I realise this seems like a rant but rather than pick small parts of my argument can anyone answer why if serving these emerging economies is vital (and I believe it is) BA persist with duplicate routes, domestic routes, letting Vueling use slots to serve marginal airports etc.
It's not rocket science. BA flies those routes on which it can make most profit. That includes domestic services which may not be profitable in their own right, but which enhance the profitability of longhaul routes by providing valuable transfer traffic.
The concept of "serving vital emerging economies" is irrelevant from BA's point of view - its priority is to maximise shareholder value.