I can't see any other airline wanting to intrude onto that route, hence my question. That could spell trouble for the long term - increased fares, pressure from other hubs leading to reduced service on the route....

With all that said, hard to see this deal going ahead without some sort of conditions imposed on the LHR-DUB route. But if there are no takers for potentially divested slots, that complicates thing somewhat, I would imagine. If only BD were still around!