I recall the previous operations of Flybe out of London City when they operated to Belfast and Edinburgh, plus others. Loads were thin and it didn't last too long. Edinburgh was consolidated onto a codeshare with Scot Airways, while Belfast was given up. On Belfast loads (in a Dash 8-300) were typically down in single figures when I was on board. This was of course in the days before huge APD etc.
I wonder why the management believe now that things will be different. Are any of the old team who looked at the loads and revenue in board meetings, and decided it was a no-hoper, still around to pass on these experiences ?