Originally Posted by
KSVVZ2015
It would seem that BA is simply trying to conserve cash by not paying for third party lounge access. They are gambling that it wouldn't influence buying decisions (given limited schedule and other loyalty benefits - OR in the case of J, lack of competition) directly (with respect to the BHD-XXX flight) and indirectly (with respect to longer term loyalty and other buying decisions).
Funnily enough I was looking at LBA-BHD on the new service.
EasyJet have launched LBA-BFS, and the timings to come back with U2 are far better than BA (17:00 on U2 vs 08:40 on BA), it sounds silly but lounge access would have swayed it to BA with little hesitation as it would have allowed me to grab some breakfast etc at that early hour. Now I'm contemplating U2 as it means more time in Belfast (and no early wake up).