Thanks for the reply. There is something else I have been considering also. Demand for a Chicago-Birmingham flight using American Airlines seems to be quite high, though i'm a little unsure. A facebook campaign has been started to bring back that service:
AA Birmingham | Facebook
It looks good at the moment but more users are needed, we want to follow the path of the 'Fly-India' campaign.
Also, is Emirates considering a third daily flight into BHX? They were considering it in 'two years time' in 2006, which would have been 2008 but nothing came of it. Also, when is Qatar starting at BHX?