160to4DME
there is actually some substance to what dwlpl is saying about Air Canada handing over the YYZ-MAN-YYZ route to British Midland. Local (YYZ) rumour has it that this is due to AC resurrecting the idea of a "Charter Operation" to compete with Transat and C3K on their European routes. And believe it or not, they (AC) are rumoured to be considering LPL instead of MAN for this charter op, and the reason for this, notwithstanding costs (MAN v LPL), is that this route is considered "Mothers and Daughters" traffic. This type of traffic does not need a transit airport. And your partly right, it is partly 'Star Alliance' politics but mostly economics.
