And the reason easyJet didn't get those subsidies on routes it already served? Both airlines are businesses, but customers with any intelligence at all realise that a product offering is something more than simple arithmetic. If I had to choose between the two carriers operating on the same route and similar timings I know which I would choose, and it wouldn't be easyJet. Who eventually gets the PTS contract is a matter of speculation at this point and may well involve a third airline.