I really hope they don't get Flybe. Might as well shut them down now if IAG get hold of them.
BMI was a mess, IAG bought them out and many staff went on to find work at BA.There was no place for BMI Baby or BMI Regional.
So do you want part of somerthing or all of nothing, the latter is just virtue signalling and is not helpful. Virgin, as ever are after raising brand awareness, I don't imagine that Delta seriously want to but a loss making turboprop regional....
It's not only bad management, it's also that frankly. most of the time, the train makes more sense in the UK on the likes of GLA/EDI-MAN/BHX which once upon a time were core BA routes. That world has gone, and the regional to EU is now swamped by the big boys in FR, EZY, LS, VY etc etc. Flybe are less and less relevant, and if you guys think that building a hub to serve Virgin's leisure routes out of MAN could be profitable, I am not sure I agree that's likely.
Turn MAN into an alternative hub for the US
By "alternative" you mean "loss making." MAN has seen great success in point-to-point of late, Thomas Cook beating VS at their own game, offering better value to family holidays, whereas year round US connectivity has gone into reverse. In recent years, AA have dropped CLT,JFK, ORD, UA have down-gauged EWR and Delta palmed everything off to VS, as they see MAN as better fitting that market positioning. None of that suggests that adding the cost and complexity of a hub and spoke system is the way forward, quite the reverse IMHO, especially if Norwegian ever get off their backsides and join the party,