My feeling is that EI are in the fold and this is
1. the reason why BFS schedule has not been released for winter (outside of LHR route, ironically) as it may dictate what the other aircraft (s) may be doing. Possibly I feel a LHR BHD x 3 or 4 daily 319 service.
2. a good outcome for BA, who already work with EI on NI and ROI LHR routes to feed to international services
Hence, my interest in getting info dates and likely timings to an outcome, I would have expected that negotiations will be at an advanced stage in prep for winter schedule.
I also wonder who would initiate this process i.e. not BA surely, but BAA?
EI-BUD