Did multiple codeshares work well for BMI? Alas no, not even Lufthansa could fix that.
Virgin had a succesful network for onward connections with Little Red? Sadly not, couldn't attract enough point to point.
This is a batty idea, it really is. Flybe codeshare at MAN with the likes of Etihad but what's the point in Etihad diluting their own MAN traffic over LHR with Flybe?