I was with a BA subsidiary when all this was going on ( a very minor management position). It was well known that BA was going to make changes in regional flights, most of us didn't foresee that the changes would be as drastic as they turned out to be. We naively assumed BA wanted a profitably regional division.
Whilst not a fully paid-up member of the 'Hart appreciation society' give the man credit for realizing that the route was going to be 'rationalised' in the near future. It would not surprise me if he wasn't given an 'unofficial' heads up by BA. I regularly used to console Fleet managers who found the ground had been cut from under their feet by 'rationalisations'.