Birmingham Airport thread seems to have dominated this forum over the Christmas period. Quite interesting to read at times, but some suggestions avoid economic reality. I believe that Birmingham, like several other regional airports, can have an effective network of short and medium haul routes plus a few viable long haul ones. (All of these will be mainly O&D) Plus of course feeding continental hubs. The idea of Birmingham as another UK hub is just a dream. The UK hub will remain at Heathrow as economic reality dictates. Gatwick may also develop more long haul routes with more connecting services but will never rival Heathrow.
There is nothing unique about this situation as most other European carriers also use regional services to feed their hubs. The Middle Eastern carriers do exactly the same.
V.