Those who believe EZY presence on the IOM will be a good thing have an extreme case of tunnel vision. For those who want a weekend away in London it will be fine but for those who rely on the services for business it will not.....and it could spark a bigger issue in the long run.
Flybes punctuality isnt that bad as regional airlines go - they are often quite high up on punctuality stats and indeed have been number 1 on certain routes. The problem is when they do suffer from disruption it seems to come in fits and starts, weeks can go by where disruption is minimal and then all of a sudden there are several consecutive days of crap.
Airlines like EZY and FR operate a different logistical approach to Flybes. If an A319 goes tech, it delays or cancels the rest of that flying programme for that airframe. Potentially you could be looking at 3 or 4 flights with circa 150 pax onboard. Flybe will combine services or drop an aircraft already enroute in to that airport to collect passengers - failing that their frequency means that passengers can be rebooked on to the next flight which may actually go before the fault can be fixed. It means passengers get to where they need to go more often than not, albeit later than planned.
It will be very interesting to see how EZYs arrival will affect the IOM residents.