The Dublin/ London route is a massive market, which is totally a focal point, why on earth would BA be a threat to that. What I could see is that larger aircraft could be used at a reduced frequency, that would make a lot of sense. Many of the departure times of BA and EI are largely complimentary in any case. Consolidate Aer Lingus' position on Ireland UK and release some slots, continue to grow the hub at Dublin.
Didn't BA codeshare with EI on LHR-DUB when BD was on the route and BA wern't.
The other benefits would be those of scale e.g. procurement and handling etc. Aer Lingus could bring its own strenghts to bear on the group operation and secure its future, which without a strong partner, could be extremely challenging. IAG is the right group for EI....
Agreed, and it would probably lead to EI rejoining Oneworld and possibly the BA/AA/IB joint venture on TA.
Cyrano, re your comments about surrender of slots on DUB LHR, we didn't see the same when IB and BA came together in IAG. In fact BA exclusively operate LHR BCN now ...
Indeed, and IAG ownership or not, LHR-ORK and LHR-SNN would remain EI only routes.
Maybe there would be an issue for LHR-DUB and some slots would have to go, but only if another carrier was interested, and judging by the VS experience............