HZ123,
I agree with some of your points, and the downturn of the past couple of years has been 'extreme' - 9/11, SARS, War, etc.
However, let's be honest, BA could never have run aircraft like Dash 8s, ATR 72's etc. at a profit. The moment these operations came out of 'franchise managed' to 'head office managed' (regardless of actual ownership of the franchise) with associated lack of focus and increased cost structure, they were doomed.
And of course BA at the same time removed their own safety net for some routes. Old BA 737 routes which became unprofitable due to the downturn could easily have been transferred to the franchises and operated at a profit. Everyone wins....the passenger sees continuation of a service rather than it being chopped, the franchise gains, BA gains (still gets revenue and feed traffic, without the associated loss).
Oh, I forgot....the Unions! They'd never have let it happen.
