Agree. The BA regional operations were a catastrophic money loser for years. The business model was unworkable and no one had the balls to stem the flow of red ink until Willy said "ENOUGH".
Note that neither BMI or Virgin rushed in to fill the gaping hole left because outside of London, the easyJet / flybe business model is the way forward.
London is the only place BA can ever make money, not a criticism, just a fact.Look forward not back.