Well, I think some perspective is needed now regarding these BHX China flights.
-This is not a regular scheduled flight, or even a regular scheduled charter flight. They are charters for a specific reason, laid on by a travel agent, which, anyone with a cause can hire a jet for a specific charter, there are even websites that let you do this easily. These are not flights requested by China Southern themselves.
-All evidence suggests that, when it comes to a fully scheduled link, MAN has the advantage on both yield and potential passenger loads, with Air China rumoured from several different sources now too, looking seriously at starting flights soon. Even MAN are now stating they are in the final stages of a direct China route, which is now a different tact from saying 'they hope to secure a route in xxx months'.
-MAN is still in a very good place at the moment, many new routes starting, along with the continuation of last years new routes, not to mention 5 new long haul routes starting in the next few months. For a 'regional' airport, is not a bad place to be. Personally, despite the ultimate goal of a China link, I would rather have 5 scheduled long haul routes, 3 of them being year round, than 3 one-off charters.
A poster on the BHX thread rightly states 'this has ruffled a few feathers'. When a China link is such a sought after goal from 3 airports, it would be impossible to deny there is a little envy in that, and the same would have happened at the BHX end if the shoe was on the other foot.