PAXboy, yes I am well aware that SMB did not want to sell to Virgin. It has been my sustained view that even had such a sale been possible that the cultural differences between the two companies would have made integration both difficult and expensive. BUT if the interests of UK Ltd had been paramount (which they weren't) then those two companies should have merged. It is one of those great corporate may have beens. But in the absence of that merger Virgin has to deal with reality. That reality is that bmi was stripped by LH for such assets that LH and its associates could usefully use. What remains is waht IAG are buying. That remnant is sadly a shadow of bmi at its biggest and best. Virgin cannot recreate those days of several years ago and then try and get its share of those assets. But I do believe that the fundamental problem that SRB is addressing is that of lack of capacity at LHR. The government would love him to expand by using STN but there is not one LHR carrier that is interested in that. (see today's Telegraph).