teleparty
You do go on don't you?
I would say that NWI has until quite recently enjoyed the level of traffic that its catchment would naturally support. It's largely the imposition of an Airport Development Fee there that has brought about the recent decline and upset Flybe. Regional airports will only really thrive when the market is booming and those days are certainly gone - at least for the next few years. You can't realistically bring SEN into the discussion with its current very short runway. Let's see what happens when their runway extension and new terminal with co-located train station are up and running next autumn and see what effect that has on traffic.
You talk only of the Ryanair aircraft being based there, but surely Palmair effectively have a BOH based 737 don't they? OK, they have decided to suspend ops this winter but that's only due to the current uncertainty in the whole marketplace as to what this winter will bring. They are probably wise to be cautious as I doubt they have the resources to sustain great losses so they've decided to live to fight another day.
As far as SOU is concerned take away Flybe and what do you have left? Certainly much less than BOH has in terms of other commercial activity as Nakata77 correctly pointed out. Flybe thrive there largely because your runway declared distances are too marginal for the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair and they are thus safe from route predation. Air Berlin pulled out and transferred to BOH for that very reason didn't they?
I should enjoy it while you can and hope that the CAA don't look too closely at the length of the RESA between your runway end and the M27 and spoil the party.
To sum up I don't think you're taking into account the realities of today's passenger market when you make your points, but perhaps with a few more years experience under your belt realism will dawn.
I have no interest in the relative success of BOH vs SOU and I hope both continue to provide stable employment for those working there while realising their true potential within the limits that their natural catchments impose as far as pax services are concerned.