I agree with you that bmibaby is an excellent brand, and following the new open for business package which was launched recently, we ought to be considerably more competitive in the low-cost airline arena. The problem is, a number of markets that we've tried in the past or considered trying, have now been taken up by Ryanair, and there is no chance that bmibaby would entertain the idea of competing, particularly in discretionary leisure travel markets where price is key. Add to that easyJet's stagnant but forboding presence, and a bigger Thomsonfly scheduled service, bmibaby are surrounded by all angles as to where they could expand to next. At the moment with BA Connect being merged into flybe, BHX provides excellent opportunities to soak up the demand which the new flybe will not be able to handle alone.
Eventually, I'd probably predict the battle ground will be drawn between Ryanair and bmibaby at EMA, with Thomsonfly also operating in key Med leisure markets. If EasyJet's base was loss-making they would have pulled out, but if it was doing very well they would have expanded, and I imagine the airline is potentially looking at markets where the Airbuses could potentially be better utilised (BRS and LPL following the flybe merger could accomodate the odd extra Airbus for the loss of certain BA routes at BRS and MAN). Considering they are now in their fifth year of flying from EMA and have just announced a new handling agent, I'd say they're safe for now, but it surely makes more sense for them to operate from airports with growth potential.