Look I'm sorry but you're seeing some conspiracy where none exists. Airlines offer services where there is a demand for their services. Long haul from the regions as you must surely know, has been tried by all the majors and for the most part has been abandoned as there is more money to be made hubbing in the capital.
American have tried GLA-ORD, STN-ORD and BHX-ORD and recently introduced STN-JFK mainly to bump off Maxjet and EOS IMHO but anyhoo......
BA never made a penny in the regions flying long haul from GLA and BHX, MAN-JFk upsets them greatly as it has a loyal clientele...
United tried and dumped GLA-IAD but decided it made more sense to interline with Star Alliance partner BMI through LHR as the market was too seasonal and low yielding.
NWA dumped GLA-BOS as they closed their hub in BOS and decided to hub their passengers through partner KLM in AMS.
US Airways operate GLA-PHL but is too seasonal to make money year round. Indeed American's GLA-ORD was summer only from Summer 1995 until it was pulled in 2006.
Continental used to have low cost structures that allowed them to operate from their hub at EWR to the UK regions and this succesful gambit still operates.
However with the exception of the BA MAN-JFK run they were all have a hub at one end or the other.
You say the big boys have exclusive rights to fly long haul. They don't, anyone is free to try. Glogespan have shown that it is far from a simple task though. Scotland is super seasonal, Birmingham is too close to London, Bristol does well to hold it's flagship New York service, Manchester already has all of the US majors except NWA, as well as BA, Virgin and BMI on long haul.
You say try the regions, trust me it'll work. Get real. As I said they've all tried and for the most part it's been a licence to lose money in recent years, but I guess you know way better than all those airlines.........why let the lessons of history get in the way of plane spotter fantasy airport time....
