Manchester may be leaving its calling card BUT it "appears" the Chinese are already checking in !
The Birmingham marketing people s/b congratulated, audacious, not really just a simple, basic masterclass in marketing,
hooked in a large travel agency, hooked in the airline then checked map and said
.....Chester, Liverpool (Home of The Beatles) NWales Castles etc which apparently all be seen on these tours unless the quote "vibrant City Of Birmingham" manages to retain their attention !
Of course it should have been the other way round but thus far Manchester appears mute !
One almost gets the impression that BHX actively went after this rather than the impression that I get with airlines at MAN that we sit back and wait for them to come to us !
I think MAN has focused on trade and specifically the Manchester outbound market completely forgetting the massive number of Chinese wanting to visit our tourist hotspots.
The charter flights could be the perfect catalyst BHX needs to get a regular scheduled flight...how very true !
You cannot see China Southern doing three successful flights bringing pax to "our neck of the woods" BUT then moving to Manchester
and BHX will if they have any sense milk this for all its worth !
This is critical, charter or not, THEY now have first mover advantage, it looks as though China Southern are now out of the picture, it could also mean that other airlines think twice about MAN as it fragments the market, IF BHX secure China Southern surely a new entrant might either be put off another airport 75 miles away OR think twice about its selection criteria.
For novelty value alone BBC etc will be all over this and it will generate even more publicity !
The MEN is salivating over MAN reaching 20m when what they s/b doing is asking how the bloody hell did Birmingham mange to attract "tourists" to its environs ?
whisper it but can somebody tell the members of the China Forum ?
Last edited by Bagso; 13th Mar 2014 at 19:09.