Reason is that anybody who takes over AL needs to make it pay and cutting out a lot of fixed employee costs helps straight away. Yup its a year 1 hit but in year 2 your business has massively reduced fixed overheads i.e. people and a lot more variable can be added reduced at will. Maintenance can be done at one or two centres but does anybody believe LH will keep maintenance services in all its countries ?
AL transatlantic complements FR as going forward you can clear everything in SNN and soon DUB, could always do Emigration but Customs and US DA have been added on. AL doesn't have the ability or network to increase that but you can see FR doing lots of flights to SNN/DUB with AL taking them across the pond and FR flights pushing them home.