Good riddance!
I'm surprised it's taken them so long.
I suspect they will keep the LHR-MAN feeder route though ('Shuttle' my arse!). It was always pretty busy when I used to use it (until they banned windsurfing kit last year, the final straw in their cunning campaign of enraging me). It's no longer the 'bus' to London for us Mancs, as the dreadful timekeeping, plus security and airport nuisance made it an option of last resort. However my bet is it still carries a lot of transfer passengers.
I'll be transferring through somewhere other than LHR though and with a carrier other than BA.