"But I do wonder why our friends from south of the border seem so keen to talk BFS down? "
DUB will probably get close to 25 million pax this year. There's no logical reason for anyone to be talking anyone down.
FWIW, I think EK will open BFS, and sooner than we think. Once they've built out DUB to whatever target they have in mind, the next logical thing is to look to the next largest city - and particularly when a lot of traffic on the DUB service is coming from the North anyway.
DUB's relative success can be viewed in fact as an advantage to Belfast - it opens airline's eyes to opportunities on this Island that they may not have otherwise envisaged. I'd see Air Canada and Westjet in a similar vain to EK - BFS cant be far away from their thoughts either.