I think what North West means is that some (not all) on boards like this obsess over long haul legacy and sometimes overlook or underestimate the benefit the loco's are bringing to MAN. Sure, there's not as much glamour in the ALC's and your PMI's (though the loco's do operate many city's too) but they are MAN's bread and butter and they do account for a large proportion of the airports passengers.
That said, MAN has always done extremely well in attracting long haul routes and long may that continue. We mustn't forget however that whilst having US To Charlotte is great and will add to MAN's success, the impact is modest compared to a based aircraft from one of the loco's. The way some contributors talk, you wouldn't think that.