PC12, yes, I appreciate your point that AA and CO have (had) an advantage with their U.S. hubs. However, if my poor old memory serves me right, BA never actually competed head-to-head with either of them out of Brum; they had already pulled out of their JFK/YYZ service before AA started their ORD and CO their EWR flights. But, hubs or no hubs, if they were filling their Business Class cabins full of 'C' class revenue pax, they wouldn't be pulling out. Had the U.S. tragedies not taken place I'm pretty sure that they would have pulled out temporarily anyway - until the American economy improved again. That may now take longer to happen.