Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave

He has given a robust and logical answer to the core questions of (a) why Buy on Board and (b) why that doesn't make BA a Low Cost Carrier. The second question his answers seems sensible and coherent to me, his first answer is much weaker at this point, but he could be proven right: he merely needs to hold on to most of his existing customers for it to work, and if he gets more people into Club (and I've seen some evidence this may be happening albeit without producing the usual revenue) then he may be on to something. You may disagree with the argument, and I have doubts about some details, but he makes a plausible case.

Now some people are never going to be happy with his reply, and not seek to understand the argument that he is making, but the fact that food / drink provision is not a key factor in the short haul service for most passengers is an important point that can't be wished or ranted away. On BA's data it's not in the top 5 and though we all know how BA gets that data, nevertheless seen from the perspective of a 3 times a year traveller it seems plausible to me.

As an aside, this is about the fourth time I've heard him point out that his very first flight as a child was on a BA 757 from his native BIO to London. He can only be making this point over and again to say "I'm making changes, yes, but I'm not killing this airline".