Actually this is not a correct view. AF don't do any regional operations; if you go to Nice say, the only actual AF services you will see operate to Paris, just like BA domestics from Heathrow. You will see some regional operations from there run by an associated company with RJs, which is not dissimilar to FlyBe, with their 15% BA ownership which gives a seat on the board, and multiple regional hubs. The only real difference seems to be that one paints up their aircraft in the mainline colours (although not when CityJet are the regional operator) and the other does not.
Over in Germany it's much the same, by the way.
This isn't quite true I would say. Air France
mainline has bases in Marseille, Nice and Toulouse, each with a range of international short-haul flights that don't involve Paris. Lufty has
hubs in Munich and Frankfurt, plus focus cities with international mainline operations in Dusseldorf (this one is actually called a hub by LH), Hamburg and from next year, Berlin Brandenburg. Yes, both AF and LH do use regionals in their colours, although some of these are
fully owned subsidiaries.
Flybe, on the other hand, has no real 'loyalty' to BA, they have a large codeshare arrangement to feed AF at CDG from the UK regions, a Nordic operation with Finnair boosing HEL feed to Asia and wet leases/feed for Brussels Airlines. In fact, their 'partnerships' (of varying significance) span all three alliances!
My only point here is that BA does not mirror LH or AF, I think BA tried and failed with the regions and to go back for more wouldn't be a wise business decision. That's not to say that other European carriers haven't made a success of their regions though, for varying reasons. If you're looking for a carrier that has adopted a central country hub with a regional covering everything else, then the other half of IAG (Iberia) may be a good bet?