‘Running a bad airline is expensive’: is British Airways finally getting better?

It’s been a long and turbulent time since anyone used British Airways’ old slogan “the world’s favourite airline” with a straight face. After a decade during which the UK flag carrier was tarnished by cost-cutting, IT fiascos, mass redundancies and strikes, BA was then pushed to the brink by Covid. Hopes of a smooth recovery disappeared like lost luggage on a carousel, as cancellations and delays plagued an airline seen as pricier than short-haul competitors and dowdier than the Gulf carriers. With burgeoning complaints about customer service, pledges by bosses to turn things round were met with some scepticism. And yet, something strange has happened. The share price of IAG, the Spanish-registered group whose fortunes rest predominantly with BA’s, has doubled in the past 10 months to levels uncharted since before the pandemic – and not just on the back of growing profits revealed in November. City analysts have concluded that BA really – no, really – is getting better after all. Last Christmas, the airline’s CE, Sean Doyle, started talking of the turnaround – confident enough to relocate festive drinks from central London to a Heathrow arrivals lounge to showcase BA’s new offering to grumbling journalists. He promised more was coming: comfier seats, better-quality service, improved reliability. In spring, the airline showcased its plans for a £7bn investment, in an effort to stem the perception that BA was getting left behind by global rivals. And now, investors appear to be buying it. Andrew Lobbenberg, Barclays’ head transport analyst, says: “It really is on an upward curve, albeit from what was quite a low starting point.<br/>