Racedo, if said senior executive was responsible for suggesting the book on airlines to go bust wasn't a good idea, then it took him long enough to do so !
How many previous bets on airlines had there been, did he not feel it worthwhile to suggest it when those various other airlines were top of the list ??!
You working on the Paranoia assumption...........he is a non exec director of PP and hence would have little if any involvement on day to day issues on what the company was doing, thats why he is a NON Exceutive. Likewise I would not expect that he knows how many flights TC makes from Gatwick or what load factors are each month. A Non Exec's role is pretty limited and the idea of a Non Exec influencing things like this to thrash a competitor is laughable.
I would not expect a Non Exec to know piece by piece what the company was offering just like I would not expect a Non Exec at Tesco to know that the company was selling. They are there because Stock Exchange rules requires it but Non Execs pretty much do bugger all..............thats why they are beloved because its money for old rope.
I think people need to be really careful here as attempting to suggest a Non Exec director of 2 companies tried to thrash a supposed competitor via a poorly used betting option is not something that I would wish to try and defend in a libel court. There is a real danger here where people are making an assumption over something that never happened and impinging someone's integrity and character with no fact.