Seems to be a lot of hyperbole surrounding this. Why not look at the facts ???? A fair point has been raised. Look at ex SR & SN, what about KL & AZ?? True, my view is from afar but I have had close dealings with EI in the past and know they are sound and full of great expertise - so the management question should be how to capitalise on the strengths ? It has a sound regional operation, (MAN, LHR, some bits of EUR etc), a secure long haul market (JFK, BOS) so there is a good kernel therein, and the Irish economy generally is in good shape (best call centres in the world) so maybe the question should be how do you turn EI into a profitable airline ?? I used to work for Pan-Am and that was a great operation once too but its overheads & management style never adjusted to a newer business model.... I flew Southwest 6 sectors last week and almost every flight was full, so someone is doing something right out there !!