Flag Waving ...
My views regarding unreliability of connections over LHR are well known on this forum; I will spare readers a repeat airing! Ultimately, choice of long-haul transfer routings come down to personal preferences.
However, I do want to challenge this notion that it is "patriotic" to use British Airways and Heathrow, and that this will "keep jobs in Britain".
Emirates is one of Airbus' largest worldwide customers. They have a huge commitment to the A380 programme, along with a history of buying A300, A310, A330 and A340 types. These purchases support quality manufacturing jobs here in Britain on a massive scale. Many of the jobs supported are located at nearby Broughton. Emirates also operate a call centre in the area, and support jobs directly at Manchester Airport. Their three daily services to and beyond the Gulf offer a connectivity to this region which is a major asset in attracting high value employment generally. All the jobs mentioned in this paragraph result in taxes being paid to the same British exchequer as those generated by employees at Heathrow.
E t i h a d Airways has selected Manchester as a 'focus city'. Twice daily services are offered from Manchester to Abu Dhabi and beyond, and the company has expressed an ambition to expand to 4x daily in the longer term. E t i h a d will shortly open a European customer support centre close to Manchester Airport ... I seem to recall 200 new jobs being mentioned but could be corrected on this. The airline is also a partner in the massive investment taking place in East Manchester in the form of the 'E t i h a d Campus' project in association with Manchester City FC. And once again, E t i h a d is a major Airbus customer, significantly contributing to employment at Broughton and across the UK. All the jobs mentioned in this paragraph result in taxes being paid to the same British exchequer as those generated by employees at Heathrow.
Qatar Airways is another big Airbus customer. They offer Manchester - Doha services upto twice daily; a temporary reduction to 10x weekly will commence shortly due to fleet deployment issues. They, and other long-haul carriers heading east, including PIA, Singapore Airlines and Bangladesh Biman also contribute to employment at Manchester Airport. All contribute to the attractiveness of this region to new employers who require great international airlinks. All the jobs mentioned in this paragraph result in taxes being paid to the same British exchequer as those generated by employees at Heathrow.
Meanwhile, all employees working at Manchester Airport itself owe their livelihoods to those carriers who commit to serve the airport with flying programmes. Those carriers which stick with MAN through the economic tough times as well as the good are particularly appreciated. And those employees who owe their livelihoods to a prosperous and successful Manchester Airport pay taxes to exactly the same British exchequer as their counterparts at Heathrow.
British Airways is a brand name of an international holding company (IAG). Their business model is to hub at LHR (and to a much lesser extent at LGW). Their main base suffers the misfortune of having insufficient runway capacity available to meet its true needs, which results in unreliability of connections on days when traffic flows must be reduced. Short-haul Shuttles bear the brunt of such disruption. BA onboard cabin service is generally good, but (in my opinion) does not exceed that offered by the Gulf carriers and SIA.
Please note that I have no problem with BA as a company pursuing exactly the corporate strategy which best suits its business needs. Its raison-d-etre is to make profits for IAG shareholders, not to boost civic pride in Manchester or elsewhere. BA is not a special case. It absolutely does not owe a living to Manchester, Birmingham or Glasgow; it is a private company, not a state flag-carrier. But conversely, residents of regional cities and their hinterlands do not owe a living to BA based upon the very limited offerings which the company makes available to them. They are one travel solution amongst many; to select them when they offer the most attractive deal / connection is logical. To select them because they have a Union Jack on the tail is madness.
So let's just get this whole 'patriotism' nonsense straight. When I book a flight with EK / EY I am supporting thousands of jobs in the North West. When I book with BA I am supporting significantly fewer. Whichever I book, taxes raised flow into the same pot. Now let's be serious here. When choosing flights, patriotic fervour does not enter my thinking! Convenient flight times, reliable connections, good service, price ... all valid considerations. But I put it to you ... when I press the "Book Now" icon on an Emirates or E t i h a d reservation from Manchester Airport, how can that conceivably be considered "unpatriotic"? And quite frankly, if any airline is prepared to offer me convenient service from Manchester, I am more than happy to take them up on the deal when travel needs suit. Even BA get my bookings from time to time ... but on a level playing field with the alternatives. Not because they are a 'patriotic' option!!!