It still amazes me that so many airlines still see Heathrow as the centre of the aviation universe despite the 'horrible' experience they admit it to be for many of its users; passengers and crews alike. Surely a passenger from Scotland flying to Shanghai would rather fly direct from say Glasgow or Edinburgh than travel to London or Amsterdam.
It seems to me that the whole point of higher charges is to help fulfil the Governments stated ambition of encouraging more direct services from regional airports to ease the burden on the overcrowded South-East, and to try to convince airlines that there is money to be made outside the South-East, as successful services from MAN, BHX, NCL and BRS have proved, although sadly foreign airlines seem to be quicker to see the potential of the regionals than the likes of Virgin and BA.
R5