What were the limitations on this? Could it not be useful to prop up routes like BFS/NCL-EWR until they start making a profit, maybe BRS-EWR (although I don't think there would be a struggle there were it to be reinstated). Other potential routes like BFS-DXB, LBA/EMA-NYC/DXB, LBA-Pakistan, MAN-China, EDI-China, EVEN NCL-China
I know some of these are in the +5 mil category but surely the inbound trade is worth the investment, or is it not worth it because its not London?
I feel a lot more could have come of this, even past the fact that 15 routes never happened, some of them were just weird, and even of the 4 that did happen, I only think 1 definitely makes sense on the surface of it, and that's Dundee to Amsterdam, but only with KLM codeshare, which currently isn't in place. Norwich - Exeter might make sense, I'm assuming business ties but I cant think of any massive benefit it brings, what links are there?
Were it subsidised I completely support bmi regional on SOU-MUC, not flybe though.
Southampton - Lyon and Leeds - Newquay though... Why? Are they not leisure routes? By that token why don't the government just plough money into MME/CVT/BLK - ALC/TFS/PMI/AGP?