There has been some interesting reading on this thread! Just a few thoughts on this:
Easyjet at IOM would be seen by the Manx public as a good thing. At the end of the day all they will care about to begin with is how cheap they can get their seats for, they won't care about if it is sustainable or in the interests of IOM.
What they will do is whine and complain once the competition is killed off OR Easyjet pull out OR the prices go up.
Over the years IOM - LPL seems to have been sustainable with a lead fare of between £25 and £30. Below cost seats at the moment are, in my opinion not in the interest of IOM. The market is still very fragile, while it would boost pax figures it would do nothing to sustain the frequency and choice of routes that we enjoy at the moment. Yes people will disagree with this view but that is how I see it.
Maybe back in 2007 IOM could have supported but right now the airport needs to support the 4 carriers that have seen it through the last 18months.
Of course this will not happen due to the open-skies policy or rather the half-closed half-open policy.
These are just a few thoughts but we shall have to wait and see, I hear we should know by the end of the week if this will happen.
FS01