Actually, I don't fully agree with all the above. 1/ for the sake of getting it right, CityFlyer Express was originally completely privately owned and operated through the 90s as a BA franchisee. It was only sold to BA around 2001 (I am hazy on the dates as the sale was referred to the (then called) MMC and took a considerable time to go through. 2/ CityFlyer demonstrated that it was possible for a regional to go head to head with a loco. the best example being Gatwick Dublin where it operated toe to toe with Ryanair and due to a combination of good scheduling and the power of the BA brand and the Executive Club did very well.