Transtlantic from the regions
It's true. As long as MAN struggles to retain, let alone grow its long-haul traffic there is little point in other regionals even trying. For this reason I can't see the business case in BHX's runway extension. And if LBA were to get an New York service the viability of this and also MANs would be fragile. The inevitable outcome of regional market share wars in long haul is fragementation and dilution of yields, convincing airlines that they'll only ever make a profit at Heathrow. We have to face up to the fact that England is a small country in terms of global air route distances. For incoming travellers the capital is the natural place to fly into, and then travel domestically if required. It has a huge choice of carriers and routes, too. All UK regions have an image problem (they are not London) and therefore London will always be where they fly to.