MANCHESTER 1

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

From Crisis Arises Opportunity!

OK. So Pier B looks like staying. General gloom and despondency abounds. I thought it was my job to be the 'glass half empty' doom-and-gloom-meister on here?

So ... let's just think this through. How could our reprieved Pier B be put to best use in the wider context of a modern reinvented airport complex? What follows here is all conjecture, but since the decision to keep Pier B appears to be an extremely recent one, why not consider the opportunity this represents going forward before the plans are finalised?

Pier B comes with widely-recognised disadvantages. It is not really well-suited to passengers who will be hanging around for a couple of hours. There is limited space for first class and business lounges. Space for retail is limited too. It would ideally need to be used for services whose passengers would pass through the facility pretty quickly.

But Pier B actually offers an airline several major advantages as well. Oh yes, so it does! Every stand on Pier B is linked directly to the airport's underground refuelling infrastructure. Taxy-times from Pier B to Manchester's runway holding points are amongst the shortest on the complex. The stands would lend themselves to rapid turnarounds of, say, 25 minutes? And since there would no longer be a widebody requirement on Pier B, the stands could be reconfigured to accommodate around 16 Boeing 737-800 size aircraft (including the section running to the current Gate 21 area).

But which airline might be persuaded to adopt a facility like that? No business class lounges. No first class lounges. Limited retail - just space for some light catering outlets, a magazine stall and a themed bar. Let's call it 'The Dog and Ducksy' and decorate it with some nice golden harp thingies. Make them look like a 'flying woman' figure fresh from a breast-enlargement op. Very classy. Offer that refreshing glass of J2O (plink, plink, gurgle). Special deals on Guinness. U Nevr Beat D'Irish. You could play piped music ... trumpet fanfares always go down especially well ... interspersed with frequent ads. And why not sell scratchcards to raise funds for Chuldrens' Charidees?

I guess the finished pier would have the ambience of a bright and airy bus terminal with a high throughput of passengers each staying for a relatively brief period of time. Unfortunately, Pier B would not lend itself to the 'Marble Palace' look beloved of many new-build airport facilities ... so glorified bus terminal it would have to be.

So ... suppose we could think of an airline which might be attracted by all this. Perhaps one which bases aircraft at MAN already but which is facing a major squeeze on its expansion because it currently uses an oversubscribed section of the terminal complex. An airline which requires quick-turnaround terminal stands, bus station-style facilities and has no use whatsoever for first class lounges. An airline which is on good terms with MAG and whose management teams know each other well. An airline which doesn't mind using facilities which are less modern and luxurious than the rest of the complex ... as long as that is reflected in the user charges. An airline whose CEO famously hates 'Marble Palace' airport terminals. Such an airline could even be invited to take an active role in planning the refurbishment of Pier B to match its requirements more closely.

And if such an airline did agree to take up residence in Pier B, it could simultaneously resolve a serious congestion issue in another part of the terminal complex. And just imagine if that airline's route profile happened to be the best placed to fill the gaping holes in MAN's network to Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and Regional France. An all round 'win-win' perhaps?

Trouble is, can we think of any familiar Manchester airline which ticks all these boxes? Cathay, Etihad, Emirates? Over to you, MAG!