Think you are right, anyone who gets involved in running an airline is essentially a romantic......how to make a small fortune, start with a big one, stand in a strong wind ripping up 50 quid notes spring to mind.
If Granite take on regional it will be very interesting to see how they plan on developing it.
In the Biz Air days they had Saab's flying 15 hours a day and I am not sure they ever made a meaningful profit if at all. Mail bags in an EMB isn't going to work, the regional airline model has (for the moment at least) been definitively defined by FlyBe.