Most of the pax going to LHR ex-MAN are transiting. Pretty sure Willie Walsh said it was in the region of 75%.
Thanks eggc for the info - I knew about the EWR and MIA services; will have to think of alternate xxx-MAN-ORD; those with historical books about MAN may have recognised my favoured routing as part of a route that actually happened with Lufthansa.
The best prospect for a domininant British airline offering long-haul ex-MAN would have to have a sufficient number in the based fleet that it could be run as a stand-alone sub-fleet in a conifiguration that might be more appropriate for ops here (just J + Y classes with no Y+ class to be seen). This is where VS 787s might be useful - perhaps as many as 5 based operating the existing VS programme (including the soon to be dropped St Lucia link), tagging in the leisure routes of BD, and add in the likes of JFK with some destinations such as BOM, HKG and JNB. Otherwise, MAN is going to at the whim of airlines that will fly here only if they are serving other destinations that can also support J and Y class operations.