I agree with you JB to an extent. The airline has been, well shall we say not the best managed over the last number of years, and the intense competition with an operator such as Flybe has invariably put the writing on the wall for some time. But then you add on the problems with the general economic downturn, fuel prices etc etc, and only in my humble opinion, they were contributory factors to the timing of it, and I dont believe that EMX will be unique this year.
The circumstances leading to their demise certainly had alot to do with the management of the airline, however even better managed airlines, particularly in the lo-co sector (but not exclusively) are finding it tough and I wouldnt be surprised to see at least one reasonably sized airline fall by the wayside by the years end.
Not being doom and gloom, I just think similar to the housing market, the UK airline market has seen a remarkable boom over the last few years, with what seems everyone jumping on the bandwagon to start a new airline or at least subsidiary, and personally I dont believe it (the market) can be sustained in these circumstances.