BA has a similar seating policy with its cheapest fares (pay to reserve, or have one allocated at random), and has lower seat pitch than Ryanair.

Yes, BA have gone downhill dramatically in the last few years -- I used to be a top level frequent flyer with them

I've got a flight coming up next week with them to Nairobi, on a tired old 747, which I'm not looking forward to. In years past I'd paid a fortune for such a flight, now unless BA is at least £400 return cheaper than someone like Lufthansa, I won't fly them.

I did fly BA in January (again to Nairobi), was amazed how empty the plane was.

I often suspect with BA, that they actually purposefully make the economy experience worse than it economically needs to be, so that the difference with the more expensive tiers can be exaggerated. Often a fairly dismal experience, but their in-flight food is usually very good.

I don't fly further back than premium economy, which is how economy should be. Nothing as extravagant as a bed (although I'm in the process of upgrading next week's flight with miles)

However even up front their experience is lacklusture. I'd rather fly business on Qatar than First on BA, and certainly rather business on Qatar than business on BA. It's a tired product on tired planes and tired crew.