Freshair, good to see some balance brought to this discussion. There has to be a sence of economic reality brought to the fore here and your post higlights
some of it. The aiport will deliver a 10 % Pax increase this year which will be a record, have added 4 new services, and also welcomed Europe's largest regional airline Flybe as a flag ship carrier!
The reduced operational hours for winter is a reality, the majority of traffic is Vfr and leisure and will work within these hours.
Yes business schedule/ traffic and opening hours are not user friendly and I'm sure mangement are working on this but as you have pointed out key hub business connectivity is the ideal target here in the medium term however the unprecedented economic climate makes this a very challenging target to achieve.
I say well done to IWAK they have their strategy correct to ensure longer term survival and I'm sure also we may be surprised what 2012 will bring in more new services