Aer Lingus are not in the frame for BMI, if anything it's EI that could be subject to takeover, they've been fighting O'Leary off for years now. This is a chance for the big player alliances to fight the bit out over the Heathrow slots and IAG will be the front-runner in my opinion. No matter what the others offer, IAG will probably better it as they cannot afford to give away territory at their home airport. Sir Dickie is starting to gather speed after seemingly slow getting out of the blocks and it's a distinct possibility that some form of deal could be done with VS joining Star and merging the two operations. It's early days as yet but one thing to note is that Lufthansa want the deal done and dusted fairly rapidly.