Cardiff Spotter - I think anyone connected with the airport, no matter how obliquely, would sympathise with your sentiments. But as I and others have tried to point out, both your analysis and solutions are flawed.
No operator really cares how the airport looks, how shiny the taps in the gents' loos are, how much the breakfast costs, or how run down Burger King is. The costs of the taxis to town, the frequency of the trains, the state of the road, all frankly off the radar. All we care about is REVENUE. That comes from a market.
Cardiff's problem right now is, very simply, operators cannot see a market. Why would any potential new operator invest a lot of money in starting a route, or a base even, when what they see is the likes of baby struggling in comparison with their other bases? The message of the BHD move to me is clear - baby regard Belfast as a better bet than Cardiff, so that is where the resources are going.
As for subsidies, regular readers will know who I am, and my antipathy to state funding of airlines is on record; in any case, at Cardiff it would be highly legally questionnable to say the least, and there is no cash - that pot has been bled dry by IeuanAir. Also, by dint of my background I can speak of Cardiff's costs with a little authority. For the record, there is nothing I have seen in Cardiff's costs that would discourage an operator, they are certainly not excessive. Sure, airlines would like lower, that's obvious, but it is not a barrier to entry.
Kick out baby? Not my decision. Baby may leave under their own steam, but no-one will 'kick them out', that is just not going to happen. They are not in anybody's way. Does anyone really think that if they were so inclined, Jet2, easyJet, or Ryanair couldn't wipe them out of Cardiff in a month or two?? Of course they could. But they don't, and the reason behind why they don't to me, as an airline guy, is obvious - they just don't see the point of so doing, since the prize is not worth the fight.
THAT is the question that airport supporters and managers must face - how to prove that a catchment exists at Cardiff who will pay high enough fares to make it worth an operator coming in and starting services. It's the tough one - it may be far more entertaining to speculate about the road, or the lounge, or the rail link, or the merits of ATC and ground handling companies, or the future of the management team, or the internal machinations of bmibaby, but trust me, none of that adds up to a bucket of spit if the market isn't proven.
Save Danny's bandwidth, and focus on the real question, perhaps?
TA