Virgin don't want bmi. They couldn't turn it around or absorb it without massive, massive investment from the Middle East, over several years. Would Lufthansa want those very very deep pockets with such a slot foothold in Europe? There may be some routes they'd like, but 'wishing' is very different from 'doing'. Anyway, the routes they might like wouldn't use much of the slot portfolio.
They do want the slots on the cheap though.
The plan for a substantial feeder network is again a misnomer. They've been at LHR for years. Plenty of time to have created one.
They're after the scraps thrown at them by the regulators, which will be significantly cheaper than if they'd have set up a network. Everything they spend now is a cheaper alternative to buying the slots on the open market. They may well seek to operate a subsidised short haul domestic feeder, and keep a couple of mid haul routes. But that would be it. Way less than 50% of the slots.
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