It is what it is I guess, but I don't agree it's dire. People will pay for extra space, TP's and lounge access (although the latter seems to not always materialise)/. Based on the size of the cabin CE is relatively popular- I get the impression that take up of intra European C fares on BA is much higher than on most other European carriers, but I haven't got any stats to back this up.

I have relatively recently (i.e. last 2 years- mostly pre pandemic) flown SH (i.e. European) business on AF, IB, OS, KL, AY, LX, LH and SK. None of them stands out as being particularly better than BA in terms of the product, and BA's fares are often very competitive.