Interesting posts by Bagso and ATNotts.
I tend to agree with the latter as far as MAN belatedly wooing the Chinese travel agent. Mind you, we can't be sure that MAN didn't try a similar approach and were beaten by BHX, although I think this unlikely.
The comment about the CX flights could be very relevant and a couple of points come to mind.
Firstly, the unofficial 'announcements' by various sources about Hainan flying Beijing-Manchester were well after CX had already announced HK.
Secondly. if Hainan were waiting to see what happened with the CX flights, it would be fascinating to know the dispersal and origin of those pax inbound and outbound for the first 3 months of operation. i.e MAN-HK only; HK on to, or from, various cities in mainland China; HK to/from Australia/New Zealand and likewise other areas of the Far East. It would also be interesting to know what transfer pax there are at the MAN end.
So, it is fair to ask whether the CX flight from MAN would make it more difficult for Hainan to operate a scheduled service profitably, but equally one could question whether a non-stop flight to Beijing would have any impact on CX. That would also be the case were Hainan to start BHX and not MAN flights.
I see on another site, there is reference to Hainan needing to save face if the scheduled flights don't go ahead. Am I right in thinking some might feel this could apply also to MAN?
Final point about the charters. While BHX is a good choice for places like Stratford-on-Avon and Chatsworth that ATNotts mentions, the latter is also just as convenient for MAN, along with Liverpool, Chester, the Lake District and you could include York and the Yorkshire Dales. MAN appears to have been well focused on business links and inward investment from China but, like Bagso, I do wonder if they have not given enough attention to the potential of inward tourism. If that were the case, it would be a pity, and is evidently an area BHX have capitalised on.