All the techinical/operational arguments that I've seen posted here in favour of the Airbus make perfect sense. However there's also another side to this:- The customers (those people who we hope will fly with us more than once!) prefer the Airbus.
From a pax's point of view the A319s are vastly better than any alternative currently used at BHX. They're quieter inside the cabin; the pax love the leather seats & the moving map display; the cabins are more spacious; there's far more room in the galleys too, therefore the cabin crew can do their job more effectively; etc, etc, (I could go on but I wouldn't want to bore you....!).
Lucky Angel, I took 82 pax out to BRU this morning. Doesn't sound a particularly low load to me!
[ 08 October 2001: Message edited by: Paddington* ]