One more thing:Talks between Shannon Airport and BMI about the UK airline replacing Aer Lingus on the London-Heathrow route continue apace.

Informed sources in Shannon tell us that a deal, if one is to be done, is still some weeks away. The odds on the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) landing BMI are described as even money.

The SAA is hoping to find a replacement for Aer Lingus, which carries about 320,000 passengers to Heathrow annually and is pulling off the route at the end of this year.

BMI, meanwhile, is believed to be preparing the ground work for any change in its allocation of Heathrow slots.

The airline is understood to be considering curtailing some of its domestic flights from Heathrow. BMI currently operates a number of domestic routes from Heathrow, including to Aberdeen, Inverness, Durham Tees and Leeds Bradford.

With Shannon offering juicy incentives for new routes, the returns on a service between the Co Clare airport and Heathrow could outstrip those from internal flights in Britain.

BMI is rumoured to be considering using A319 aircraft on flights to Shannon. These seat about 124 passengers, slightly less than the capacity on the A320 aircraft currently being used on the route by Aer Lingus but enough to satisfy demand.

BMI declined to comment on the possibility of it launching a Shannon-Heathrow service.

Its entry onto the route, however, would likely spark a swift response from Ryanair, which operates flights from Shannon to Stansted, Gatwick and Luton.

Michael O'Leary has already run British Airways and EasyJet out of Shannon and wouldn't be behind the door in taking on BMI.