The planes have been flying full - and that includes the holds - so this bull about better returns from Heathrow is just that - bull!
sorry - not true. Full aircraft mean nothing - its all about yield. If you can put only half the number of people on the plane from LHR, but they pay more than twice as much, then LHR is more profitable, and that, I'm afraid is the way it is. Tough if you live and work ooop north, but unfortunately, unlike the city or public sector the airline industry needs to survive on its own back, there is nobody to bail us out, and ruthless decisions need to be made.
This doesn't make it any less sad for those involved, but its a hard hard world at the moment (unless you work in a bank or for the govenrment!)