My main point of raising Flybe in context of domestic flights from BOH, was to note that Flybe is becoming a dominant provider in the wider UK domestic market. Dominant usually means higher prices and quality glitches.
That situation normally creates enough momentum for a competitor to emerge, which in turn is an opportunity for airports like BOH. New competitors look for gaps in the market to establish.
I agree with you. My flight up this morning to MAN and back on Friday was £200. The 07:20 is operated by an EMB195 and had less than 30 people on-board. Granted this is half-term week but I can't help but thinking that the high price is affecting loads.
The challenge for any new entrant will be in their ability to put on a service that appeals to the business traveller and not just the leisure sector. In the morning I have a choice of 07:20 or 08:55 to MAN and 15:35, 17:05, 18:40. On some days there is a 20:25.
While a service from BOH would be ideal I doubt any new entrant could offer that level of service. From a purely selfish point of view a single morning service at around 8:00 would suffice, although depending on whether it originated in MAN or SOU the timings of the MAN-BOH leg would not be ideal for southbound traffic. In the evening a couple of flights from 16:00 to 18:00 would be ideal.
Will it happen? I doubt it very much. As I said earlier SOU has a bigger busines catchement area and a railway on the doorstep. I suspect BOH will continue to serve the leisure market with SOU catering to a mix of business and leisure.