I haven't flown from Manston, come to that rarely fly anywhere other than long haul to Dubai and I can't see that coming to Manston.
However surely what Manston should be capitalising on is the parking to gate time? I only live 40 minutes from Gatwick however you need to allow an extra 40 minutes or so to park the car and get from the car to the terminal, and then its an extra 2 or 3 hours to queue to check in, pass through security etc.
So effectively I need to leave the house at least 3hours 20 before my flight departs, and ideally nearer 4 hours.
Manston is 1 hour 45 min away. Car parking to terminal is about 10 minutes, and how long to get through security? Looks like home to aircraft could be 3 hours, with a lot less hanging around!
Its the hanging around thats a nightmare when flying.