Well I know I was tired, but I didn't think I'd slept through to April 1st until I read this thread.
Banning LHR flights is entirely impractical, so if there is any truth at all in this proposal I hope it is no more than a
PR stunt. With flights to LHR unavailable, the majority of passengers using those services would be lost to MAN completely. Some would reroute via other hubs, yes, but many others would use surface transport to London instead (and I would expect an upsurge in alternative rail/coach/limo services if this market was abandoned by MAplc). Many passengers using LHR flights are actually traveling into (and not beyond) London anyway. They would in most cases be lost completely; customers choose their London gateway based upon which part of the city they wish to visit (LCY and STN are not great for West London etc.). And Gatwick is great for Brighton and the South Coast! Or perhaps they suggest banning LGW flights too - they are currently operated by British Airways?
As another poster has said, this idea smacks of cutting off the nose to spite the face. If MAplc are genuinely considering this, then step back quickly - these are tough times as it is. Such a plan has the makings of the biggest howler since MA refused to negotiate with no-frills carriers some ten years ago. "It takes two to tango," said one no-frills boss back then. MAN has never recovered from the hubris-laden idiocy of the era when MAplc's marketing department shunned the no-frills carriers; its been a sad effort at catch-up ever since. So no more picking and choosing which carriers you would like to exclude right now, please. MAN needs all the traffic it can get, and the region will suffer economically if we don't back our existing business partners 100%.
As an aside, if MAplc were to seek some sort of "retaliation" against BMI, would there not be the small matter of counter-retaliation regarding upto five based BMI Baby B733's and the BMI Regional operation? Or is there bad news coming from them too under the new ownership? Just a thought ...
Let's all be careful what we wish for. My own earlier posting regarding BA Shuttles was a plea to BA to return to the values of good service and reliability which they once offered. I want an enhanced service which I can trust, not a withdrawn one. Perhaps MAplc and BA could put that on their agendas in place of "retaliation." An empty airport won't help any of us.
SHED.