Originally Posted by
CHCflyer
There is nothing to stop Easy and Ryan entering the London market now. There are some slots left .....
Well, yes: but the cost of acquiring those awkwardly timed slots is a very effective barrier to entry.
Compound this with Heathrow's landing-charge penalty on smaller aircraft (AKA as an incentive for operators of larger planes), and passenger fees which start at just under £30 a pop, and you have a pretty indigestible package for the LCC to swallow.
BA of course has the advantage of being slot-happy, on the sunny side of entry barriers: and it can offset the high cost of operating narrow-bodies from Heathrow with the network contribution these bring to the airline.
A point-to-point LCC would be in a much less happy position.