IAG is clearly a well run company, BA within that is also competently managed. If I were to invest in airlines - which I never would - IAG would be top of the pile of those I'd consider.

The reason I wouldn't invest in airlines is that it's very difficult to see how significant growth can be maintained when there are low overall operating margins, slot constraints, aircraft supply constraints, intense price competition at the low end, intense competition for premium cabins at the high end, including direct or indirect subsidies. On top of that you have antipathy to flying based on environmental concerns, plus fuel price variability, probably increased taxation before long.

So the only way you can really break out of that doom loop is using non-flying revenue. There are two parts to that really: firstly what BAC aims to do which is to identify money owned by particular segments of customers, and tie FF benefits to those who mark themselves into those segments by spending money on flying. And then to take money from those customers directly and into the eco-system, to which they sell status qualification points and miles.

If I were telling BA what to do from a strategic execution point of view, it would be to hold position while the second half of the deal was put in place. And that's the message of what has come out in the current IAG accounts, BA are treading water on revenue, and are under cost pressure for staff, catering and ground handling.

Unfortunately the short term measures needed to address the latter work against having status as something to aspire to and work towards - I'm not paying £120 premium for a salad and a blocked middle seat. Many people will get status they otherwise wouldn't have earned without changing spend at all, us hobbyists are out of the trap door, but my reaction as a fairly well off traveller with discretionary spend is to look at what I get from BA for the money in a premium cabin, realise for short haul it's not needed at all, go lower than BA for LH when there's a reasonable offer (TK 2-3-2 for example), or choose a genuinely premium product for the experience (SQ suites or La Prem).

I will still fly BA when the price is right. I like flying BA. I feel comfortable in a BA cabin and I like the staff. But none of that gives me a compelling reason to prefer BA. That is a huge problem for BA/IAG, as is the obvious point that they are patently failing to build the eco-system that was promised, the partners are getting the same pitch from FB and *A and other airlines and fundamentally everyone is chasing the same money. They have to provide more of a pull.

It's fascinating that the point of reference in the accounts was doubling BAH in 9 years, and not the growth rate of IAG loyalty itself. That says to me that the strategy is floundering. They are trumpeting a 13% increase in new Avios creation and increased engagement from BAC members, which as I've said is a sales pitch based on carefully selected metrics. As a traveller I hope they pull the strategy off, I hope it leads to competive fares, but progress is not as projected, and those who say that BA is doing fine with record profits are not doing the detail.