15 to 20 years ago I was quite aggressively anti BA due to the dirty tricks wars waged by the old guard. Now they are gone, and times change.

In more recent years, the majority of my travel is on BA compared to VS precisely because they offer F and VS don't. The continual blatant penny pinching by the bean counters at VS, reflected in reduced services and amenities, has also taken its toll on my previous VS loyalty.

The same applied to BA versus BMI when BMI dropped almost all of their J shorthaul routes, I switched to BA overnight.

Regarding the OP's interesting engagement in their new employment, it sounds like the individual is going to be interesting to work with. Possibly a case of the Peter Principle, and wanting to save face in front of others. I suffered that myself back when I did real work about three or four years back, with an individual who became increasingly difficult to work with. I hope I am wrong in the OP's case! Sounds like you did the right thing by backing down at this early stage.