No offence guys but it isn't about Manchester, or Scotland or any of the other UK regions (lovely though many of them are) - it's about the needs of the massive Business/Leisure/Connecting air travel market that is driven by the South East economic powerhouse and the world mega-city that is London.
Honestly good luck with the job of developing more of your own direct or "alternative hub" links - but that is a sideshow by comparison.