After the pandemic, my employer made a philosophical shift away from using one carrier for everything (BA) to using whichever carrier offered the best J class fare for each destination. I fly long-haul regularly, I now find myself a mid-tier member of just about every alliance - after nine years of BA Gold.

This includes mid-tier with British Airways. Today was my first flight in nine years where I didn't check in at First Wing or use the flounge. This was my Silver experience; I feel reality slapping me in the face:

• the check-in queue for Club had a wait estimated to be 30 to 40 minutes. I abandoned the queue and went instead to WT check-in, where I waited instead for 5 minutes.
- At Fast Track security, only one of the two belts was operational, and even the operational one wasn't moving. I used regular security instead.
- The South Lounge was so full that they weren't allowing anybody in. There was a queue that wrapped all the way around to the top of the escalators. I went instead to the North Lounge. There was a queue there as well; I was told that I could join the queue, but that there would be an estimated 90-minute wait to gain entry.

Needless to say, I do not feel valued as an Executive Club Silver member.

I learned during my transitional year of flying business class with a multitude of global carriers just how mediocre the BA product for elite passengers truly is in comparison, especially when considering the tragic state of the IT, and lack of availability of help by phone when one needs it - even for BA Gold. Now that I am Silver rather than Gold, I find myself dreading my future BA flights, but am thankful that they are now less common.

My hope is that Mr. Doyle might somehow resurrect this once-proud airline.