There is a letter from Alex Cruz in the Sunday Times travel section today, in response to last week’s “new blazers aren’t enough” article.

Contrary to John Arlidge’s suggestion (“Sorry, BA, but new blazers aren’t enough”, last week), British Airways listens and acts upon what our customers tell us they expect of us, and we are investing £4.5bn to deliver significant changes.

This year we have launched 15 new routes, including to Nashville, Osaka, Kos and Durban. We’ve introduced 18 quieter and more efficient aircraft, with a further 54 new planes set to join our fleet in the coming five years.

We’ve opened new lounges around the globe, our new food menus across all cabins are proving popular and we continue to invest in training for our colleagues. However, we’re never complacent: we know there is more to do, so we will continue to listen to, and work hard for, our customers to deliver consistently high levels of service.

We were pleased that readers of The Times and The Sunday Times last month voted British Airways their best short-haul airline. Every day, BA flies 120,000 customers around the world, more than ever before in our 99-year history, to our largest network for more than 10 years, with flights to more than 200 destinations.
Alex Cruz, chairman and CEO, BA

Agreed.

I think the reply from AC is par for the course, and comes as no surprise.

Alex himself is a smart cookie and undoubtedly understands how to play the game as CEO. He is a master at putting a positive spin on things, and that was his key objective here. You really can’t blame him for that.

Alex knows - as well as anyone else - that the waffly, vacuous response doesn’t begun to address most of the issues raised in the original piece. But that’s pretty much the way our politicians have always operated - and nobody seriously expects to get an honest perspective or admission of responsibility from them either.