Originally Posted by CCayley

I am always astonished by these 'Armchair CEO' threads - especially when they seek to set out rules for changes that haven't happened or are even particularly certain yet. Moreover, it's BA's airline and what they accept as payment for an F ticket, whether it be cash, Avios or Green Shield stamps is, frankly, a matter for them.

IF, however, there is going to be a need for stricter criteria for admission as a passenger to the smaller First Class cabins of the future, then such criteria need to be objective, fair, non-snobbish and commercially viable. I can, in a spirit of disinterested fairness, suggest the following guidelines might be appropriate for British customers wishing to travel F (BA would obviously have to adapt these for those from other jurisdictions):

1. Flying F should obviously be a graduate privilege but BA should be open about degree class or subject. A qualification from either of the universities should suffice;
2. F passengers should live somewhere appropriate. The obvious option would be to require an address in London and the Home Counties, but this would be a little crude in that it would exclude Edinburgh but permit Romford, for example. Perhaps the Office for National Statistics could be persuaded to publish ratios of ciabatta to sausage roll sales on a geographical basis and these could be used;
3. It would obviously be necessary to exclude lottery winners, reality TV stars and other members of the nouveau riche, so customers should be required, at the time of booking, to furnish a copy of Daddy's entry in Debretts/Who's Who or the Army or Royal Navy Officer Lists. In 50 years or so, once the service has established itself, an officer career in the RAF might also be accepted;
4. As a final precaution, when priority boarding is called, those holding F boarding passes should be presented with a bowl of peas and a knife and fork. A few seats should be reserved at the back of the 'plane for anyone committing the ultimate social faux pas, and therefore needing to be downgraded, at this stage.

Apart from a few simple and fair guidelines, such as those suggested, F travel should be open to everyone who is willing to pay the price - using whatever form of payment BA chooses to accept.