Robert Marshall, 70, from Kent, spent £285 on flights for him and his wife, Chris, to fly to Zurich for Easter shortly after the first lockdown. He wanted a refund for the cancelled flights but had to call because BA did not put a refund button on its website. He could never get through, though. 

“You hold for 45 minutes and then the line disconnects so, in desperation, you end up going for a voucher,” he recalls.

Marshall is one of millions of once proud – and loyal – travellers, many of whom, like you, are Telegraph Travel readers, who used to look forward to flying off on holiday on the flag carrier but who now go “ABBA” – Anyone But British Airways. 

He began avoiding BA after a series of crises and cutbacks starting in 2017 – IT failures that grounded flights, a pilots’ strike, and the removal of the little extras he thought made the airline a cut above its rivals, especially a free G&T at any time of day.

“If I want a budget experience, I’ll choose a budget carrier with a budget fare, not one that pretends to be a luxury carrier and charges more,” he says.

“I’m flying ABBA,” is an expression BA boss Sean Doyle knows only too well – and is determined to consign to history. His new catchphrase is A Better British Airways. He’s writing to passengers to make “a personal commitment to you that we will build a better British Airways. An airline you can trust and rely on and offers great customer service… An airline you are proud is your British flag-carrier.”

In a letter to the 12 million members of the airline’s executive – frequent flyers’ – club sent on Sunday, Doyle apologises for recent poor service – the result of aggressive cost-cutting by his predecessor, Alex Cruz.

But how exactly will he address the main gripes of his customers? Here we list your top complaints – and reveal how Doyle intends to fix each.

Why can I never get through on the phone to a customer service agent?

Telegraph readers’ number one gripe has been long wait times at BA’s telephone customer service centres when they call to change or cancel flights and get refunds. In his letter, Doyle, who became BA boss in late 2020, promises “to address the customer call centre issues many of you have experienced and may still be experiencing.”

BA is replacing its ancient telephone systems and recruiting more staff to ensure calls and social media messages are answered. The airline’s vast, unwieldy customer service manual is being slimmed down and call centre staff re-trained to give them more discretion to make decisions on the spot to help customers.

Telegraph tip: Ask the agent you talk to what he or she can do to fix the issue during the call – you might be surprised.

Why can I still not get a free G&T – and is a bag of crisps really a decent ‘snack’?

Free G&Ts are not coming back in the cheap seats, Doyle’s letter reveals. He will only permanently reintroduce a free small bottle of water and a bag of crisps or a biscuit in short-haul economy – reversing Cruz’s decision to scrap all free food and drink.