Interesting when you say that:
"Airlines like Virgin, AF/KLM etc are not your major long-term threat. Ryanair is the model you need to look at, "
Absolutely - as we all know ( or obviously not) most passengers have now become incredibly price sensitive....couple that with the fact BA's shorthaul economy product (on board) is to be polite, pretty average compared with the likes of Ryanair, Easyjet and others, that costs of operating out of LHR are inevitably higher that operating out of the likes Lutonsted or Brimoge
and IMHO BA shorthaul in it's present form us running out of time.
As for "Stall Pushers" comments about BALPA, the reps, and pilots rolling over I wonder which Union he/she is in?