First Class
BA is spending £100m in an upgrade of the First product. Hardly the work of a carrier thinking of going down market. Part ot the company's problem is the make up of the long haul fleet, too many B747-400's, not enough B777's especially -300's. That fact has a direct correlation to the First product as earlier contributors have noted. Zone A on the B747 cannot be configured to allow more J seats thus negating any benefit in revenue terms. I seem to recall being told that it was only around 10 or so routes that made any money in First. That picture I suspect may have deteriorated in the recession. However, in marketing terms a network carrier such as BA needs the kudos of having products that stand comparison with the best of its competitors We need only look at what is being offered by Middle and Far East carriers to understand the need for BA to compete.
A larger fleet of B777's in a 3 class config both at LHR as well as LGW on routes with low F demand would go some way to address the issue of lack of profitability BUT it does lead to an increase in fleet complexity which can be an issue when disruption looms.