support my assertion that the low-cost model is not sustainable, and that MAN has been wise to not court locos at the expense of legacy business
I'm sorry Roverman but (not for the first time) I don't quite follow your logic. Manchester has actively courted lo-cos for some time (Easyjet and Ryanair being prime examples) and this has generally been at the expense of its existing 'legacy' operators.
LPLs growth has generated virtually no 'new' traffic, simply diverted it from MAN, and in the process has undermined MAN's ability to act as a major gateway for Northern England, with a critical mass to support a greater range of destinations
Easyjet, Ryanair, Jet 2 and Wizzair amongst others have successfully helped grow the market from the north west (and elsewhere) and generated a great deal of new traffic. Your regular assertions that the growth of lo-cos (funny how jet 2 at Leeds never seem to attract your fire as a distract from Manchester) has undermined MAN's ability to be a major gateway is to my mind flawed. MAN has a virtual monopoly from the north west on long / medium haul schedules, domestics and IT traffic and around a 60% share of short haul european traffic. It makes a significant profit every year as you rightly point out. It boasts of serving more destinations than any airport in the UK. I think you already are a major gateway - all that the growth of Liverpool, Leeds and Blackpool has done is make sure people have a choice unlike in 1978, when Manchester enjoyed an even greater monopoly.