No, the way forward is for Cardiff to prove there is a serious and sustainable market. Until it does that, no-one is going to go there, least of all a start up.
Right now, I just don't believe that the market is big enough - or rich enough - and that comes not from gut feel, or wishing upon a star, or reading the entrails from black and white chickens - but cold, hard facts and numbers.
Welsh unemployment fell by 1,000 in the first quarter, but that is not the seasonally adjusted number - and in any case, unemployment is a proxy variable. Across the UK unemployment in Q1 fell by 45,000 - which is way more proportionally that it did in Wales....
'Just needs someone to dip their toe in the water' - with your £50m? Airlines, especially start ups, don't 'dip their toe in the water' - they invest after a lot of research. Right now, they don't like the answers.
Cardiff has a massive seasonality problem - baby would have gone far far earlier if they had based more aircraft in CWL. I suspect the 'many who believe' otherwise have no clue about airline economics.
TA