Having spent that much cash on getting LHR slots to serve the Far East, why would IAG then wind up BD with it's substantially lower cost base than BA?
If BMI's cost base is so much better than BA's, why is it that BMI are and have been losing huge amounts of cash. Lufthansa are selling BMI because they are a money making outfit, rather the opposite. The headline price for the sale of £172.5 million allows IAG to gain a lot of slots for not a lot of money, but they are also taking on a loss making outfit and a large pension debt. The concept that BMI could, with their lower cost base, do anything for IAG without massive restructuring is deeply flawed.