It surprises me somewhat that MAG and others prefer to badge the airport as a 'Northern Gateway'. It sounds peripheral and almost self-deprecating.
In my opinion this panders to a London-centric view of the world outside the M25.
Get a map of the British Isles and look at where Manchester Airport is. Draw a small circle around it (like a hub) and then draw lines from it to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Norwich, London, Southampton, Bournemouth, Exeter, Cardiff, Dublin and Belfast.....looks bang in the middle to me.
What about 'The UK's Central Gateway?