I do regret the loss of Manchester from next March. I wonder how it is doing over the winter months. It has better timings on most days at the moment. I know quite a number of people use the first flight down from Manchester to connect with BA long Haul and the 1025 up to Manchester to take them home. Use it myself a lot for point to point. I know economic reality says it will go but a pity nobody else will pick it up. Does anyone know how the route is performing at moment or any indication of a change of mind? I know I should move on!!
Yields on the route have been steadily declining for the past 3 or 4 years with BA having to offer more discounted tickets in order to attract pax. Making the route one of the two worst performing LGW routes last year.There is a number of reasons for the drop in pax numbers but the main two reasons are:
BA's best customer on the route in years gone by was actually VS holidays. The company used the service to back then feed there longhaul network. As VS have expanded at MAN the number of pax on the BA flights to LGW have steadily dropped. The other reason is that rail services from LON to MAN have over the years become faster, cheaper, more frequent and more reliable. BA can't compete with the leisure fares offered by rail companies due to the high fuel cost. They have also lost business pax purely because getting the train on such a short route is often far less hassle and often quicker than flying.