Manchester already has long haul from BA / BMI / VS and feeders from GLA / EDI / ABZ / SOU etc etc so the option is there to connect already however there are not enough bums on seats it would seem. The reason that airlines are not rushing to expand massively their long haul presence is because they can make more money south of Watford and it's a free market.
As for the environment, Hounslow's already a dump. Are you suggesting that we should only massively expand Manchester to meet the anticipated growth rates in future years by building on more green land? Or we could get people on the train and let them connect in Birmingham, except that to do that they'd have to travel OUT of the city with the massive choice of destinations to connect in the Midlands and thereby having an even BIGGER carbon footprint. Bad enough we might need to connect through London but now you guys want Londoners to connect through the Midlands and the North West ???
That's utterly contradictory. Anyhoo I've ranted enough and I'll leave it to others I think.
Last edited by Skipness One Echo; 3rd Jan 2008 at 14:37.