I wouldn’t say Flybe have done something wrong but I do feel they’ve played the system and proved that the whole concept of remedy slots is misguided and generally useless at promoting long term competition.

NQY-LHR in it's own right is potentially a smart move IF ONLY IF the charging regime at LHR for a Q400 allows it to make money in it's own right. But then do they add codeshares and dilute the revenue potential?

Can’t imagine LM happy about BE on their now established EDI/GLA-SOU route, though choice of cramped narrow but fast Emb145 vs Noisy slightly slower D8

​​​​​​A realistic upload for SOU,but what about CDG? Obviously there isn't the interest in this destination anymore,amazing considering the frequency of such flights in recent years.

or £200 one way versus £50!!

They appear to try to reclaim what they originally lost. However with their current reliability is a business passenger going to pay a little bit extra on the company credit card to be assured their flight won't be delayed or cancelled? Why feel the need to go head to head on the majority of routes when profitability is hard enough at the best of times on regional routes

That would be my impression too, why would you subsidise a route if someone is willing to operate it commercially. Trying to knock Eastern off it and then win the contract next time it comes back out to tender - which will be when they inevitably drop it again…

Most likely reaction is pissing themselves laughing. New competitor spreads itself thinly, spends millions, starts routes then stops them and then starts them again (MAN-BHD, BHX-EDI/GLA) and decides to spread itself even more thinly during what's looking to a nasty winter for all? Leave them to it!

Let's see where things are by March - both airlines fares are much of a muchness that far out, but not many book that far ahead. Will the flying circus still be here by March and will it have anyone left to crew the Q4s? 6 F/Os resigned towards the back end of last week alone.

The irony of it all is that after all the protestations about how it's different from Flybe 1, it's making all the same mistakes. Including trying to pick a fight with Loganair!

In fairness, the mistake Flybe v1 made was picking a fight with Loganair in the Highlands and Islands where Logan couldn’t afford to loose. In nearly all other cases, Flybe succeeded but things are different now. Time will tell but I imagine Flybe’s Q4 seat production cost will be significantly lower than Logan’s E145.

...which assumes they'll stick with the E145 on those routes and not flip some ATR72 flying across. They had the advantage of E170 versus Saab 340 last time and still lost royally.

But that’s often the argument about seat-mile costs. The larger aircraft usually has the cheaper cost, but that is only true if you assume a 100% load factor.

Extreme example;
The A380 versus the E145. Seat mile costs incomparable. But if you only have 50 passengers. Which is most cost effective to fly those 50 passengers, despite the E145’s very high seat cost compared to the A380?

Relevant example;
The DHC8-Q400 has 50% more seats than the E145. If both airlines only fill 50 seats on a competing service. And Loganair possibly command a higher price point due to more frequency, connecting pax in Scotland, BA codeshare etc. Which aircraft is more profitable? The larger, cheaper seat-mile cost aircraft, at a 75% load factor, or the smaller, “more-expensive” aircraft at a 100% load factor, and possibility a higher average fare. Impossible to answer without information that will never be known outside each airlines commercial department.

I'm sure Flybe would love to do CDG but have you tried to get a slot there? Rocking horse droppings.....

Why "inevitably" drop it? They operated it for many years before Eastern came along...in fact they added SEN/LCY to their London routes as well as LGW at the time that they served 3 x daily. Not exactly the scenario that you have painted.....

lower operating costs, tonnage charges and and half the cabin crew salaries.

Have they dropped Heathrow?
from Leeds

Yes because the passenger numbers were garbage there is no air market (BA couldn't make it work even with all their connecting possibilities) and the trains take 2 hours and cost £50......NQY is significantly different

Same story as Teesside!

That's just as misleading. When Flybe was operating the Newquay PSO to Gatwick and then Heathrow (and then planned for Gatwick again), they brought in a seasonal SEN route but held the PSO with its subsidy and APD exemption from the time of its introduction. Maybe you were too busy sending blue jets around Europe at the time to notice...