Most of these problems occur naturally in any airline, the big problem is BAs lack of foresight in the late 80s, all the 90s and early 2000s where spare engineering capacity and spare aircraft should have been planned in. I tell you if I ever run an airline, the Pension Funds will not tell me how to run the airline. There is too much short-term planning and this is endemic in British (and once British) companies. It is an awful shame that this messes people around, and I don't envy either the inconvenienced pax or the BA angels who have to sort out the problems the best they can.

Generally my motto is to do everything I possibly can to help in these situations.