  We consider the influence of slip boundary conditions on the modal and
non-modal stability of pressure-driven channel flows. In accordance with
previous results by Gersting (1974) (Phys. Fluids, 17) but in contradiction
with the recent investigation of Chu (2004) (C.R. Mecanique, 332), we show that
slip increases significantly the value of the critical Reynolds number for
linear instability. The non-modal stability analysis however reveals that the
slip has a very weak influence on the maximum transient energy growth of
perturbations at subcritical Reynolds numbers. Slip boundary conditions are
therefore not likely to have a significant effect on the transition to
turbulence in channel flows.
