No reason why Flybe could not get rid of the BMI Regional EMB 145 's, like they did at BA Connect
True, but sadly, Flybe's retirement of the 145 at Connect, together with Jimbo's unskillfully worded welcome letter which ran along the lines of "if you don't like what we fly #### off" resulted in the loss of a very high proportion of experienced crews.
Timing and market conditions would make it harder for BMIR guys to get out if they wanted to, but rumour has it that the Dash's are going to be slower arriving than originally planned, so there may not be a particularily fast transition to the Q400.
You never know, Jimbo may have even learned some additional man management skills beyond FIFO, so that crews would actually feel motivated to stay....
Whatever, good luck to all the BMIR boys and girls for the future and hope you get a firm plan asap.
OAP