hmm Vuelo
Not convinced with your argument there although there is an element of truth in it.
But did you know that the NW of England (which is not the only part of MAN's catchment area) has a GDP that is greater than that of Denmark, Portugal or Greece to name a few? Not that poor! All relative really. Compare the long haul offerings from Copenhagen, Lisbon or Athens.
As GIB has pointed out, there are plenty of people in the MAN catchment area who are prepared to shell out for high quality services (ie C-Class) - I'm one of them for instance, but ONLY if it's value for money. I'm afraid the BA 767 that ops the NY service is old hat (and no offence to the flt crew who are invariably magnificent).
People tend to vote with their feet in a free market.
Cheers