Sorry to all people interested in EI for the thread drift, this will be my last response to BALHR.
Having spent 30+ years working in international trade and logistics I have a pretty good grasp on what the UK Economy needs. If you really believe that the UK Economy is dependent on BA god help us.
Trade is a two way street the UK needs foreign carriers as well as British carriers at Heathrow. Personally I think we need EI at Heathrow and all the other UK airports it supports over here and long may it do so.
Firsly I am not disputing your experence in the UK economy...
I am not disputing that the UK need overseas carriers (including EI at LHR), but BA provides a large proportion of flights in/out of the UK, so there would be a major impact if BA was to fall behind its rivals in Europe/North America/Middle East and beyond
We would not be having this conversation if LHR had 4+ runways...