I believe Monarch have now increased the legroom across their fleet so not as cramped as some would have experienced in the past.
Just out of interest, why no flight from MAN direct? Thomson, Thomas Cook and Monarch all operate the route non-stop, TOM and TCX have 33" pitch as a minimum and as I said I believe Monarch have now improved. Is it just that they are all full?
I would personally always pick a non-stop flight over a connecting flight, regardless of carrier or aircraft type. MAN-MLE would be in the region of 11-12 hours I would guess? That is a long trip as it is - add a connection in and this suddenly gets VERY long.
However, if they cannot achieve a non-stop flight from MAN-MLE then I would go for the EK route via DXB
