On the CS reply there, I guess they tried to address each of the complaints contained in your original submission. Unfortunately the end result is a bit of a stream of meaningless platitudes that might have you reaching for the sick bag by the time you've read all the way through it.

I'm wondering though - what would be an acceptable level of goodwill for all of this? Clearly it's one of those where a combination of several things going wrong have conspired to make one almighty mess - some within BA's control, and some not. BA's clinging to the "not in our control" line regardless of the technical problems preceding departure, so arguing that is mostly going to be an exercise in wading through treacle. Reading through it all 5000 Avios looks a bit, well, stingy - but would 50k Avios make any difference? Do any Avios really make a difference?

It won't change much in the general scheme of things, I fear - BA will continue to be flying knackered 747s that are prone to issues for a while yet. Crap weather will happen on the East Coast US meaning diverts are needed. Bags will go missing. Some crews will have an off day. And so it goes on.