I for one am deeply saddened by the way it's turned out for the ground staff at the IOM. I think too much emphasis has bee nplaced in this thread on the 145 as an airframe, rather than the way BACON operate it. With crews touring all over the place and taxis moving 145 crews all over the country, surely that is why the costs for operating the fleet are so high.
When the Ex-BAR routes were taken on, this is when all this touring began, and the costs of this must have contributed to the eventual downfall. It doesn't change the current situation, where the hangar will be wound down as Exeter takes on work. Even the BA Connect logo is falling off the hangar roof now!
CheekyVisual got it about spot on I suspect.Had a Manx/BRAL and Brymon merger occurred, under BRAL or a mix of management, it may well have worked and eventually gobbled up FLybe, but we'll never know. The BAR millstone, and Parachuted in management saw fit to create the situation we have today.
There is a strong possibility of the Dash 8 Q300s being grounded and disposed of very quickly in the new year and the crews re-trained on the Q400 ASAP, or indeed put on EMB145 courses to fill the crew shortages there. Rumour control said we would get a 145 based on the Isle of Man to replace that Dash, and there's no shortage of LHS crew to come home and crew it!
I just hope everyone gets a fresh start and happy future when the dust settles. Best of luck to everyone. As for those working for Manx Regional, the current BACON crews are pulling for you, we will let Flybe know what we think of the opposition and how much we want to stay with Manx Regional! Good luck everyone.