Personally I don't see it happening.
Resurrected Flybe might try it but they've decided not to base at Manchester so the route wouldn't make sense the same way a hub feeder route would.
The other small players are already working the routes where they think they can make a profit.
It's a route where the main competion is rail, until HS2 is junked (and even then) its a risky competition for airlines.
On that there's the latest government post brexit wheeze to transfer the metholodgy of rail refunds to air travel.
If your aircraft is late you'd get automatic refunds etc.
The current EU based compensation scheme already creates more delays which was one of original Flybe's problems.
The amount of compensation is based on delay length.
With lots of short sectors Flybe would swap aircraft around to avoid say a one hour delay to one aircraft by creating 30 min delays to four aircraft as that was cheaper in compensation.
Hence the nickname FlyMaybe!
An airline always flying sector's longer the an hour didn't have the same option/choice/conundrum to face.
If Boris goes ahead with his grand idea to extend the rail user compensation scheme to airlines I can see it just killing off domestic air travel - part of his fu#k business policy perhaps
