Leodis,
I would suggest, that unless the person to whom you were speaking was a director of Thomson or Tui, they could only have been hypothesizing. That does not meen their hypothosis was wrong however.
With regard to LBA, they still have 30 odd full time cabin crew based there year round ( a long standing and continued commitment ). Any move to close the base, would involve some protracted union - company negotiations. None of which have taken place, or scheduled to do so. In fact many crew wanting to transfer from LBA to other bases have had their requests declined, as I understand it. So what does that infer?
I for one would like to see Thomson operations expand at LBA not contract, but it seems the likes of yourself, RobT and warkrk, are happy to see them go. I do not believe LBA is so big as to be able to pick and choose, just my HO. The attitude of the latter two, seems that nothing less than a blind total commitment is displayed by a company, they are the enemy. That attitude will not generate growth. Jet 2 has and is being great for LBA, are we so naive though, as to forget the saying about eggs and just one basket? Rather than throwing stones at companies that are standing near the door, in what are difficult trading times for ALL airlines, why not be positive and try and bring them back in.
With regard to HUY, they would seem to be perilously close to DSA. But again, if after years of providing a service and commitment to HUY, are TOM, or anyone else for that matter, the bad guys if they move their operation to a more econimically advantageous base?
I hope to see more blue a/c in LBA, but only time will tell.
BB