia and Air France.
BA employees, from the Chairman, CEO down to the front line men and women have to realise that they are not 'the world's favorite' any more; that no-one owes them a living and that unless they collectively move forward their prospects are very dicey.
Moving forward will take a lot of balls because every BA employee will have to look inwardly and ask themselves 'Am I delivering a better service more cost effectively than the competition?' The current answer is obvious.
Have the collective staff got the honesty, integrity and the will to ask the question and take responsibility for the changes needed?
I VERY much doubt it, certainly not from the recent history of employee relations.
Will WW survive? Not really relevant to the big picture.
Will BA survive long term? Now there is the $64,000 question.
GH