When we interviewed British Airways FD Keith Williams last October, he made clear that the airline had its sights set on a 10% operating margin for the 2007-08 year. Payment of a dividend for the first time since 2001 depended on achieving that target, as did staff bonuses - including Williams's.

"Not surprisingly," we wrote, "BA's management has been extremely focused on achieving the 10% target. So much so that one gets the impression it has become something of a burden - it's often quoted, and has provided analysts and business journalists with a clearly defined yardstick against which to measure the company's future success or failure." Williams told us that the 10% figure had certainly been "a focus of the business for the past five or six years".

So congratulations to BA and Williams for achieving an operating margin that is reported today as... ten point zero percent. A shame for CEO Willie Walsh that he thought it best to decline his bonus, after the T5 disaster.