and enjoyed seeing six Jet Airways A330s all in at the same time - three going east (MAA, DEL & BOM) and three going west (EWR, JFK & YYZ). I'm sure Manchester could handle that type of business. I wonder if Jet Airways is satisfied with its traffic through Brussels???...
Two things, they got a good deal out of BRU and they are losing a fortune. Those are supposed to be B77Ws but traffic growth wasn't there.
could MAN emerge as a credible contender to be the UK's premier domestic hub
There's no such thing as a "premier domestic hub", the concept itself is false. LHR still has a fair few domestic connections plugging in long haul into the regions. I think GLA serves more UK destinations than any other, at least it did until a few years back, but the actual numbers are not massive, particularly since Gordon Brown is trying to tax the concept out of existence.