United
Don’t forget that it’s not just the UK that sees these jets – they cover a lot of secondary European markets and United are not going to want to lose all that feed when the 757’s are retired. United currently have options for 35 788’s and I think it’s safe to assume that these will be switched to firm orders soon enough and will begin to replace the transatlantic 757s – the domestic ones are to be replaced by the 737-900s/MAX.
If anything the 787 - with its lower operating costs - could actually help make the route more lucrative. If United configure them much like Air India have done then they could be a good fit for the likes of BHX.
CO/UA have served BHX for over 15 years now; there have been highs and lows but they are still here and have obviously built up a strong customer base. If dropping a few rotations in the low season during a global economic crisis was what was needed to keep it going them I’m all for it and hopefully as the economy continues to pick up we’ll begin to see some improvement.