Oh, come on guys. There is an awful lot of bit**ing and moaning going on. The fact is that MAN is a regional airport. It's main competitors, in terms of passenger pools are the London airports, Paris, Amsterdam. MAN just can't get the same yield that these airports can. MAN does not have the benefit of a large, single and strong home airline. BD was the best hope of that, and they couldn't make it work. This may be more reflective of BD than MAN though.
To me it makes sense for MAN to diversify into LGW and/or Scotland. This is good for the group and ultimately MAN. So quit bit**ing about a few new shops and stained carpets. MAN was never a KUL or SIN of this world and the UK airline reality means no regional European airport ever will be. But it's fair to say it's a hell of a lot better than most UK airports, let alone regional airports.
Brian.