The directors of British Airways have, belatedly, done the right thing in waiving a month’s pay. But it has been a lengthy flight getting there.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive, announced his sacrifice more than a month ago. The airline sought volunteers among staff to do their cost-cutting bit two weeks ago. Yet only yesterday was it confirmed that all board directors would share in the pain. The timing could certainly have been better.

That said, however, BA’s various cost-saving schemes are proving surprisingly popular. The GMB union has belittled the number of volunteers as tiny. Others would see it as astonishingly large: 6,900 staff have volunteered for remuneration reduction of one sort or another, be it taking unpaid leave, switching temporarily to part-time working or working for nothing for a short while.

Out of a full-time work force of 35,000, it comes across as quite a display of collective thrift. BA reckons it could save as much as £10 million. That may not be huge in terms of the airline’s £1.4 billion basic pay bill but it will still pay the fuel bill on 325 jumbo flights to New York.

If BA really wants to underline the hair shirt message, however, it needs to go further. That means tackling the most cushy of boardroom perks — the offer of unlimited free first-class flights to directors and former directors and their spouses.

Willie Walsh’s message that BA is fighting for its very survival is called into question every time another superannuated BA grandee is encouraged to turn left on entering the aircraft.

Arguably, the former directors, who continue to enjoy the perk, are more responsible for the airline’s plight than the current board. It was they who over many years did too little to challenge inefficient working practices or cut back uneconomic pension promises — two nasty headwinds buffeting BA to this day.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive