110 Cornets
Well said - I was about to post something very similar.
People need to put this into perspective:
1. There is a world of difference between 17 flights a year full of tourists and 4 flights a week in a mixed mode.
2. This is not 'Hainan' per se, it's a tour operator that has chartered the cheapest available airline, the same as last year. In fact if your BHX glass is half empty you could say China Southern dipped their toes in the water last year and aren't coming back. The thing is, that's nonsense as they were no more doing that than Hainan are doing this year.
3. Don't Austrian Airlines fly to both BHX and MAN on ski charters (to ski type places) - that's no more likely to be a toe in the water for scheduled flights as Hainan. The two things are entirely separate.
EDIT: Going way back in time didn't PanAm fly regular charters (for tour operators) for years into MAN? They never operated scheduled services.