Originally Posted by
unowot
Sadly I doubt IAG will have the slightest interest in Flybe. They would be returning to a market where they saw massive losses as BA Regional. I also Doubt if Virgin will be interested, their entry into the short haul business was a financial disaster and relatively short lived. As the larger markets are well served by carriers with lower seat costs, there is no future here for a carrier operating expensive turboprops. So the future is likely to be in Niche markets and by definition there are not too many of these that will support mid size turbo props. I do hope Flybe survives but I fear it will shrink to do this. Good Luck.
There is I believe quite a bit of truth in this. IAG worried that they will lose connecting passengers. Somehow I doubt this and would debate any value in it. They will also know how many people are connecting and what the revenue is.
If 150 pax are transferring per week from Flybe service from one airport and using LH services then it make be justifiable to ensure there is connectivity between that and LHR/LCY. If it is 2 a week then wouldn't spend any time on keeping route.