CPT - nice try!
I think the South African's are upset enough that there are two UK carriers versus SAA on the UK-SA routes. Open Skies in this market is some way off just yet, so it is rather lost on me how anyone thinks an Irish carrier would be able to do that!
Agreed, with EU-US open skies a reality and EU-Canada open skies coming soon the world is a considerably more liberal place than it was 20 years ago. But I think we all forget sometimes that there are still vast areas outside the EU and North America where things remain considerably more regulated..