In other words, we are shutting up shop before it gets to expensive.
I think that's unfair. A short-notice Titan 737 charter costs around £3000 per block-hour; if they'd been worried about things 'getting expensive' they'd never have bothered chartering but would have given-up two weeks ago.
For all the disparaging of Citywing on this forum I don't see many others putting their money forward in an effort to 'do it properly'. Starting an airline in the UK is horrifically expensive and for thin routes contracting-out flying may well be the only option.