What I find odd is that many people fundamentally are missing the opportunities here. Everyone is spouting on about how close BOH and SOU are - I would suggest that if passengers are able to commute to BOH for the shorter domestic flights, valuable morning slots ex-SOU could be used for new destinations that open up many more opportunities and business friendly links. What those would be I have no idea but I am certain that this is a strategic move that long term will provide a better deal for SOU.
I do believe that whilst some routes are offered from both it will provide flexibility during disruption - if my aircraft in SOU was tech I would rather get on a coach and go from BOH than wait until the afternoon flight from SOU. This does not however mean disruption will be intentional and I am sure that the airline will continue to operate both within the scope of their on time performance targets.
The Flybe bashing that goes on here is quite unbelievable. The forum used to be for professionals but are now plagued with trolls, kids or "wannabe CEO's" who know better than anyone else. And there is little moderating of this anymore so it is very much a free thread for any old tripe to be posted. However I would ask that if you are hell bent on criticising Flybe please address it to them directly using their website contact details. If you are wishing to comment on their SOU operation, pop it in the SOU thread, IOM in the IOM thread, BOH in the BOH thread etc...you get the point.
Turning our heads to the airline as a whole, has anyone any ideas of suggestions on where the additional Republic Q400s may be positioned to? With so many being added and as far as I can see limited domestic opportunities where will they go?