Cuthere,
I think TrueBlue raises a valid discussion point here. I could frame that slightly differently, BHD LHR has a huge volume of passengers but IAG may seek to streamline the operation and make better use of the slots. The loads compared to someother routes can be lower, there are 9-10 flights a day and monthly passengers in the region of 60k in summer, lower in Winter. Hence, they could easily remove 1 or 2 daily rotations and still have significant. I understand the implications of yield management etc.
Equally the rumours on here or a BA arrival onto LCY may indicate that BA are missing some business partners and an expansion of capacity on this route may mean further competition for London traffic, adding weight to the LHR cut back debate.
It could be argued that Aer Lingus does not add a pint of difference, perhaps only on price on the route, that BA with their focus on connectivity, could serve th is route on their own. Afterall when IAG came to life, IB excited LHR BCN...
However, if the same happened for EI on LHR BHD, you could question the merits of a base for seasonal ops....Hopefully, that is not going to be the case...
Bottom line for me is that is I'd be surprised if IAG do not not look for efficiencies on the route now to some extent to release some slots.