Difficulty I see is that with operating LGW from BHD (90 flights) per month there is naturally a oversupply on the London market. Figures for LHR were they compete with BA are down compared to the previous year (exceptDec)
Aer Lingus were still using A320s to LHR at that stage so naturally smaller aircraft are going to create smaller numbers. Interestingly enough Aer Lingus used the A320 quite a bit from BHD during December, the one month where numbers grew and can be more comparable with the year before due to similar aircraft type. Also what BA vs BD were using needs to be taken into account but it seems the usual 319/320 mix has been continued.
In order to compare like for like LHR numbers completely though, it needs to be from April onwards so we still have quite a wait for those.
I, like others would be very interested on their yields to LGW at BHD. Personally I cannot see them as being good.
We'll probably never see that kind of information but we don't need to when loads are widely reported as very low, it doesn't matter how high the fares are when most flights are barely half full.
During their venture into NI, whether at BFS or BHD I feel they have not analysised the market. Started in BFS with two daily flights to AMS, reduced then to one with the other flight to CDG.....both dropped. Budapest dropped, Rome dropped, Milan dropped, Munich dropped....the list goes on.
To be fair to Aer Lingus they added some much needed variety from Belfast with those attempts, the market didn't respond so they had to jump on the boring sun routes which the people of NI lapped up, I still believe those routes performed well for them and will continue to do so in BHD, if not perform better as a quick look at fares shows them being far from cheap all summer long.
Although they probably have a good deal at BHD at the moment they will probably fine that in the long run they made a mistake.....yet again
I doubt EI would have moved just because they were offered a good deal, something must have been wrong at BFS for them to actually up and leave. If that was the case and even if BHD proves a failure then at least they tried to remain in the Northern Ireland market and make it work, it's a small market and they've shown a lot of commitment to it over the years. After all, they could so easily find a place for those A319s at DUB!