No .... I honestly doubt it.

I have no access to any inside info ... but I personally do not believe this is necessarily indicative of any seriously desperate financial malaise - or not at this stage, at least. That said, the current situation is obviously not good for any commercial carrier .... but I reckon it’s fair to suppose that IAG / BA are still much better placed than many to ride this out.

The reality is that BA are known for constantly pushing the envelope (to coin a phrase) whenever faced with additional expenditure : whether that be rejection of legitimate EU261 claims (though far from alone in doing so, in fairness to them) ..... or improperly directing pax to seek recompense from their travel insurance cover, with a view to avoiding their own defined responsibilities - much to the displeasure of the CAA.

So these latest efforts to ‘persuade’ affected customers to accept vouchers rather than a straight cash refund .... or spending the absolute minimum on F&B for those flights still running ..... in truth, these are simply characteristic of familiar strategies, and as such are not really new.