Is it about time the management started to get a grip and come under some kind of scrutiny?
The queues re security issue has brought into focus a key issue but it is one of many and this gets publicity because the public are front and centre, but this as we all know is the tip of the iceberg.
Bringing a lightweight from East Midlands to manage a major international gateway has in my opinion proved disastrous. I appreciate we have had Covid but that should not be used as an excuse to cover a multitude of problems that Manchester is now facing, many of which appear self inflicted and are unrelated to the pandemic.
As i have mentioned ad nauem for me the total abdication of providing a pure freight facility from what "WAS" a key component within the North's supply chain where Manchester was once a major artery is nigh on unforgivable. I'm a beneficiary of this managed transfer, i therefore have an interest.
(On a theme am i correct in believing we have now lost long time user FedEx ?)
The area of expertise in moving every cargo flight to EMA has been clinical, its the one area where management have excelled, it won't get the abject publicity that the media love but for business it's no less critical.
Stand back and admire the way we have effectively constructed a narrative where it's fine to hand over hundreds of jobs to the Midlands without a peep from that same media who are now all over the security issues.
Whilst discussing jobs let us not forget another significant loss which was of course Air Livery, a first class employer by all accounts providing high quality jobs and apprenticeships. They inexplicably disappeared to be replaced by fresh air ! The hangar has remained empty nigh on 3 years as has the Thomas Cook facility.
As i understand it Manchester has no undercover engineering options so an engine change by way of example is executed on the tarmac, meanwhile tumble weed blows through both of these facilities.
Who owns them ?
Why are they being left to stagnate?
Who manages these facilities?
The one bright spot is the new terminal and no doubt the management would slap themselves on the back suggesting the delivery of this as there backstop of success, but as we know this isn't without problems as it's expansion has somewhat incredibly left us with zero apron space and a net deficit of stand numbers we had previously.
Spectacular planning there lads and lasses !!!
Memo to management , we are supposed to be growing the business and allowing space for expansion not regressing backwards.
The excuse re space is then routinely used as the default position re limited facilities and handling. It's called sweating the assets, utilise every available stand , if that means boxing in airlines/ aircraft to the point where they might be "persuaded" go to other airports in the group (see cargo again) so be it.
Manchester is now led by a management team so one eyed and focused on its own profitability that it's completely lost its way in terms of how it fits into the wider fabric of the N West /Northern economy.
The purchase of East Midlands and Stansted was clearly an absolute Godsend for the group as a whole, it was an undeniable masterstroke for the group, but has been in my view been an unmitigated disaster for Manchester itself.
I don't want to harp back to the regime of Gil Thomson but I will, everytime he spoke it was about creating an airport that was for the betterment not just of the airport but of the region as whole, he had a strategy to attract all business and crucially his team never missed a revenue opportunity.
Sadly for Manchester the board at MAG are now so focused on their own group balance sheet that the holostic attitude GTs team had to the wider area, appears to have been totally decapitated.
Last edited by Navpi; 18th Mar 2022 at 09:40.