SkipnessOneEcho, I know I am only 17 - but I feel in a time like this (don't forget Aer Lingus are fast approaching the bottom of the barrel in cash) Irish tourists can drive to Dublin (or bus, train etc) to catch a flight to the US.
BA don't do a Manchester-New York route do they? Ironically, BA are too in the barrel, approaching the bottom.
Lufthansa does it's long-haul routes from Frankfurt and Munich, what would someone from Hamburg do? It isn't a problem to drive or get the train or bus. And in a deep recesion, beggers can't be choosers!