Heathrow Terminal 5's opening: a public relations disaster for BA

How does an airline like BA recover from this operational and PR distaster?  I'm confident their airline ops and PR folks will figure out a solution, and the airline will once again be flying a normal schedule.  But what's going to happen to the many travelers who lost bags, missed connections, didn't get to their long planned vacation, etc.?  Are they going to forgive BA and use them again? I don't know about the infrequent traveler, but those travelers who are members of the Executive Club (BA's frequent flyer program) will more than likely stick around.

That's a proven fact.  Why would anyone have kept flying Northwest after their nightmearish acquisition of Republic back in the late '80s, and the same for anyone flying on USAirways after being acquired by  America West?  It's the programs, with the mileage balances, and for elite levels it's also those additional perks, like pre-boarding (yes, even when the flight is late).  That's the power of well designed and managed loyalty programs.