MANCHESTER - 5

[Suzeman]

A380

This A380 that's passing on Saturday. I presume it's doing a UK tour of some sort as Fairford claim one will be there on Saturday as well.

Route is
Goodwood Festival of Speed - flypast
Fairford flypast or display - not sure which
MAN flypast
LPL flypast
Wirral Show display
Then to Farnborough

MAN at 1320

Suzeman

[SWBKCB]

"those were the last Lufthansa trans Atlantic flights to/from Manchester."

I know we are talking passenger services, but wasn't there a 707 pure freighter service into the '70s?

[philbky]

SWBKCB - no.

Transatlantic freight flights on a scheduled basis up until, let us say, 1975, were operated by SABENA, as mentioned, Swissair using DC-4s and then DC-6s, Airwork with DC-4 and later DC-6A and BOAC with DC-7F, CL-44-D-4 and B707.

Lufthansa used a variety of charted DC-4s, including Transport Flug's, between Manchester and Germany later replaced by B727s and B737s but no scheduled 707 freighters were ever flown either to the USA or Germany.

[eggc]

Can some tell PpRune the link to Manchester rumours takes you to the wrong page, everytime I open it I get the Aviation History Nostalgia forum...and somebody has posted on there EZY are starting MAN-GVA 9 weekly...how dare they - dont they know where the rumour forum is

[philbky]

eggc, if you look carefully at the top of this forum there is a banner which says:

Airlines, Airports & Routes Topics about airports, routes and airline business.

I can't see anything which states the topics about airports, routes and airline business are limited to the current time..

[eggc]

But your post is more suitable to Aviation History Nostalgia which does exactly what is says on the tin - discussion on Connies, DC7's, Wright flyers & routes from the 60's

[philbky]

The discussion is about SABENA, Lufthansa and other airline transAtlantic routes from/to Manchester, the types operating them are a sideline. As this is the MANCHESTER sub forum, unless the mods disagree - and so far they haven't, this IS the correct place.

[viscount702]

WW

There are some more Baby flights on sale now. It doesn't look as though this is the final list. There is a suggestion that more flights are to come for all bases

Viscount

[Ringway67]

SWBKCB is correct. Lufthansa did operate a B707 cargo flight for a short period during the winter of 1971/72. It think it was on a Wednesday evening arriving around 2200.

[philbky]

I'd be interested in your source. I can't find anything in the official airport history or airport documentation at the time, any contemporary magazines, in my log books - I lived 6 miles out on the approach at the time - or any other source including my memory.

Had there been such a service it would have been of great interest and I would have been on the domestic pier to see the flight at least once as, in those days, the piers were open until 22.00, even in winter.

[MARK9263]

LH at Manchester

Lufthansa operated LH475 2 x weekly on Weds/Thurs commencing 19/04/1972. I cant confirm times at the moment but it was late evening.
From 7/11/1973 it became once weekly, still operating on a Wednesday but was discontinued in December.

[Ian Brooks]

Phil I can confirm the LH B707 as remember them starting and I noted them between May 1972 and October 1973 at least but those dates may vary as missed them quite often

I`m sure Suzeman will be able to fill us in more on it

Ian

[Ringway67]

I lived in Knutsford at the time and remember seeing it on approach to 06 a couple of times as I was walking back home from the railway station from evening classes.

[lurkio]

Yeah, I remember staying late and sneaking up the "domestic" pier (inside of course) to get a better look before the long bike ride home. Wednesdays about 10 pm ish if memory serves me correctly.

[MANFlyer]

Route is
Goodwood Festival of Speed - flypast
Fairford flypast or display - not sure which
MAN flypast
LPL flypast
Wirral Show display
Then to Farnborough

MAN at 1320

Cheers, Suzeman.

Looks like I'll see it at Fairford then. Although having seen it plenty of times at Changi now, and flown on it three times, the novelty is already wearing off. It's too quiet for me.

[philbky]

Thanks guys for the detail, especially Mark 9263 for the flight number.

There's a hole in the info I copied when working as a volunteer in the airport archive in the 1980s, there's no mention of it in the 1978 or reprint editions of First and Foremost and my logs show nothing at all!

That must count as the only long haul service out of Manchester I totally missed from 1956 to 1986.

Thanks again folks

[rampman]

man

i have travelled from manchester at least 6 times a year. and last week when i departed and this week when i arrived i have nothing but praise for manchester T1 for the first time. going through the new passport control was a breez. the staff were very helpfull and the new way to get through passport controll is like a breath of fresh air.

on arriving on monday morning during the bussy morning period it took me only 40 mins to get of the plane and into my taxi with my bags was this just pure luck or has manchester finaly got there act together.

rampman

[Betablockeruk]

Rampman, many more messages like that and we'll have to change to thread heading from Moanchester back to Manchester.

(good to hear positive feedback)

[Hen Ddraig]

ACCMan comments

ACCMan are you totally a Manchester apologist?
I have a very deep knowledge of aviation, gained as a licensed pilot since 1958, with a very wide range of both military and civil operations worldwide. I have arrived at MAN four times this year as Pax with four different operators and each time the handling has been to say the least poor, best time to exit airport so far is 75 minutes.
I now try whenever possible to arrange my deadhead flights from/to Liverpool or Birmingham, both of whom seem to be able to process arrivals in about 30 minutes from touchdown, with the same aircraft operators.

Hen Ddraig

Time to spare, go by air

Old pilots don't die, then just pass on to a new plane

[virgin_cc_wannabe]

In all fairness hen drraig, accmans comments are valid. The gating/hard stands allocated to aircraft are down to what the airlines requests. VS always has a practice of gating one aircraft, and the second aircraft is put onto a hard stand.
Immigration speeds are all down to HM customs, not the airport. If customs want to spend longer examining documents, rather than just count the number of passports (yes, one time working in LHR, I had to escort a kuwaiti family through security as they were late. The guy at passport control just counted that there were 7 people, and 7 passports so he waived them through), then that is down to them.

I appriciate your comments about the speed you travel through BHX/LPL, but they are smaller airports in both size and pax numbers, which ever way you look at it. Quite frankly, Id be shocked if it took longer to travel through these airports than MAN.
Also, common sense would tell you if its 500m from gate to baggage in BHX for example, but 1000m from gate to baggage recliam im MAN, its obviously going to take you longer. Its not a matter of aircraft size or operator, but distance to travel and the amount of people getting off that plane, or getting off planes at adjoining gates.

I agree MAN could do better, but it is by no means as bad as you describe it.

Also, no matter how much experience you have, id defy you to find me 1 person that is an absaloute expert in all aspects of airport operations, I doubt even the managing director is aware of all things taking place at MAN.
Thats why I find it impossible for people to say that they know about passport control, as well as gates, as well as atc etc etc.

Anyway rant over