Originally Posted by olimaspecto
Wow that is interesting. I wonder how much this was the choice of EI and how much it was by the request of other OW members who saw the EI product degrading substantially. It was nice to have them and the service to DUB from LAX non-stop as well as some interesting connections to Europe. I would hope that AA would still retain them as one of their partner airlines for award/earning purposes.
I hope that ST picks up EI. I know that the product has degraded; the airline is in a tough battle with Ryanair. The company recently got new management, so perhaps they made this move. The carrier also seems to be transforming itself into a long-haul provider: at least it is adding lots of long-haul capabilities to the fleet.
Willie Walsh, now of BA, has put EI on a good course. The Irish government is planning to float the company--I read this report some time ago. I think it would mesh quite nicely with ST--or SA for that matter. It won't have a huge impact on any program, but I'd enjoy the LAX/DUB flight with connections to the rest of Europe.