Interesting piece from the RAeS but, as long-suffering SLF, if I want to go from London to, say, Buenos Aires I'd take the direct non-stop flight offered by any competent carrier rather than connect through Madrid (or anywhere else) which is why I can't get my head around this multi-hub strategy - whether BA's or anyone else's. If there are no direct services then there are a myriad of potential connections through other hubs which are at least as convenient as Madrid, some of which are feasibly accessible by HST, so there's no guarantee that (in this example) IAG would retain my custom. And if there's a single reason why BA needs considerably more slots it's that - business travellers at least want frequent direct services. So WW ought not to be so dogmatic about staying at LHR - provided that if he moved to Boris Island for virtually unlimited slots, LHR would then close.