The axe I have to grind with this whole BA/VS Facebook affair is that if the people involved worked in another industry it would barely merit a mention anywhere. Let's say some Virgin Media staff had a Facebook page claiming that their set-top boxes (or whatever they flog) were likely to combust and that their satellite dishes enhanced the stone cladding on their customer's council houses. Or British Gas engineers made similar disparaging remarks about their customers and company's equipment, would they lose their jobs and/or provoke a media outcry? I don't think they would.
In the past, having worked as cabin crew and overseas as a holiday rep, I have detected resentment bordering on jealousy on several occasions from customers. I think this is because the industry is perceived as being glamorous and this fuels some people's resentments. They resent that you live out in the sun AND get paid for it while they save up all year for a week's holiday. They resent the fact that the seat they paid £500 for, you can travel in it for a fraction of that price. They probably don't resent the bank cashier who gets a far superior deal on her mortgage than they do or the supermarket shelf stacker who gets 15% discount on their shopping whilst they pay full whack because these jobs are unlikely to incite envy. Cabin crew are like sitting ducks waiting to be shot at and almost everything you do on and off board is open to public scrutiny. Quite why this should be I don't know, perhaps you don't agree with me?
Do I think VS made the right decision? Frankly yes, I think the crew's foolish behaviour left their positions untenable. However the disparity between the travel industry and other industries is quite perplexing.