Easyjet - not really sure why they came down to City in the first place other
than to prove a point to Abertis when they were having a spat
panpan; yes you are correct, but I think easyJet wanted not only to 'test' the market, but also discourage Ryanair from entering LTN BHD, and there were few other realistic points (vacant routes) that could take a 738 in the domestic sense.
All this resting on Aer Lingus getting near enough those slots at London
Heathrow which would be difficult to say the least
Jack1985, well done on the extensive scheduling exercise!! Somebody in AerLingus can copy and paste for the board meeting when they are looking at the 'options'.
I have a strong view of how the whole Heathrow equation will pan out and is much more wide ranging than just related to Belfast;
- BA will leave Belfast Heathrow to AerLingus. Why? Because BA have no interest in point to point domestics. Aer Lingus can provide the feed with a lower cost base and with their own slots. (Despite what WW says about Belfast route being safe, he has to be seen to reassure the UK regions about connectivity with LHR, a very emotive issue). EI will pull the slots out of a hat, they have some leased out etc.
- Aer Lingus will get ABZ and EDI LHR routes. BA will happily codeshare as they have to interline with the said carrier. BA will be happy to keep VS out, at any cost. BA will have a long term view of VS just as they had with Bmi.
- BA will step back from Belfast and Dublin Heathrow routes too.
- Why has EI not completed the Winter timetable ex BFS? LHR is the issue.
- EI will have great bargaining power between airports and I wouldnt be surprised if EI have a 319 based in LHR to run BHD x 4 daily starting with 0645 LHR departure. A 320 based at BFS for an x3 daily route with an earlier departure than currently exists.
- May 11th I think BA give an update on the bmi integration, I think that date will be significant in terms of detail.
We will have to wait and see., just my view of the world.
I said from the word go BHD absolutely backed the wrong horse attracting WW to the city airport. They never were fit to compete, not just in terms of financial ability, but the challenge of attracting the customer to know BHD has a serious route offering to Europe. The market is well served and the airport needs an airline of scale and security to take the long view and slowly develop the market. Baby could fulfil neither of this criteria.
Despite my comments I wish best wishes to all bmibaby and bmi staff for their future careers. This is difficult news to take.