The current Heathrow/Northern powerhouse campaign just seems a little desperate.
Its a case of LHR wants to expand, the Northern economy is expanding, and wants to tap into that.
However, the MAN-LHR route continues to shrink, the passenger numbers at LHR in general are slightly down, yet MAN is climbing to the 25m mark, so, LHR wants to claim some of that back.
The campaign in which they are doing it though, is clearly not right, and if free gifts are indeed being given to MP's who have the say in LHR expansion, then I Seriously hope that is investigated as it is blatant bribery, regardless how small the gift.
Whether this 'LHR is the only way the northern powerhouse can grow' campaign gains any serious traction remains to be seen, as less and less MAN pax are now using LHR and people are getting savvier, they will see through the bulls**t.
It's no different to when Hainan announced MAN, to which LHR quickly publicised 'Heathrow is the only place to get a direct flight to Mainland China' sponsored by JC Decaux.
I suppose MAN should be flattered that the behmoth that is LHR getting a little threatened by the little old North West and MAN.