Hi Skipness,
I broadly concur with your comments that we in Manchester should accept BA's commercial decision to concentrate on the South-East and move on. However, I say this subject to two very important provisos.
1) In the case of those services on which BA does take bookings to/from MAN (ie. the Shuttles to LHR & LGW), the airline must respect the travel plans of the customers whose money it accepts. It is not acceptable for BA to cancel all Shuttles at the drop of a hat whenever there is the slightest whiff of problems in London. We may not live as far away from London as some other customers, but if we have entrusted BA to get us to our vital business meeting or cruise ship vacation, our need to travel is as important as that of anybody else. If the cruise ship is missed or the meeting is over by the time BA get you there they must accept that they will not find favour with the customers who are let down. Shuttle cancellations remain a major issue at MAN, especially in the Winter months. During bad weather, some LHR flights have to be cancelled. But the pain should be shared around. Scrubbing the MAN shuttles en bloc to run everything else is unacceptable.
2) Having elected to concentrate on London alone for its own business strategy (and fair enough), BA should not then be permitted to wield its considerable lobbying influence to inhibit competing carriers which are prepared to offer attractive services from the regions.
If BA respect these two important considerations, I would see no reason to argue with the company's decision to otherwise run its business however it chooses. As a frequent traveller, LHR transfers do not appeal to me personally, but I have no problem with BA concentrating on those offerings if they so choose.
Regards. SHED.