Of course there are enough aircraft to serve both LAX and SFO - it all depends on frequency of service but the down side is for example, the cost of 2 sets of check on desks, 2 baggage handling contracts etc.
No there are not realistically enough aircraft in the EI fleet to service both LAX and SFO and to even do so would be a folly from the outset.
Each route will be treated on an individual basis for both contribution and profitability analysis. The multiplicity of ground costs etc. at two outstations is irrelevant because each route will be treated on a marginal costing basis with the relevant non operational overheads attributable thereafter.
The current Long Haul schedule is refined in so far as is possible in order to generate the maximum contribution to service the various fixed costs on the aircraft frames and also to ultimately attempt to generate a profit on Long Haul Operations as a whole.
EI will no longer operate routes that don't fulfill the above criteria as such - especially under the focus of C Mueller who intensely promotes financially positive capacity management.
EI - DUB-SFO in 2012? With an additional A332 becoming available, who knows? I think it's a very strong contender. Ends Corneille previously stated that DUB-West Coast would not be operable whereby the price of Brent crude exceeded US$80 per barrel. EI now commands up to 50% less from J pax on it's Long Haul routes compared with peak prices of the past. Y fares are also down by at least 20% from their peak. Continual high yielding cargo volumes or exceptional year round loads at the abovementioned prices would be a criterion to make a West Coast return profitable, considering current operating costs.
EI Premier