Irrespective of the unions v company debate, I cannot understand why EI are so determined to operate T/A with legal minimum crew when all other airlines with similar equipment operate presumably profitable with 5+ crew.
I appreciate certain airlines operate 189 seat aircraft with 4 crew on inter-European routes that are not far off the duration of the proposed EI flights. However, the expectations of T/A pax are totally different to even the longest inter-European flight.