The greatest mistake CWL management made was loosing Ryanair. Had they kept them CWL would now be a real counter weight to BRS. Politicians and planning don't work. Goggle Ciudad Airport in Spain as a stunning example of political build and they will come thinking. Regional airports have expanded because of low cost airlines. They struggle to attract and hold full service legacy carriers. If you removed easyjet and Ryanair from Bristol there isn't much left. AF, KLM and EI etc. The Lo-co's didn't come for the design and architecture at BRS they came because of good contractual terms and an affluent catchment area. Investing £250 million is peanuts, that'll get you some new toilets, an additional airbridge and some new baggage carts. I would love to see a Gulf airline and/or CO/UA back at BRS, but it won't happen. The UK is a small island with room for one hub airport. That hub is yet to be built and it should be in South East. CWL suffered because BMI Baby repelled other Lo-Co's whilst not investing to make it successful. They need to be realistic and that means attracting Jet2 or somebody else to have a real crack at building a budget network. No it isn't glamorous, but if the likes of Birmingham and Manchester struggle to hold a limited full service network Cardiff has no chance. Passengers will be attracted by a competitively priced ticket to a destination they want to fly to. How many people fly to LAX from Wales and the West each week? Not enough to fill a 737, let alone a 777 on a daily basis. However there are enough passengers who want to fly to Faro, Malaga etc. Focus on what people want and not a vanity project. If politicians become involved CWL will simply become a folly to Carwyn Jones' ego.