I'm sorry but I take great exception to the above. It deameans everything that all the BA staff who post have ever tried to do here. All I have tried to do is to try and put things over from another perspective. As a shareholder and as one who actually has a dollop of cash dropped into my bank account by British Airways I would not run the carrier down - but equally we all of us from BA have to deal with the day-to-day failures and features that make up our working lives. I know that we are rather rudely referred to elsewhere as BA apologists and how true that is - I feel that I was put on earth to say that "Sorry" using that sense of the term. I live with the hype and know how often things do not come up to shape. I live also with the fact that the airline is - at least for not - making money. I also know that there are people for whom British Airways will never ever do anything right. I have no problem with that I feel exactly the same way about Lufthansa. I am treated very well on Air France as I happen to speak the language - but I think that only Alitalia breeds a more arrogant form of indifference. I say that because I think that we try and make ourselves useful by telling you things beforehand, how to get problems solved (where we can) and generall give you the behind the curtain views on things. Often we are treated as though we were planted here by Management to disseminate bad bews or spin things to look good. Like Panic I too fly for a lot of other airlines. I'd like some of their adherents come and tell me about the youth of their fleets. I sit on my balcony in Honolulu and I still see major airlines flying 767 nowadays - and some of those are pretty long in tooth. AAs must be at least 20 years old some of them as they were flying into MAN from ORD in 1987 to my certain knowledge. That does not even begin to talk about the elderly MD80s and other aircraft that they still fly which appear to be desitined to be around for years.

So We customers (Not "Us", Dear, You are the subject of the sentence not the object) could not give a tuppeny ha'penny d**n about the aircraft whether from the US or not. Fares they care about, seat size and pitch, they care about. Food and drink on board they say they don't care about but they still seem able to eat, drink, and complain about it if it takes a long time to get to them. I am certain that there is not an aspect of the product or its delivery that cannot be surpassed by someone in some respect. I fly CX, QF, and other highly regarded carriers. All I can say is that they must have more money to use to provide staff and amenities that I would love to offer our passengers. Even thought the remark was not made directly to me, I was, I believe on of the first BA staff to post here and I think the first cabin crew. I take no offense at the comments about the product as we often agree with you- I am upset that you should have thought that we are so committed to the Company that we would argue that things are right when they are not. I too travel with BA and I could tell you tales that have happened to me, or to my husband which pleased me very little. I try to be objective but I will tell you this for what it is worth, there are days when I really wonder why I bother and this is one of them!