MANCHESTER - 4
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Manchester
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Autoglide, the T1 baggage hall has not long been revamped and personally I think it looks pretty smart now they've brightened it up and removed the old black floor tiling. Exactly what your gripes with it are I do not know. I do agree with everything else you comment on though.
I think it's fair to say that a lot of people on here are disgruntled with MAN at the minute. But the constant moanings regarding poor management, security issues, the ageing state of Terminal 1 etc etc are getting a little boring. This thread is in danger of becoming the 'Lets slag off Manchester as much as we can' thread and whilst I agree with some - not all - of the ill comments being thrown around, it would be nice to have a bit of positive stuff on here rather than the constant MAN bashing that seems to occur on a daily basis at the moment
I think it's fair to say that a lot of people on here are disgruntled with MAN at the minute. But the constant moanings regarding poor management, security issues, the ageing state of Terminal 1 etc etc are getting a little boring. This thread is in danger of becoming the 'Lets slag off Manchester as much as we can' thread and whilst I agree with some - not all - of the ill comments being thrown around, it would be nice to have a bit of positive stuff on here rather than the constant MAN bashing that seems to occur on a daily basis at the moment
Absolute rubbish. Sticking your head in the sand and pretending all is OK to avoid a bit of truth is not going to help. The baggage hall may have been improved, but it is still sub standard compared with any other airport I have used in the last 3 years. I currently cannot think of another terminal with patched up carpets, where it always takes at least 30 minutes to get your bag (if you're lucky), and where you have to take some bizarre convoluted twisted route to even exit the baggage hall. If you think this baggage hall is even remotely good, I suggest you travel more. Personally as someone who does, I find it, and rest of the terminal, utter garbage. As for praising the positives, well sorry, but it's been a long time since there were any to praise. Not addressing these issues is just another way of losing customers and airlines to airports that a) actually know what they are doing, and b) give a damn.
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Autoglide, I hear what you're saying and believe me, a lot of it I agree with myself. My concerns were regarding the amount of negative posts that seem to be replicating the same issues over and over and my comments were not individually aimed at your post alone.
I'm sure you have a greater knowledge of travel than myself and are therefore in a better situation to make comparisons. I have experienced quite a few airports around Europe and I do admit that some put MAN, and T1 in particular, to shame.
I have friends that work for MAG and without disclosing too much information, for whatever reason they are not in the best situation financially at the minute to make the necessary upgrades that I agree certain parts of the airport needs. The whole reason that retail development is being solely focused upon right now, is because it is one of the biggest sources of profit for the airport. Even with the present queues at security, income from retail is still at a significantly high level. It's the same with those awful gambling machines we all loathe. You'll be sorry to hear that the amount of slots and games around the airport is to be doubled by next summer. The reason is because of the amount of revenue that they bring to the airport.
From what I can gather, the long term plan is that monies coming in from more retail outlets and more gambling machines will help to finance much needed improvements around the airport such as leaking ceilings and patched up carpets. If the Fat Cats at the top didn't take so much for their own back pockets then maybe this is a situation that the airport wouldn't be facing. But unfortuantely through bad management, that's the mess that MAN is in. And those much needed improvements around the terminals that people love to moan about on Pprune, well all I'll say is don't hold your breath guys coz you might be in for a bit of a wait!
I'm sure you have a greater knowledge of travel than myself and are therefore in a better situation to make comparisons. I have experienced quite a few airports around Europe and I do admit that some put MAN, and T1 in particular, to shame.
I have friends that work for MAG and without disclosing too much information, for whatever reason they are not in the best situation financially at the minute to make the necessary upgrades that I agree certain parts of the airport needs. The whole reason that retail development is being solely focused upon right now, is because it is one of the biggest sources of profit for the airport. Even with the present queues at security, income from retail is still at a significantly high level. It's the same with those awful gambling machines we all loathe. You'll be sorry to hear that the amount of slots and games around the airport is to be doubled by next summer. The reason is because of the amount of revenue that they bring to the airport.
From what I can gather, the long term plan is that monies coming in from more retail outlets and more gambling machines will help to finance much needed improvements around the airport such as leaking ceilings and patched up carpets. If the Fat Cats at the top didn't take so much for their own back pockets then maybe this is a situation that the airport wouldn't be facing. But unfortuantely through bad management, that's the mess that MAN is in. And those much needed improvements around the terminals that people love to moan about on Pprune, well all I'll say is don't hold your breath guys coz you might be in for a bit of a wait!
If MAG think the pax will put up with this situation, in the long term they are completely wrong. No wonder the other regional airports continue to chip away at MAN traffic. They gave away EZY to Liverpool & now Liverpool are about to embark on their first regular longhaul flights.
Previous posters from the Duty Free shop in T1 claim this year has been dire due to the inadequate security situation.
I suppose if they can get the walkways working & the train station escaltors working for more than 24 hours then maybe that would be a positive.
I've used MAN for in excess of 30 years, it was always ahead of the game & I regard the "Golden" era to be when Sir Gil ran the show.
Alas the purchase of other airports seems to co-incide with starvation of funds at the main base.
It's really sad to see a wonderful regional airport creaking at the seems.
Barcelona has a great terminal, built for the Olympics in the 80's...but have you seen the huge scale of re-development taking place there now ?...truly awesome.
Meanwhile, it can take 3 months to change a bulb here.
Previous posters from the Duty Free shop in T1 claim this year has been dire due to the inadequate security situation.
I suppose if they can get the walkways working & the train station escaltors working for more than 24 hours then maybe that would be a positive.
I've used MAN for in excess of 30 years, it was always ahead of the game & I regard the "Golden" era to be when Sir Gil ran the show.
Alas the purchase of other airports seems to co-incide with starvation of funds at the main base.
It's really sad to see a wonderful regional airport creaking at the seems.
Barcelona has a great terminal, built for the Olympics in the 80's...but have you seen the huge scale of re-development taking place there now ?...truly awesome.
Meanwhile, it can take 3 months to change a bulb here.
Join Date: Sep 2006
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How many years have saudia been wanting to come to man at least 20 i think. Is it finally going to happen? heres hoping. as for kenya airways would there be the market? if i hear anything will post it here.
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Manchester, England
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Taxiway Sierra
Scottie Dog - taxiway Sierra extension is not going ahead for the forseeable, although it remains in the longer term plans. It was planned to be constructed this winter in order to assist whilst taxiway repairs were carried out on the southside of the airfield but now an alternative solution is being pursued which will involve various closures, beginning with Tango next week. The construction area will be taken out of the AIS chart in due course.
Join Date: Nov 2002
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Jet2 MAN-LGW
So what is the future of this route?
Not yet on sale for S07, however Jet2 have announced NCL-LGW with 3 rotations a day, the morning arrival at Gatwick being at exactly the same time as the MAN flight.
Question is MAN being binned in favour of NCL or have Jet2 got some additional slots? To my mind these are as rare as hen's teeth in the morning peak.
Not yet on sale for S07, however Jet2 have announced NCL-LGW with 3 rotations a day, the morning arrival at Gatwick being at exactly the same time as the MAN flight.
Question is MAN being binned in favour of NCL or have Jet2 got some additional slots? To my mind these are as rare as hen's teeth in the morning peak.
Join Date: Jan 2004
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I agree with a lot of what is said above.
Years ago MAN made good profits because there was little competition. Now there is competition (LPL, Finningley etc), passengers are obviously voting with their feet. MAN are guilty of doing the "same thing" harder (cutting the workers' wages, building more retail, and putting more buckets in the departure lounge when it rains) rather than doing "new" things (new CX/directors/senior management on more sustainable wages, ignoring expensive consultants' advice, and hiring enthusiastic, talented people from genuinely successful airports, for example).
They pocketed the profits when times were good, but won't make investments when times are bad, which arguably is when you should make them. The investment process there is so convoluted and difficult that even getting a light bulb changed is genuinely too difficult. The process would involve writing a report to justify it, getting someone to check the material prices were "market tested", then the same for the labour price, then having four layers of management checking each other and reporting it up to their boss, while covering their own ass on the way.
British Leyland, anyone?
Years ago MAN made good profits because there was little competition. Now there is competition (LPL, Finningley etc), passengers are obviously voting with their feet. MAN are guilty of doing the "same thing" harder (cutting the workers' wages, building more retail, and putting more buckets in the departure lounge when it rains) rather than doing "new" things (new CX/directors/senior management on more sustainable wages, ignoring expensive consultants' advice, and hiring enthusiastic, talented people from genuinely successful airports, for example).
They pocketed the profits when times were good, but won't make investments when times are bad, which arguably is when you should make them. The investment process there is so convoluted and difficult that even getting a light bulb changed is genuinely too difficult. The process would involve writing a report to justify it, getting someone to check the material prices were "market tested", then the same for the labour price, then having four layers of management checking each other and reporting it up to their boss, while covering their own ass on the way.
British Leyland, anyone?
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Stockport
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quite sure if this the correct forum as it covers 4 airports
http://thebusinessonline.com/Documen...3-23E2C3551733
So firstly if mod likes to move no problem
Secondly any comments/ thoughts
It`s all yours guys, personally I think it is probably the best thing Manchester can do as It will release plenty of cash to sort Manchester out before they sell it
G-I-B
http://thebusinessonline.com/Documen...3-23E2C3551733
So firstly if mod likes to move no problem
Secondly any comments/ thoughts
It`s all yours guys, personally I think it is probably the best thing Manchester can do as It will release plenty of cash to sort Manchester out before they sell it
G-I-B
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Join Date: Aug 1999
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Is the Group for sale?
quite sure if this the correct forum as it covers 4 airports
http://thebusinessonline.com/Documen...3-23E2C3551733
So firstly if mod likes to move no problem
Secondly any comments/ thoughts
It`s all yours guys, personally I think it is probably the best thing Manchester can do as It will release plenty of cash to sort Manchester out before they sell it
G-I-B
http://thebusinessonline.com/Documen...3-23E2C3551733
So firstly if mod likes to move no problem
Secondly any comments/ thoughts
It`s all yours guys, personally I think it is probably the best thing Manchester can do as It will release plenty of cash to sort Manchester out before they sell it
G-I-B
Yes, Manchester needs to seriously concentrate on getting itself back into order. The whole industry in the north is now so vastly different from what it was in the days of Sir Gill - I remember the cynical (or tongue in cheek) T-shirts etc that were around when Gill left British Airways; they read 'Would You Trust This Man to Run Your Airport'. Well Sir Gill turned out to be the man that you could trust.
Without wanting to get too political it seems that there is a lot of talk of the airport's directors being 'fatcats'. Now I have no idea as to how their salaries compare with others in industries with a similar turnover, and isn't that how we should be comparing them? It would probably go down well with the seemingly large number of disgruntled employees if they were to make a one-off' donation of a percentage of their salaries towards the building fund but would it really make a difference?
Hopefully the airport will now start to look towards it's roots and remember that it has a big role to play in the region along with its newly developing neighbours. They do say that competion is good for you, so let's hope that the dismemberment of MAG, it the rumour is true, will help to rekindle this flame.
Last edited by Scottie Dog; 24th Nov 2006 at 09:08. Reason: Spelling
Join Date: Jan 2004
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I think MA paid about £240m for EMA and BOH. I can't remember how much for HUY, but it can't have been much can it?!
At the time EMA and BOH were worth about £140m as security for the loan (based on industry standard multiples of profit) and the rest was secured against MAN, which until then had been debt-free.
So a sale for £500m would be a tidy earner I guess. The only person who understood the deal, and got the payments under control, was the former group finance director whose name also escapes me. He went off to be a City whizzkid I think.
The whole group was always over-exposed to debt, which dragged MAN down. Apart from EMA the regional airports have never performed to expectations either.
Sell off BOH and HUY at least. Keep EMA as it's close enough to MAN, and profitable enough, to make it worth investing in.
Oh, and review the directorial team. Goes without saying, really.
At the time EMA and BOH were worth about £140m as security for the loan (based on industry standard multiples of profit) and the rest was secured against MAN, which until then had been debt-free.
So a sale for £500m would be a tidy earner I guess. The only person who understood the deal, and got the payments under control, was the former group finance director whose name also escapes me. He went off to be a City whizzkid I think.
The whole group was always over-exposed to debt, which dragged MAN down. Apart from EMA the regional airports have never performed to expectations either.
Sell off BOH and HUY at least. Keep EMA as it's close enough to MAN, and profitable enough, to make it worth investing in.
Oh, and review the directorial team. Goes without saying, really.
Join Date: Jan 2004
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If you set the alarms off, loads of armed guards jump on you and try to kill you. Or one guy in a cubicle somewhere yawns and goes back to reading his paper. Who knows?
Join Date: Dec 2003
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I think talk of Kenya and Saudia ia a tad premature.
I personnally think MAN can forget long haul outside of what we already have, there may be the odd straggler but lets be honest the list of airlines ready to give MAN another go after previous failiures, self inflicted or otherwise would be pretty thin and they would be the main players, QF CX etc
I think I first heard Saudi 30 years ago but then the Ex Pat community was really strong, times are so much different now anyway, so where on earth would the market be for this service..?
As for Kenya well what if they did appear, I think they would be following in the steps of Air Seychelles and Air Mauritius - 2 years of discounted fees then a pull out.
Surely China or Japan is the place to be looking but they appear to have no interest in serving the North of England.
Rather than chasing new or dare I say old long haul airlines the watchword s/b retention, hold what we have AND compete head on with Liverpool....."who would have thought that 10 years ago"
MAN was complacent when EZY started flights from there and appears equally oblivious to the threat of new long haul flights to New York and Toronto flights.........sad really !
I personnally think MAN can forget long haul outside of what we already have, there may be the odd straggler but lets be honest the list of airlines ready to give MAN another go after previous failiures, self inflicted or otherwise would be pretty thin and they would be the main players, QF CX etc
I think I first heard Saudi 30 years ago but then the Ex Pat community was really strong, times are so much different now anyway, so where on earth would the market be for this service..?
As for Kenya well what if they did appear, I think they would be following in the steps of Air Seychelles and Air Mauritius - 2 years of discounted fees then a pull out.
Surely China or Japan is the place to be looking but they appear to have no interest in serving the North of England.
Rather than chasing new or dare I say old long haul airlines the watchword s/b retention, hold what we have AND compete head on with Liverpool....."who would have thought that 10 years ago"
MAN was complacent when EZY started flights from there and appears equally oblivious to the threat of new long haul flights to New York and Toronto flights.........sad really !
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Finnair passengers down - why?
Just been looking at the provisional figures for October and noticed that Finnair are down by 28pc. Can anybody confirm the aircraft type that was being used on the route last year in comparision with this October? Am I right in suspecting that this rather severe drop is due to use of the Embraer as against the Airbus?
Oh and what is the capacity of the 2 aircraft types.
Thanks in advance.
Oh and what is the capacity of the 2 aircraft types.
Thanks in advance.
Join Date: Jan 2004
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One slight bit of good news. Due to heavy advance bookings SQ locally have managed to persuade the powers that be to find them another 777 to offer a daily nonstop service to Changi from when the last 744 operates in on 28 December, until 22 January when it reverts to 5 times a week nonstop as planned.
Although only temporary, this is quite a result bearing in mind how short of aircraft SQ will be from the end of December.
Although only temporary, this is quite a result bearing in mind how short of aircraft SQ will be from the end of December.
