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Given that Virgin have just axed various "trunk" routes to Heathow where does that leave the domestic connectivity debate ?
That unless you have the appropriate level of scale to feed and de-feed the hub, it doesn't work. Little Red were attracting point to point passengers at relatively low yield and competing in part with their own point to point service on the railway
Oft quoted and just plain wrong the Virgin franchises have nothing in common let alone the fact that the rail franchise is largely in the hands of Stagecoach whilst the airline Delta.
You think a UK based bus company and the worlds biggest airline oh part time oil refining company talk really ?
Do we assume that this connectivity has to be introduced by BA ?
They have the scale, so naturally. Or an affiliate they could partner with to offer code-share agreements. Similar to Stobart / Are Lingus or bmi regional / Lufthansa
I think the Irish gentleman at the top table of IAG rather thinks poorly of franchising- He closed down those on home turf some years ago.
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Are they going to invest in a short haul fleet on what to me appears to be a punt ?
They have a short-haul fleet. There are lots of short-haul routes in and out of LHR. If there were greater access into LHR then the opportunities to consider partnerships with airlines with smaller a/c become more viable both for the UK domestic market and access from smaller mainland Europe markets.
Fundamentally this is probably the real sticking point for many of the neo-liberal economists in the right of the Tory party - Specifically such investment might be seen as a subsidy toward BA/IAG and not true market lead competition.
Many of those neo-libs pretty much control the party and the Tory's couldn't give toss about loss of transfer passengers so long as they can get to/from New York twice an hour !