Yes, I'm familiar with the concept of a back to back. That's why i mentioned it. It's not a riskless endeavour, especially in places like Dublin or Geneva, where getting through the broder and back through security can make it pretty spicy. You'd have missed more than a few flights trying this over the last few months. In those cases, I'd never attempt a back to back or indeed expect any protection. I'd be pretty relaxed in Palma or Sofia on the other hand. The day trip I had was riskless in that it has 11 hours on the ground. If it turned out that I was anywhere near missing the return flight, this would be apparent before I took off on the outbound and I would have been able to walk away from the trip with a full refund.

As for looking for more flexibility, I certainly am not. I want to fly the 2 itineraries as booked. There were no tight connecitons and not even overlapping on the same day. Due to schedule changes, 100% initiated by the airline, I am no longer able to make the flights on the other booking. Anyway, arguing over the ethics of this is all kind of pointless, as whatever we discuss here isn't likely to change my situation. I can still book another ticket for not much money and just write off the £160 odd I've already paid. I'll just wait a few days and see if I get a schedule change/cancellation. Annoyed, but not annoyed enough to throw the toys out the pram and declare I'll never fly with BA again. London is my home airport and it's really the best option for the flying I do. And aside from this little episode, I generally feel like I get treated pretty well.