Falling star

摘要

There was a time, a decade ago, when British Airways (BA) could credibly claim to be "the world's favourite airline", as its posters proudly affirmed. Not any more. And certainly not to those passengers who were hastily booking alternatives to their BA flights this week as the threat of a long strike over Christmas loomed. The walkout was averted on December 17th, but the underlying problems that led to the standoff remained unresolved. Compounding the woe came news of a series of two-day strikes at Eu-rostar, the passenger-train service under the English Channel, and the collapse of Flyglobespan, a Scottish airline.