Whichever way you look at it though, you would expect to be consulted by your 'partner' if they intended to operate a route which might be seen as competitive
Are they really partners? Stobart use the Flybe brand to try to attract business and Flybe take a fee. Stobart is more like a customer than a partner. It is a win win situation for Flybe as they carry no risk if a route fails. End of story.