Welcome to the swamp
As a PAX I watch the BA T5 fiasco with a certain amount of detachment, but not as much detachment as I'm comfortable with, and when names like Accenture are mentioned and MBAs I get a sense of deja vu. I work for the NHS which is a less regulated but structurally more complex organisation and the morass where the NHS is now looks to be where BA is heading.
I was involved in the NHS cock up with Accenture (with others too) and thier set of assorted letters and numbers in random order that was presented as a computer system for the NHS. Blaming computer systems is old hat... as a user of that system you should make sure it (censored) well works otherwise throw it back at the company that supplied it.. and test it first! There is a problem, however, and that is if a manager's meteoric career depends on the system working and hasnt worked with the people that are going to use it. Cognitive dissonance can be deafening when things arent going smoothly.
NHS management is not there to manage (ie run an organisation that works smoothly and to be fit for purpose) but to advance thier own careers and shareholder/stakeholder/Government interests. The division between the two standpoints is widening and absorbing resources as well as compromising safety. I can expand on this ad nauseam but I dont think its necessary as I beleive that most posters here understand the parallels between the NHS and BA.
This mangement/workforce division is a long way from the mliitancy of the union workforce of the 1970s. Many of the comments I hear on this site are reflected in the comments from my own organisation in the terms of "We would love to do a first class job but we cannot due to management" With the NHS things are so bad that I cannot see them ever being recitifed. I fear that BA is headed that way too.
As SLF could I also comment about MOL and Ryanair? I am not a business account traveller and therefore cost is important. I know I'm gonna be treated like shyte but I pay less for the flight from a local airport than than i ever could with BA by a huge margin so it means I can go places by air - I simply cant afford to travel BA as I have to go to London (expensive and hassle - baggage problems and T5 aside)
Ryanair, (BMI and Easyjet too for that matter) gets to where I want to go safely and competently. I can put up with being livestock for 2 hours or so. I'm not so sure about long haul but I use European routes about 5 times a year to long haul about once every two years.