BA go under? Do me a favour!
Just look at the historical pedigree - Imperial Airways, BEA, BOAC, onwards and upwards to British Airways. For BA to go under is to finally accept that Britain is just another minor member of the European (French and German lead) federation.
BA should come out of this a leaner, meaner and (hopefully) a more passenger focused operation. One good thing that is immediately obvious is the realisation that the flawed business model that supposes that First and Business Class is the profit provider has been shown to be so wrong - so very wrong - so stupid and is finally out of the window for good and all.
It's time to realise that giving your all to a dozen or so pampered pax up front and subsidising that cr@p at the expense of 200 or more crammed cattle-like in the back is no longer acceptable to anyone. The real money is to be made in one-class travel; with the majority of passengers being given a measure of comfort that hitherto has been denied them by 'bean counters' whose fault all this is.
Here's your chance to take the world by storm BA. 38 inch seat pitch, re-designed reclining seats that to do NOT take away space from the pax sitting immediately behind, 2-4-2 configuration throughout the aircraft and (whilst you're at it) retire those out-dated 744's.
Set a standard fare that covers real costs and DO NOT DEVIATE FROM IT!! That's the fare - these are the costs that the fare covers for your sector(s) - take it or leave it.
The cream on the top will come from in-flight value added services not least the sale of booze, enhanced IFE and enhanced catering (menus)
It's not rocket science. Your forebears - the passenger shipping companies providing line services across the world - discovered this 50 years ago. Why is it taking you so long to catch up? Multi-class aircraft are dead. Long live one-class.
And don't forget. BA's proposed LCY to JFK business service using A318's is still a 'one-class' service.
Last edited by Xeque; 21st Jun 2009 at 14:56.