is there another operator wanting to step up and offer fixed wing operations to the isles ?
As I made mention of in a previous post it's a summer only operation with one optimum day per week of Saturday. It would take a local airline with an appropriate aircraft type but long gone are the days of Brymon operating BN2/DHC6's and FlyBE (JEA) and their DHC6's..
Even if a local entrepreneur was to buy up a BN2, or whatever, could perhaps make a living out of it during the summer but what the hell would they do with it during the winter!
what the route needs is for skybus to offer codeshares and interlining to open the islands up to customers far and wide without the need for separate tickets and the risks that involves. Currently speaking you can get from anywhere in the world on an EK, BA, VS code as far as NQY and if you want to reach ISC you have to take on the onward risk yourself or build in an overnight stay in NQY.
In the old Brymon days they were offering LHR, LGW, BRS and the likes to/from ISC, at one point they were part of BCal Commuter Services so I believe the Bcal network served ISC, then of course they got taken over by BA and probably for a period, until they got rid of the DHC6's, ISC was available on the BA network.
But, right now, Skybus have the monopoly on the route, they don't need to share it or offer interline partners a percentage of it, perhaps that may change in the future ...
But Skybus did own/operate LEQ and I understand that they told the PZE helicopters to "Pze off, you're not operating from our airport", I'm not sure about the owner/operator of LEQ now but I'm presuming that it remains a closed shop.