I remember Flybe made similar comments when they decided to compete for Newquay-Gatwick against the local airline Air Southwest. Competition, choice, blah blah blah. They won that one. ASW got absorbed into Eastern and shut down, and immediately Newquay lost its airlinks to London City, Dublin, Cork, Jersey, Guernsey, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Glasgow.
Good luck Loganair, the Highlands and Islands need a carrier that is interested in more than just a couple of really profitable routes. If Flybe really wanted to provide connectivity and serve local communities, they'd have signed the codeshare.