In early August BA announced its first quarter results. Pre-tax profits were up from £75m in the same period for 2004 to £124m and operating profits up form £129m to £176m.
Outgoing ceo Sir Rod Eddington commented: “These are good results despite a 37.4% increase in fuel costs.”
To senior BA managers those halcyon days, just five weeks ago, must seem like a different age.
A walk out by 1000 staff that paralysed its operations at Heathrow for several days and left thousands waiting for their planes has been highly damaging to the airline.
Not only did this dispute cost it a reputed £40m, there has been immense damage to the carrier's standing.
Even now travellers on short haul flights are served only with drinks although catering services on long haul flights are largely back to normal. Customers are likely to remember these events.
That this dispute arose from the knock on effects of some half witted management decisions by it catering supplier Gate Gourmet can only be of minor consolation to the airline. BA has been the one to suffer publicly.
It would have been interesting to hear any of the conversations between Sir Rod and the managers of Gate Gourmet.
But the bitter fruits of that dispute are now coming home to a beleaguered BA. Its traffic figures released this week show a drop in passengers at a time when flying is generally buoyant. Air France KLM can boast of a “strong performance in passenger activity” with a “sharp” increase in traffic of 8.1% and a 5.1% rise in capacity.
Air France added, almost with glee: “The European network remained particularly buoyant in August, with traffic increasing by 7.4% for a 1.5% rise in capacity. Load factor improved by 4.0 points to reach a pleasing level of 72.8%.”
BA on the other hand, reported a 0.7% drop in passengers, the first such reverse since Augusts 2003 when the SARS scare was at its height.
The loss of passengers also saw its premium cabin, crucial to the carrier's profitability, suffer a 4.7% fall.
To make matters worse, BA suffered the indignity of seeing its passengers figures fall below those of Ryanair for the first time ever. It was not a point the Irish carrier and its provocative ceo Michael O'Leary – constant thorns in BA's flesh - were going to miss. Cleverly and painfully stealing an old BA advertising slogan, Ryanair claimed it was now the world's favourite airline.
But this was not the only indignity BA suffered in the week. At the start of this best forgotten seven days, another arch rival, Eurostar launched its new three-tier carriage system on its high speed trains from London to Brussels and Paris.
On launch day, selected journalists in London, Paris and Brussels had delivered to their offices the healthy breakfasts Eurostar premium passengers were now served en route.
It may not have been subtle but it made the point effectively: ‘You don't get this on BA at the moment.'
It was another reminder BA did not need as the deeper point Eurostar was making is that the train and not the plane is exerting increasing dominance the short haul routes between London and Brussels and Paris.
It is not just BA which is in its sights but also other operators like Air France, easyJet and BMI which do the Paris and Brussels routes.
What this might all mean is that Willie Walsh, the incoming ceo due to get his feet under the desk in October, could be facing far more problems than even he bargained for.
Shifting the airline's operation into the brand new Terminal Five at Heathrow may seem a piece of cake compared with fighting off rampant rail and air competitors.