the UK airline industry is a highly deregulated sector and there are minimal direct entry restrictions for competitors (Chernatony, MacDonald M, Wallace 2010, 106).
However, this still constitutes a low threat factor due to
1) large Capital requirements for new entrants
2) Saturated the long haul market
3) Saturation of the domestic market by players such as Easy Jet and Ryan air, the largest carriers in this category (Steves 2010, 77).
4) Dominance of British Airline of major routes and hubs gives the airline high power and 5) Failure of new entrants such as Zoom and XL in 2008 scared aware new potential entrants (Steves 2010, 77)