This is a very interesting move. Quite apart from the benefits of route expansion (as there is relatively low overlap between the two carriers), they will be able to merge backoffice functions, and help reduce costs further.
(Incidentally, there is a misconception afoot amongst journalists, and thus the public, that Easy and its "low cost" colleagues actually means "low price". It does not; except if you book zillions of years in advance. As someone who travels on spur-of-the-moment/whim/lastminute, I have never found Easy/Go/Ryanair/Buzz/BE "low cost", and have invariably obtained much better and cheaper fares with BMI. And, before we get the usual flames, NO, I have nothing to do with them)
Anyway, the bbc biz correspondent on R4 was mentioning numbers in the region of £400M, so 3i will make a seriously tidy profit.
But more interesting was his assertion that Easy want to woo the biz traveller, while Ryanair will continue to pursue the holidaymaker. So, the question is, when can we expect to see 2 class cabins on Easy/Go? And will there be a move away from the bunfight/free-for-all/weakest-go-to-the-wall boarding policies currently employed?
Is this a classic case of consolidation and maturity; barrowboy turned respected high street trader, poacher turned gamekeeper, etc? If so, where is the new future of aviation? Who are going to be the "new kids on the block" stirring the pot in the way that Branson/Stelios have done in the past?
My bet is on the next gen "fly-me-now" "air taxi" operators, whose credo will be that you can fly directly (and at relativly low cost) from A to B, where-u-want, when-u-want without passing thru LHR/LGW/STN/LTN/etc with all the attendant hassle that implies (transport/checkin/security/missing aircraft/air traffic delays/destination holds/etc).
A very good rehearsal of the relevant arguments can be found at
http://www.farnborough-aircraft.com/article.asp?ID=2 though other suitable (dreamy!) aircraft spring to mind, eg the Sino Swearingen SJ30-2 business jet (
http://www.sj30jet.com/home.htm).
And, of course, this would reduce/remove the need for more "Big Iron" runways at LHR/etc. Which, counter to the usual opinion would be VERY good for aviation; after all, more planes means more pilots! (OK, there would be less need for "Big Iron", but bigger craft actually means less pilots!)
Anyway, just my $0.02