I'm surprised in a way that BA are reducing the number of LHR flights at the same time as Little Red are pulling out. I wonder if that suggests they are not so concerned about the amount of potential transfer business from MAN they are losing to other carriers flying to their hubs, or whether it reflects more on a reduction in domestic passengers due to greater use of the train.
BA have the ability to keep the number of seats fairly static while still managing to free up slots at LHR.
They could just be swapping equipment 319-321/320
cs