MANCHESTER - 5

[Vuelo]

am led to belive that the ground traffic tower is to become a resturant, just what MAN needs more retail/food .

You are kidding?! MAn has the worst catering facilities of any major UK airport! Especially airside. In the next year I understand that MAN is to get a McDonalds, Pizza Express, Subway and several more outelts. Thank God I say, am totally pissed off woith Boots sandwiches!

[Fuel Boy]

Seemed To have touched a nerve here .. Yes T1 is in the middle of a much needed overhaul, and yes they are having more retail and food. Many of the posts sum it up, do we need more when the place is under staffed for the units that are in place now, and if they are going to convert the Ground tower is it in the planned refurb. or will be be done at a later date????

But will better/more restaurants make the airport more appealing to new airlines and new business, I don't think so. Surely MAN has to spend more on the ramp side issues thus bringing in the new business so they can fill the new resturants....

If an airline Can't load/unload all these A380 pax people are going on about then they won't come.

So yes I agree that the terminals do need updating inside to make for a better pax experience, but MAN need to develop ramp side at the same rate.....

[lexxity]

It's all very well adding new catering/retail units, but when you have airbridges that consistently fo tech then that should be the number one priority. The catering at MAN is crap, no bones made about it, but the actual ground handling facilities need more money spending on them first if they are to attract more airlines.

[parky747]

Man - Mad

Has anyone have any further info on the rumoured new service MAN – MAD and other euro routes yet.

[MUFC_fan]

Don't know what anymore on the MAD routes but this is a surprise:

BA is to once again reuse it's B752s on Domestic services to MAN.

From 16/10/07 until further notice:

MAN-LHR
BA1387
BA1395
BA1403

LHR-MAN
BA1382
BA1386
BA1388
BA1396

I thought these aircraft were to be used for new EU-US routes. If they are on the route for the winter season, surely they won't be available for the start of the summer season when they plan NYC-CDG/MAD/BRU (Times). They don't change configuration overnight!

Anyway, just a note. BA 752 back at MAN!!!

P.S.

Any truth from A.netter that MAN-IAD/BOS for BA with 752 with new verture? Cheers.

[Mr A Tis]

I would expect a MAN-MAD route even more unlikely now that Ryanair are joining EasyJet on the LPL-MAD. To think only months ago, MAN had two a day & now LPL are taking the lead.
As for any new BA longhaul from MAN Dream on

[MUFC_fan]

If MAN were to attract a large carrier they would certainly be able to make it work.

There is only a 3x weekly increase from LPL. Yes, EZY and FR can attract passengers better than anybody else in Europe, but MAN can certainly attract the passengers against LPL.

Would love it to be IB!

I'm still sure LS will have it covered from LBA, MAN and NCL by next summer.

[Charlie Roy]

However Ryanair will operate a lousy Tue, Thur, Sat LPL - MAD schedule at the not most desirable flight times ever.

Manchester should engage with Vueling in an effort that their first UK route should be MAD - MAN.

Either that or do a rain dance and hope Jet2, BMI or Flybe will introduce the route.

[MUFC_fan]

I think the days of the ERJ on the route are gone unless a multi-day flight is introduced. BE won't do it as they cancelled the route in the first place! BMI COULD do it but would need to flights per day with the 145.

LS or WW would be perfect with the 148 seater 733 which would be economically be able to compete with EZY and FR on times and fares. The best bet would be LS as it would be a possible route to open up to all it's other bases and also compete directly with EZY from EDI which it has done so successfully over the past 12 months.

[Mr A Tis]

but MAN can certainly attract the passengers against LPL

Don't bank on it. Liverpool have sustained a double daily Barcelona for years, but Manchester can't. Look at the whole raft of destinations served by RYR from LPL- destinations, MAN can only dream about.

Zero chance of Iberia returning, the only hope would be their cheapo arm Clickair having a stab - but they have entered the UK market using Heathrow & Edinburgh rather than MAN.

I do think customer service ( to the airlines - ramp facilities) & ( to the pax - terminal experience) has something to do with it.

Nobody would like to see MAN regain the initiative more than me, but somehow, IMHO I still think it's a long way off.

[spanishflea]

MUFC_fan, what are you on about? The BA 757s never left MAN! They've been operating the Shuttle all this year!

[Ian Brooks]

Is there a pattern with BA on the shuttle as you can never work out what is going to operate any flight from day to day and week to week?


Ian

[dwlpl]

However Ryanair will operate a lousy Tue, Thur, Sat LPL - MAD schedule at the not most desirable flight times ever.

Lousy?

If I were to use the LPL/MAD route for a weekend for example, I would fly out on the Ryanair Thursday morning and return on EZY Sunday evening.

[Curious Pax]

Originally Posted by Ringwayman

EK's 85% load on a 77WHD would be the equivalent of around 55% on an A380HD. Perhaps they are going to hold off the introduction of A380s on the route until the current services show a sustained 90%+ load

They seem to be planning on a 2012 introduction of 380s to MAN, which isn't exactly rushing it! Think back to the number of flights/pax EK had in 2002, what it is now 5 years later, and what it might be in another 5 years.

[parky747]

In the days BA Cityexpress/Connect operated the MAN - MAD service, does anyone know the load factors they had. I would imagine that it would still be profitable particularly on business class!!!

[GLENO]

Parky747.

Having travelled the route four times over the past two years, the flights that I took were full both ways, I used to take the morning departure out on an Embraer which was always full and back again on the 20.20 hrs departure from Madrid,on the last return flight I took the route was opearted by a Bae146-200 and this also was full.

Can't believe Flybe did'nt make a go of it.

Shame that nobody is taking a look at this route.
I would certainly use it.

Glen.

[uncovered]

Bacon Mad

BACON lost many millions of pounds on this route. Longish sector, poor loads, high costs.

[globetrotter79]

I note very little is being said these days about GB at MAN. In theory, with the mighty BA out of the way (obviously subject to any lingering route agreements that might be in place with flyBe), one would assume that it is now open field for GB to do what they like...e.g. MAN-MAD. One would assume that they could actually use an aircraft to do both GIB-MAD-GIB and MAN-MAD-MAN and, insodoing, linking the two to give MAN both a direct MAD and a one-stop GIB in one hit.

...but then, perhaps GB are likely to follow the BA lead and focus on becoming London Airways mk II...

[pwalhx]

With regard to Madrid and other destinations, BA over the years had many popular routes from manchester when they used the 737 and dare I say it the 1-11, it started going downhill when they started reducing the size of the aircraft.

[viscount702]

pwalhx

although I have no information to support your view I think you are correct in what you say.