Re: Pier B discussion from Thread 7
Having just read some of the negative comments about Pier B, I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with them. As a regular user of T1 the Pier B experience is horrible, particularly on arrival. Actually for what is claimed to be one of Europe's leading airports and by far the biggest UK airport outside London, it's just embarrassing. To the first time visitor, god only knows what image it first portrays of Manchester and of England.
However, many of the negative comments were related to Passport Control. There is nothing MAPlc can do about the queues or staffing levels there or about the extent of checks and the time they take. Those that complain about this cannot be regular flyers otherwise they would have registered for Iris or increasingly will have got themselves a scannable passport that can be used at the e border. I'm lucky - I have both and trust me it takes me seconds to go through Passport Control in T1 with those two options at my disposal. In June on a Lufthansa flight, I timed touchdown on Runway 1 to parking on Stand 23 and out to the station concourse in 21 minutes - ok I was in Row 1, no bags and I'm a fast walker but that is an incredible result.
But this misses the point about the rest of the arrival experience, the whole place is depressing and drags you down. Where ever you've been, arriving at T1 MAN, it still feels down at heel - I won't use the words 'Third World' which many on here often do - it isn't - but certainly some of the less wealthy parts of Eastern Europe spring readily to mind.
With the arrival of the A380 and F class soon and them using Pier B, I find it quite incredible that Emirates have allowed it to happen. They already use T2 which is functional (despite all the clutter)and works well with large modern airliners because it was designed for them. Pier B was designed for Vickers Viscounts et al. I would, if I were to pay First Class fares, expect the whole experience to be much better than Pier B albeit with the future promise of a lick of emulsion and new carpet tiles. Stand 15 is also one heck of a trek from the lounges.
Demolition seems the only credible choice. The fact is: Pier B is disfunctional, anachronistic and not fit for purpose.
PS: Pier C is not a whole lot better btw