I fear your post simply confirms the point I was trying to make, ie - people seem all too willing to condemn Lydd because of Manston's failure to progress.
By all means feel free to theorise about Lydd, but those of us who expected great things at MSE are now all too aware that "the proof of the pudding...."
Lyddair has been running for some time.
Now I don't wish to be rude, but if someone tried to get me to fork out 90 quid just to hop over the puddle for a coffee, I would tell them where to shove it, yet Lydd seems to attract enough folk to make this service viable.
Road access is not perfect, but you are wrong to describe it as "truly awful", and an efficient shuttle coach from Ashford Int. could be most effective.
With an extended runway and a 40-min London to Ashford rail link, I would be most interested to see the results of a more comprehensive service being offered.
Enough crystal-ball gazing.
Time for a market test.