Bagso.
We’re on the same team and (I think) we’re saying the same thing – I just used rather less words….
It’s great that airlines appear to be seeing the potential of opening or expanding at an additional UK gateway or gateways. It would be nice to think the recent return (or announcement of) more services at MAN by the likes of SV, AC, CX and now DL/VS is the start of a sustainable trend.
The point is that even if an extra runway at LHR or LGW gets the nod tomorrow, and LHR is clearly most needed, it will be 10-15 years before the first aircraft lands on it. MAN (and to a lesser extent a few others) is therefore in an excellent position to capitalize on the gridlock in the south-east by courting airlines who want/need to grow their coverage of the UK.
There’s nothing quite like a capacity crunch at your most profitable and only gateway to concentrate the mind of an airline planner. And even the most spreadsheet driven airlines tend towards the herd mentality occasionally – where one goes, others do the maths and sometimes follow. The airport’s job is to make sure they choose MAN, rather than go elsewhere.
Some airlines of course will be happy to sit it out in the waiting rooms of LGW or STN until new runway capacity at LHR becomes available. Other arguably more forward thinking airlines will see the opportunities offered by the large catchment areas of a more centrally located second gateway like MAN, many of whose constituents or visitors already choose to fly via European or Middle East hubs rather than the south east UK.
Bottom line is it’s the airlines that MAN has to convince, not the Davies Commission, CBI or Daily Telegraph (and no thanks, I don’t want to work for any of them). It’s the airlines who decide where and when they are going to fly, and who stand to make or lose the most money by doing so.