Hi SOE ... Always preferred "Cockney Airways" myself ... describes the target market so well! :-)
But seriously, let's not forget that BA has itself milked "very strong government support" in the past. The regions suffered with carriers considered competition to 'the favourite' being denied access to the regions for years. Please don't ask us provincials to yield to BA's hard luck stories today.
BA didn't want us. Fair enough. EK/EY/QR do. Fair enough!
Cheers, SHED.