Are you sure Flybe make a good profit? Their accounts seem to to show a perpetual loss year by year. The last ones to 31st march 2006 show a loss of something like £12 million on a £300 Million turnover, with an exceptional of £8 Million.
I am no accountant and maybe the loss is acceptable by the bean counters.
I also checked the CAA website whilst gearing up for an interview - their load factor in November was 57%, if I've read the numbers correctly, which is a lot lower than the other Low cost carriers.