There might have been some casual interest, but Cobham buying Airnorth is a bit 'out there'. They may both be operators of narrow body RPT jets, but they have very different business models.
Airnorth is an airline, that makes money by offering tickets to the public.
Cobham's aussie businesses are like its UK and worldwide cousins - businesses that won't supply anything unless they have a long term, 500+ page thick contract, usually tightly integrated with one (maybe two) specialised customer(s).
B717 = a 5 year multimillion $$ contract with a single customer (QF) following 22 years of 146/717 regional rpt.
BAe146 to Moomba,
BAe146 night freight Australian Air Express,
LADS.
FIFO in WA.
Coastwatch = Sentinel contract with the federal government.
Cobham managers would be mindful of the possible effect on the group share price if it moves away from what Cobham does best (single customer, tightly integrated, multi million $, long term contracts) and tries to sell tickets to thousands of consumers at a couple hundred bucks a pop.
I can't see it - but stranger things have happened!