Bagso
You make a myriad of points here.
The BHX flights are not an "instead of" between two airports, they are a different type of operation but let's be 100% clear it's a situation that Manchester should be very, very mindful of. The two offers "Manchester Scheduled" and "Birmingham charter" are thus far exclusive.
BUT if this isn't a wake up call to explore every opportunity and make sure you exploit it to the full I don't know what is. The BHX operation could gather enough momentum to morph into something much more very very quickly !
When the Chancellor announced that the framework for UK/Chinese bilateral negotiations offered the opportunity for new service from Manchester did any of us really consider they might actually go to, wait for it, Birmingham, I mean ".....Birmingham, really?"
Correct, the two operations are different - in as much as one exists, and the other is still in the planning stage. But I wonder, why is it so incredulous that BHX be the "non London" destination?
The Birmingham strategy has focused purely on inbound tourism, quietly but methodically engaging with the largest travel agent in China, checking in with various hoteliers, and tourist agencies setting up partnerships and lo and behold creating a package !
I'm still not sure what the offering actually is....... but that is not the point, and this is where for Manchester things could go very ary, very quickly unless it gets it proverbial backside in gear.
It's a straightforward inbound IT operation, and a UK tour operator is selling China-bound seats on the first two returns from the inbound (July) and the last 2 returns (end August). The spin is that further routes are planned / being worked on from Shanghai and Guangzhou which would further implant BHX as a realistic gateway to the UK aside of London in Chinese minds.
Has anybody at Manchester actually thought to themselves "we need pick up the phone and speak to the Travel Agency involved in the BHX operation and quick? "
I would say too late for that. The UK ain't that big, and as everyone knows, Birmingham isn't that far from Manchester and the major attractions on offer, whether they be Old Trafford, Main Road, Stratford or Chatsworth all are easily reachable from Birmingham, so why split the market, and make the logistics more complicated than they need to be? In fact, BHX is equally well placed to serve the London market, which is probably a reason why the tour operator has decided to fly to BHX, rather than set up a charter operation into STN or LGW.
PS Cathay Pacific, one stop to 20 plus destinations on mainland China, lest we forget !
That is a very important point! As passengers can hub through HKG on a carrier well known and well respected in the UK, perhaps this has focused the minds of Hainan as the whether the HKG option will dilute the MAN / PEK front end market such that it jeopardises the direct route's potential profitability.
One thing is for certain, we are living in interesting times, especially now that BHX has a truly long-haul capable runway, and a good road and rail infrastructure already in place.