"Bid to cut costs"?
IAG, BA's parent has in the past week reported a 51.5% increase in their 2015 net profit compared to 2014 at $1.66 Billion and a full-year revenue up 13.3% over the previous year - clearly a bid to cut costs is an urgent necessity.
I wonder if there's not more to this - could it be cabin crew driven perhaps? It's a great pity for parents who, through no fault of their children, and out of necessity, live many thousands of miles apart, yet within a matter of a handful of miles from two points well served by BA (and, incidentally no others), and who have come to rely on this service as a means of spending any meaningful time with their loved ones. I'm certain that parents would pay a premium for such a facility, and therefore, as such companies are not shy at creating additional revenue streams, I feel there may be another angle.