Incidentally, I forgot to mention your belief that being "British" will save BA. There are lots or very recent examples of companies dropping the "British" from their corporate name. Such as:
- British Petroleum plc. Now just plain BP plc
- British Gas plc. Now just BG plc
- British Aerospace. Now BAe Systems plc
And you will undoubtedly be aware of BAA plc, nee British Airports Authority plc, nee British Airports Authority. BAA plc is owned by Grupo Ferrovial, a company domiciled and headquartered in Spain. If "Johnny Foreigner" can own the gateway airport, I'm not sure why there's a problem with the main airline going the same way either. bmi (another one to drop the "British") is now German isn't it?
Incidentally, ever wondered why such companies drop the word "British"? It's simply to make themselves more marketable internationally. They worked out that they gained more outside the UK by dropping "British" than they gained internally. Hardly surprising when only 1% of the world's population is British. So the question is, was Bob Ayling really wrong to stick "global" (but weird) art all over the tails of BA planes all those years ago?
Anyway, SP, just something to consider. For me, I think your belief that being the "flag carrier", and "British" will ensure government largesse is misplaced.