Boris
I agree about higher fares being necessary to maintain a viable and reliable service. I suppose Eastern is the nearest to Manx that we have, but just look at the yearly passenger figures on the routes they operate.
This policy of the IOM Govt of actively encouraging multiple airlines on routes from the IOM seems to me to be an overeaction to the situation that they were faced with during the first half of last year when there must have been the distinct possibilty that they could have lost the two main carriers to the Island, albeit for entirely different reasons.
Presumably, further retrenchment will follow, Man is the most obvious one but I think EM pulling off the Dublin route must give Arran encouragement to stick with it.