Yes the loss of an airline that clearly wanted to operate to Manchester is irritating. In order to choose Manchester as a destination they must have had a rationale for wanting to do this in the first place ?
I can think of two very good reasons why they wanted to be in Manchester just before Christmas, and they aren't cargo related.
I think the fact that the cargo has ended up in BOH rather than any of the usual suspects in between - especially when 'every other airport seems to be milking' this sector - suggests that the cargo isn't destination sensitive. I think it comes down to who has the resource to bulk load/unload a widebody (don't think BOH has the kit for main deck pallets, so I'm assuming bulk loads). As has been mentioned previously BOH are doing it on a regular (daily?) basis.