When all these LoCo operations jumped on the bandwagon there was Ryanair, EasyJet, Go, KLM Buzz and, if memory serves me correct, the ailing BMI decided to, belatedly, jump on a well played bandwagon in, pretty much, one last ditch attempt to save this ailing airline.
But, alas, they were too late, all the others had already nabbed the 'cushty' markets and BMIBaby were left with the leftovers that none of the others were interested in ... and for very good reason.
So, by attempting such operations from such low-yield catchment area(s) has served to provide the local communitity(s) with false hope, a false impression, that there was ever a profitable business structure to be had there in the first instance.
As a rule of thumb the larger the aircraft then the cheaper, per seat, it is to operate, anything less than a Boeing or Airbus sized aircraft simply couldn't compete on price with fare levels from BHX & BRS.