In the UK wouldn't that be BMI who are in a worse mess as to inconstent product? As for Swiss, the service up the back is worse than BA, perhaps on the other side of the curtain it excels but not in economy.
1. I am internationally based and look at a bigger picture than the UK only and I don't fly bmi and couldn't care less whether the airline is worse than BA. Why would I connect via LON on *, when ZRH, is more efficient, provides less security hassle and fast track that actually is fast track?
2. Swiss premium is as good or better than BA on short haul (depending whether the BA plane is a bus or a thigh grabber), varies on long haul from equal to not as good on the 332s, due to the seats, not the crew service which is usually excellent, as is BAs crew on long haul.
But my point, which you don't seem to grasp, is that some parts of BA (e.g. the exec club, where I hold a premiuim card) regularly write to tell me how important I am, then they send a 737 with seats in CE that feel narrower than a Ryanair jet, can't even manage a Campari and soda (don't have either) and when wx disruption hits LHR, refuse to even try and help find me hotac, just throw me to the wolves on a CE ticket, event though their staff are perfectly aware I live in Malta.
You also demonstrate the typical short sightedness that afflicts the UK, when you talk about T5C and runway #3.
Heathrow is well past its sell by date, what is needed is a new airport. Paris bit the bullet in the 1970s and the UK should have done the same a long time ago.
I am well aware of the constraints at Heathrow, as I have worked as a consultant looking at some of these.
A serious effort at Stansted in the 80s could have seen London's premier airport located there, with proper high speed rail links.
Edited to say that Lord Bracken makes some very good points about reduced service levels.