I don't know the EI management team, but actually I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.
I find it hard to give EI management any credit at all. For years this was a company that had government idiots running it. The mistakes this company made was just followed by money been poured into it.
Fast forward to the past 15ish years and the same mistakes are being made. Chop and change on aircraft, chop and change on policy. Seriously, you do not need half a brain to know that a heritage fat union controlled airline cannot compete with the true low cost carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet.
I can only presume that one of the biggest things about running an airline is foresight and planning ahead. EI thought the golden bubble would last forever, which we know it didnt. In a very Irish way, when we thought we thought we were too good to work in the service sector, EI thought they were too good to fly the smaller regional routes in the UK and Ireland. So it allowed RE and FR to fill all those gaps! So it got rid of the Fokkers and 146's.
Everything Ive seen EI do has been rushed, ill thought out and unpractical. Does anyone want to list off some of those 'great ideas'??
The 100 seater aircraft may not be a good idea to some, but when BMI had days of low loads on the LHR-DUB route they can easily change to an EMB-145. EI continue to fly a fat A320.