Litebulbs' figure is the most important perhaps for BA on here in a long time.
The silent defectors for the past two years are what is going to hurt BA in the long run--which has been caused by this lack of IA resolution.
A few friends came over to my place for a Downton Abbey viewing Sunday night, (okay let the mocking begin), as it's showing in the US now, and a few were talking about going to the UK in the spring. They know I do it regularly and just came back on BA. So asked me a couple of questions about flights and pricing.
They all knew about the continual strikes and asked about the current strike ballot (which hasn't been generally reported in the US unless one looks for it). But I mentioned it.
One friend said to the others, oh nobody I know uses BA anymore. They're always going on strike....they're a mess.
There are folks who remember the 1997 BA fiasco and all the rest, as long time travellers.
So there are four people who travel a great deal internationally who just dismiss BA outright as a travel provider. I think there are alot more than Litebulbs' BAA 200,000 specific to the strike dates who may have just silently moved on. Not with any rancor but just because they can't be bothered to deal with an uncertain carrier, no matter how Walsh promises to deliver.
Most folks don't stick around long enough to read Walsh's promises of 100 percent operation. They don't spend their time on forums or tuning into this situation. They never pay attention to airline news unless they are poised to book.
They just hear "strike" or "on strike again" and move on without looking back really. I have a travel agent friend who won't use BA at all anymore after being hit with travel insurance premium increases for her business, after she had to cough up thousands for her customers during on the 2010 strikes.
BA really has to solve this somehow. Even though their carriage numbers seem healthy when they report them, they are still missing out on hundreds of thousands who would eventually come back to BA if things calmed down and they could show their history of constant industrial mayhem had receded.
But I'm sure BA know this. They just have to do that they have to do today to deal with the current dispute. And worry later about the lost souls who have dismissed BA as a possible carrier over the last few years.