cs
No dramas mate. Yes that's effectively the routes it does. On a weekend it covers the LGW/NCL rotation in the morning, and then the double LGW in the evening. On a Sunday it does the early LGW followed by a NQY - MAN - EDI - MAN - NQY and then the last LGW rotation in the evening.
The aircraft is "technically" an Exeter aircraft, but only because Exeter is over crewed to cover this NQY based airframe. As and when it is pulled from NQY next March this doesn't mean it will end up back in Exeter, it'll be where it's needed.
It would make sense to utilise it in the manner in which you state to a point, but the question is what do you do with the aircraft afterwards? The aircraft has to fly at least 8 sectors per day to be even slightly viable, and that would mean a 7am (or near as damn it) departure to an airport that demands a service. Is there a case for a double daily MAN route? Apart from London is there anywhere else in the UK that the Cornish business travellers are commuting to? The "problem" with London is that it offers something for every type of traveller whereas other cities do not.
Could a NQY-SOU-NQY-MAN-NQY rotation work? I know SOU has been discussed here before but it hasn't really been tested. The SOU route that was put on a few years ago was pulled before it even started. That was nothing to do with demand but more to do with a time slot becoming available to utilise the aircraft from SOU but when it was looked at closely the NQY and back schedule was too large for the window of opportunity to use the airframe.
We used to do EDI a few times per week on the airframe before we started the Manchester. I'd have to check my old logbooks to ascertain exactly how many times per week, but it was a few times per week wasn't it? The loads were always ok.
bmi baby was always popular to EMA. Are there enough people willing to travel to a sunshine route from Kernow? Maybe we could try the odd PMI to test the water. End of the day the new CEO will have his master plan which is imminent as far as I know. More will be known about the strategy of Flybe when that's announced and whether we will want to keep/develop NQY any further. Fingers crossed we will.