You of course raise very valid points and prove there is always two sides to every story. The real issue I saw back in 2019 was the IAG LoI was announced just 3 months after the second crash and when the peak of the anger and reputation of the MAX safety record and known shortcuts in certification were at the peak. It was also that time that Boeing started a spin campaign (aided by a US congressman) blaming the Ethiopian and Indonesian pilots, even claiming if those two planes had been flown by an American pilot, the crashes would not have happened

A strong safety culture starts at the very top of the organisation and for the Group CEO to be smiling and grinning at the Paris Airshow with Boeing, announcing an LoI for something that had killed circa 350 people over the previous 9 months (half of those only 3 months previous) was a spectacular own goal and one that did not convey the message that BA puts safety first. To many (including quite a few influential aviation and travel journalists) it said the exact opposite.