BMI
I think some of you guys are not keeping up todate. Surely BMI tried or proposed LH using its A330 without much sucess. If you look back to the 767's for BA they were often the dog of the fleet and over the years the punctuality was poor.
It will always be difficult to operate regional long haul. In most cases crews have to be hotac'd the night before and also on return. In the case of BA engineering support was required as was equipment and validation of the staff to operate it. In BA's BHX / GLA operation most of the pax were discounted holiday makers and it was impossible to compete with existing fares from LHR / LGW or Europe. In many of the present long haul routes from MAN you are taking the punters off your LHR / LGW services and am sure that someone out there will confirm that many of the services produce limited profits.