BA COULDN'T MAKE MONEY on their regional operations. SIMPLE AS THAT.
BRAL could, Brymon could, Loganair could, however due to the higher overheads of mainline BA, the flag carrier can't. So why the moan? Can you still fly from MAN-JFK? Yes.
BA is a business, they can make more with the B767 from LHR. The future of Manchester is LOCO.