CC
Its a very easy policy to grasp. Like before Christmas the tale of passengers being mucked about at T5 for three hours collecting their baggage in groups of 6 then being bussed north. What's that ? 10 hours to EDI or GLA ? After arriving longhaul ? And paying whatever ?
What you may not be able to grasp is that BA operates a hub at LHR. T5 does not exist for the sole purpose of transporting Londoners, or does it ? Hub and spoke. The spokes should drive the volume, helping fill all those big 747's that can't be flown from the regions. (They used to.)
So, it's simple. Those from the regions should use other airlines and airports. eg from GLA, to AMS, Dubai, Newark. Result, the spokes feed less, the 747's carry less, and the operation shrinks. The shuttle operation is a shadow of it's onetime self, so the feed must be well down.
But that's OK, because it's BA's business model to render the domestic flights unreliable. The pity is, BA removes itself from the choice we the Customers have.
Lastly, this carry-on only really seems to have manifested itself over the last two winters. Previously when the shuttle was a prime operation, the diverted passengers to GLA/EDI/PIK we sent south on shuttles. So there has been a complete change of model - and the fundamental appears to be that T5 has not enough parking stands. The 777's diverted to PIK and GLA this past week have terminated here, with pax overnighting in hotels. Not because LHR is closed - other airlines were still landing. Because BA could not park aircraft. In these circumstances do they even try to park at T1, T2 ramps, T3, T4 and the cargo ramps ? What they do do is divert people north who want to be in LHR, and cancel flights north for people to do not want to be in LHR ! BA clearly need to sort out their winter operation at LHR, before their onetime Customers do it for them. And volume at LHR cannot be that different to two years and more ago - if anything volume should be down.