"Doug Carter" wrote in message
Business class passengers pay a bit more attention the
the once in a lifetime vacationer. The readers comments in the Wall
Street Journal have been very negative.

The only person guaranteed to have freedom of the press is the person who
owns the press (apologies to Mr. Franklin). Most WSJ readers are fairly
ignorant as to airplane safety (recent Montrose Challenger accident). Given
that their opinion of BA's actions was based on accounts written to
sensationalize the story, I'm not surprised that their reaction is negative.
They don't have years of airline safety experience to counter the
sensationalism. They have press accounts to base their opinions on. They
aren't so different from the general public in that respect.

As for BA's loss of revenue, blame the internet. As the internet gains
momemtum in the EU, discount airlines are chipping away at the legacy
carriers much the same as happened in the US. Premium class gained revenue
because more business travelers are returning to premium class from coach as
the economy rebounds. If the discounters had a premium class, BA's share in
that would have decreased as well. It has nought to do with 3-engine
flights.

D.