Ryanair has signed an MOU with BA to transfer up to 20 slot pairs as part of a new package of remedies to gain approval from the EC to takeover Aer Lingus:
Aer Lingus dips on Heathrow fears - The Irish Times - Mon, Dec 17, 2012
The Sunday Business Post - Ryanair seen selling key Aer Lingus routes if deal succeeds
IAG inks MOU with Ryanair | ATWOnline
As part of the MOU, BA would takeover the Dublin, Cork, and Shannon routes to Heathrow for 3-5 years and could result in up to 6 BA aircraft being based in the Republic. This would leave Aer Lingus with just 4 slot pairs at Heathrow.
I really don't see the point in this. For one, why retain 4 slot pairs? There's no way they could be used for Ireland services and offer meaningful competition to BA, and I wouldn't see the point in Aer Lingus launching long-haul flights from Heathrow, so the only obvious conclusion is that they'd be leased out to other airlines. So Ryanair is effectively offering to replace a situation where 2 airlines compete on DUB-LHR with one where BA has a monopoly on the route.
I want to support a Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus, but this latest remedy package just sounds crazy. There's no strategy, no logic, I don't see how it benefits Aer Lingus, or the consumer for that matter.
If this is what it takes for Ryanair to get approval from the EC to takeover Aer Lingus, it's not worth it.
Originally Posted by BALHR
However I do support the sale of EI's slots at LHR (which are of a simlar number to VS at LHR), because BA would be able to lanuch new routes so they can better compete with its rivals in Europe and the Middle East
That doesn't benefit Aer Lingus, Dublin or Ireland though. Remember Dublin is competing with the likes of Heathrow, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt as well, and Aer Lingus themselves have been very successful at increasing connecting traffic from regional airports in the UK, at the expense of BA. So you can understand from an Irish perspective why you wouldn't support 20 of Aer Lingus' slot pairs being transferred over to BA, only for them to launch a raft of new routes in 3 years time at the expense of Aer Lingus and Irish airports.