Call 100,
I was scanning around to see if there was/is as optimistic spin to put on what many have already speculated is a difficult situation. I don't want to comment on the airport owner's position as a company, there is discussion on that above already, and even if WMIAL / CAFCO-C were to go under, the physical structure of the airport would still be there, and the site would still be owned by Coventry City Council.
I think we've been through the major players and it doesn't seem like there is an airline which would come in now and set up a base there. Imho, all the problems stem from Birmingham - both in terms of the planning issues, and the simple fact that BACON's departure left some negotiating room from Ryanair to come in. Under 'normal' circumstances, Coventry would be Ryanair's 'Birmingham East', but the airline industry doesn't do normal, so given the right deal, and the simple technical concerns over CVT's runway & 737-800's, FR ended up at BHX, not CVT, who's portakabin terminal might otherwise have welcomed them in with open arms.
The airport was sold with 'expectation' of getting planning approval for 2m pax, certainly not the same as having planning consent, so CAFCO were always taking an element of risk with this. So by the same logic, just being in talks with an airline can't exactly up the asking price, and ditto for an operator bringing in a couple of routes, but no base (a la Wizair / HLX), as these could go in an instant.
I still stand by the argument I have always used in the support I've given for CVT, which is that regional airports policy should make the best use of available facilities. However, airports have to make money, and although there must be plenty of airports up and down the country which don't have scheduled flights, is it fair to presume that these are needed in order for an airport the size of CVT to pay its lease to the council and have some funds left over to make a profit? OK, I said I wouldn't, but might it be fair to speculate that 6 months on from the TOM pull-out, WMIAL have got the calculators out and decided that selling is the only option?
[To be continued later / elsewhere, this post is getting a bit long.........]