The Reds have a problem with aircraft attrition and not all of them are 'smokers' which is essential to their script. They are also flying legacy aircraft rather than front line contemporary so they are hardly flying the flag for the best of british these days. FWIW I think that air shows and display teams are the vital link between Joe Public; his family, and the Armed Forces. This year has seen Hawk, King Air, Tornado pulled from the air show circuit and Tutor is hanging on by a thread. The signal being sent from on high is that there is no appetite for public displays and it is reasonable to assume that RAFAT & BBMF are also highlighted on the austerity radar. Logic may suggest that they should go, but I suspect that the majority of the general public (and therefore taxpayers) would wish for them to stay. The Blue Eagles have gone and I believe The Army Historic Flight also; I suspect that at a time in the foreseeable future, display survival will depend totally on sponsorship and this is a rare commodity nowadays.