Lemme tell you a story …
BA used to be the biggest airline in Europe. As recently as 2003. In 2004 it was overtaken by Lufthansa and Air France (we’re talking passenger-kilometres here, the commonest measure of size).
In 2006, Ryanair overtook BA in total passengers boarded.
In 2007 Easyjet overtook BA in total passengers boarded.
In the meantime, Air France and KLM have joined together, and are in the process of incorporating Alitalia. Think: double the size of BA
Lufthansa has taken over Swiss and is in the process of taking over Austrian, BMI and Brussels Airlines. Think: 60% bigger than BA
Get the picture? BA is going backwards. It’s not in the same league globally as the two big players and on the shorthaul it’s being eaten alive by FR and U2. It can’t compete with these guys carrying a millstone around its neck.
As for HMG bailing out BA, get real. Alitalia and Olympic, for better or for worse (mostly worse) were instruments of national policy. Except for Concorde, BA hasn’t been an instrument of national policy for 35 years.