MANCHESTER - 9
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How Government Works !
Interesting that although the Davies Commission does not report until after the next election, Sir Howard Davies himself has decided to report the findings already, presumably a bit of softening up to be done on the "greens".
In effect as we should have all predicted its more runways in the South East, and there is of course only one player in town so that will be Heathrow.
I think we "might" however have assumed the usual sop to "The regionals" and that Davies would have indicated that
"they s/b used to max capacity...blah blah blah".
Infact what he has said which may just come as a bit of a bombshell to MAG, is that point to point long haul travel is not environmentally friendly therefore its best if we deter these flights (see APD which is already doing a good job) and focus one 100% on a mega hub down South.
The carbon footprint of said expansion will be more than made up by deterring expansion elsewhere at these non-hubs.
I assume Manchester to be a non hub, so nowt down there then !
But wait, this comes in the same week that there has been a proposal by the Chinese to invest £650m in the somewhat ambitiously named "Airport City" project, infact Mr Osbourne is off to China this week end for a photo opportunity.
"Airport City tends to imply that you need an airport presumably with a long haul network so what now......
Whilst MAG have not exactly set the world on fire by attracting more long haul Manchester does at least have something to build on ....
Although clearly not if the Commission has its way !
Interesting that although the Davies Commission does not report until after the next election, Sir Howard Davies himself has decided to report the findings already, presumably a bit of softening up to be done on the "greens".
In effect as we should have all predicted its more runways in the South East, and there is of course only one player in town so that will be Heathrow.
I think we "might" however have assumed the usual sop to "The regionals" and that Davies would have indicated that
"they s/b used to max capacity...blah blah blah".
Infact what he has said which may just come as a bit of a bombshell to MAG, is that point to point long haul travel is not environmentally friendly therefore its best if we deter these flights (see APD which is already doing a good job) and focus one 100% on a mega hub down South.
The carbon footprint of said expansion will be more than made up by deterring expansion elsewhere at these non-hubs.
I assume Manchester to be a non hub, so nowt down there then !
But wait, this comes in the same week that there has been a proposal by the Chinese to invest £650m in the somewhat ambitiously named "Airport City" project, infact Mr Osbourne is off to China this week end for a photo opportunity.
"Airport City tends to imply that you need an airport presumably with a long haul network so what now......
Whilst MAG have not exactly set the world on fire by attracting more long haul Manchester does at least have something to build on ....
Although clearly not if the Commission has its way !
Last edited by Bagso; 8th Oct 2013 at 06:23.
Well done Jet2 for launching Vienna next year (also from LBA & NCL), should appeal to some business passengers too if marketed well.
Just got Seville now on my short haul wish list ! A great winter city break that offers Seville, Jerez & Cadiz- three city breaks in one. From the UK there are only 2 services to Seville - RYR from Stansted & easy from Gatwick.
Seville is a big tourist hot spot, just not from the UK. Summers a bit hot, but a great winter destination for Jet2, Monarch or easy when they wind down their Med ops for the winter.
Just got Seville now on my short haul wish list ! A great winter city break that offers Seville, Jerez & Cadiz- three city breaks in one. From the UK there are only 2 services to Seville - RYR from Stansted & easy from Gatwick.
Seville is a big tourist hot spot, just not from the UK. Summers a bit hot, but a great winter destination for Jet2, Monarch or easy when they wind down their Med ops for the winter.
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Although clearly not if the Commission has its way !
What's the thought on the non stop China route? It's all centrally planned to be fair but any of the Chinese airlines would be a huge boost given Cathay have seemingly lost interest.
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Just got Seville now on my short haul wish list
Infact what he has said which may just come as a bit of a bombshell to MAG, is that point to point long haul travel is not environmentally friendly therefore its best if we deter these flights (see APD which is already doing a good job) and focus one 100% on a mega hub down South.
Most of MAN's longhaul is point to hub, eg CO to EWR/IAD, AA to ORD/JFK, DL to ATL, SQ to SIN,the MEB3 to DXB/AUH/DOH. Even the TCX routes to Florida and Caribbean destinations are becoming mini-hub to point next year (rather than point to point) when the deal with Condor and Flybe starts. A lot of the shorthaul legacy flying is point to hub as well.
So I don't think MAG need to worry too much about what the Davies Commission recommends, unless of course they recommend something completely dumb like increasing APD from the regions and/or reducing it from LHR. Airlines will fly where they can make money, not where a Govt appointed committee or an airport lobby group think they should fly to, and all the indications are that that most of the current longhaul offerings from MAN are doing well enough to justify their existence.
And of course anything the Commission recommends will not even be considered by the Government until at least 2015 after the next election. Then there will be the usual debating, pandering and compromising to the various lobby groups / nimbys, and general dithering around before any decision is made, which even if it goes the way of extra runways at LHR will still take years to build. If the next Government is another coalition it may take even longer to make a decision, or be shelved altogether !!
In the meantime, what do airlines who want to grow their presence in the UK in the next few years actually do once the few remaining slots at LHR are all used up ? Yes some will upgrade to larger aircraft at LHR to make more out of the slots they already have, but depending on the airline and routes involved it may not always be economic for them to do that. So some will look elsewhere to increase their UK presence - LGW or STN only give them an increased presence in the SE corner, as neither airport is properly connected by air or land to the rest of th UK. And to an extent airlines who set themselves up at LGW/STN often end up competing with their own flights at LHR, with LHR still taking most of the front end passengers, leaving their LGW/STN flights running at a loss.
MAN on the other hand with its excellent surface transport, central location, and dual runways (and to a lesser extent BHX), is still in a favourable position to pick up additional airlines and routes over the next few years simply because LHR is already close to full and will take years to further expand. Perhaps this was the thinking at Egyptair, TAP and others when they started MAN, the rumoured Saudia flights, and the airline that closed LGW in favour of MAN (Qatar I think ?) ?? These are the airlines MAN should be courting, as well as looking after their existing and growing clients by making sure the terminal and parking space at MAN is available to cater for them all at the times they want to fly. The terminals are now bursting at the seams at certain times of the day, as are the parking bays.
As for direct China flights, I still think HKG would be a better route from MAN as it opens up the most onward connections into China and other Far East / Australasian points. But given the lack of interest so far from CX and no other viable based airline at HKG, then a service to CAN, SHA, or PEK might just work if served by a carrier based at one of those hubs. I can't see this happening though until one of these airlines achieves critical mass at LHR, they are still not yet even daily to LHR in some cases.
Most of MAN's longhaul is point to hub, eg CO to EWR/IAD, AA to ORD/JFK, DL to ATL, SQ to SIN,the MEB3 to DXB/AUH/DOH. Even the TCX routes to Florida and Caribbean destinations are becoming mini-hub to point next year (rather than point to point) when the deal with Condor and Flybe starts. A lot of the shorthaul legacy flying is point to hub as well.
So I don't think MAG need to worry too much about what the Davies Commission recommends, unless of course they recommend something completely dumb like increasing APD from the regions and/or reducing it from LHR. Airlines will fly where they can make money, not where a Govt appointed committee or an airport lobby group think they should fly to, and all the indications are that that most of the current longhaul offerings from MAN are doing well enough to justify their existence.
And of course anything the Commission recommends will not even be considered by the Government until at least 2015 after the next election. Then there will be the usual debating, pandering and compromising to the various lobby groups / nimbys, and general dithering around before any decision is made, which even if it goes the way of extra runways at LHR will still take years to build. If the next Government is another coalition it may take even longer to make a decision, or be shelved altogether !!
In the meantime, what do airlines who want to grow their presence in the UK in the next few years actually do once the few remaining slots at LHR are all used up ? Yes some will upgrade to larger aircraft at LHR to make more out of the slots they already have, but depending on the airline and routes involved it may not always be economic for them to do that. So some will look elsewhere to increase their UK presence - LGW or STN only give them an increased presence in the SE corner, as neither airport is properly connected by air or land to the rest of th UK. And to an extent airlines who set themselves up at LGW/STN often end up competing with their own flights at LHR, with LHR still taking most of the front end passengers, leaving their LGW/STN flights running at a loss.
MAN on the other hand with its excellent surface transport, central location, and dual runways (and to a lesser extent BHX), is still in a favourable position to pick up additional airlines and routes over the next few years simply because LHR is already close to full and will take years to further expand. Perhaps this was the thinking at Egyptair, TAP and others when they started MAN, the rumoured Saudia flights, and the airline that closed LGW in favour of MAN (Qatar I think ?) ?? These are the airlines MAN should be courting, as well as looking after their existing and growing clients by making sure the terminal and parking space at MAN is available to cater for them all at the times they want to fly. The terminals are now bursting at the seams at certain times of the day, as are the parking bays.
As for direct China flights, I still think HKG would be a better route from MAN as it opens up the most onward connections into China and other Far East / Australasian points. But given the lack of interest so far from CX and no other viable based airline at HKG, then a service to CAN, SHA, or PEK might just work if served by a carrier based at one of those hubs. I can't see this happening though until one of these airlines achieves critical mass at LHR, they are still not yet even daily to LHR in some cases.
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New Rouge service to Toronto from 26 Jun 14
5 per week.
Credit Airline Route ? Worldwide Airline Route Updates
2 routes in 2 days!
5 per week.
Credit Airline Route ? Worldwide Airline Route Updates
2 routes in 2 days!
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Re Air Canada,
Yes a great announcement late June to middle Sept so a high summer season only to start with ?
Wondering if Air Transat had been expecting this..as 1st Canadian Affair S14 brochure through my door had MAN-YYZ down as half A330s and half A310s.
The latest one that came yesterday has them as down as all A310s now ?
Nigel
Yes a great announcement late June to middle Sept so a high summer season only to start with ?
Wondering if Air Transat had been expecting this..as 1st Canadian Affair S14 brochure through my door had MAN-YYZ down as half A330s and half A310s.
The latest one that came yesterday has them as down as all A310s now ?
Nigel
I guess it's good news to see Air Canada back after a 6 year gap, but to be honest, it would be great to see Montreal operated by one of them (TSC or AC)rather than duplicating the route.
BOAC flew daily Montreal 40 years ago !!
Unfortunately for me, it's either London Airways or KLM for Montreal.
BOAC flew daily Montreal 40 years ago !!
Unfortunately for me, it's either London Airways or KLM for Montreal.
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Had a look at the Air Canada website for the Rouge MAN flights, and they are on there and bookable. Surprisingly for an alleged discount brand round trips are all north of £1000, with some £1600. Granted I didn't exhaustively go through the whole 4 month period of the operation, but this was June/July so not in the school holidays. If they can fill an aircraft at those prices they will do very well!
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I'm amazed it took so long to get into the public domain!
Naked drunk easyJet passenger Tasered at Manchester Airport - watch incredible video of his runway rant - Manchester Evening News
How did 'they' stop all the mobile images/videos getting out?
Naked drunk easyJet passenger Tasered at Manchester Airport - watch incredible video of his runway rant - Manchester Evening News
How did 'they' stop all the mobile images/videos getting out?
I guess the AC Rouge won't last long. Cheapest return £995 or you could book AC/BA via LHR & fly on full service AC ex LHR for only £22 more each way.
Begs the question what's the point of Rouge when it's fares are similar to the mainline carrier?
Begs the question what's the point of Rouge when it's fares are similar to the mainline carrier?
Looks like my questioning the "250,000" pax on MAN-LHR Little Red has found resonance in the Independent...
Virgin domestic flights a disaster
I was pretty sure the loads on MAN-LHR couldn't be anywhere near 250,000 and so it seems - between 250 and 300,000 system wide according to their own figures.
I quite enjoyed my trips with them but how long can they keep going?
Virgin domestic flights a disaster
I was pretty sure the loads on MAN-LHR couldn't be anywhere near 250,000 and so it seems - between 250 and 300,000 system wide according to their own figures.
I quite enjoyed my trips with them but how long can they keep going?
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Air Canada like all airlines release new flights at very high prices, nothing new but reasons for it can be that early bird bookers will pay the price and when they reduce proves it looks good to the customer.
I expect Little Red will run for 3 years if they were to scrap flights now they would have very high penalties to pay Aer Lingus for early exit.
I expect Little Red will run for 3 years if they were to scrap flights now they would have very high penalties to pay Aer Lingus for early exit.
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Virgin domestic flights a disaster
The branding "Little Red" may be the problem. What exactly does it mean?
It implies a completely different carrier.
Branding these routes as "Virgin Atlantic" would have been a better strategy, especially as a proportion of the pax. are transferring to other VS flights.
It implies a completely different carrier.
Branding these routes as "Virgin Atlantic" would have been a better strategy, especially as a proportion of the pax. are transferring to other VS flights.
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They are branded Virgin Atlantic, it's on giant letters on all four aircraft. I don't think branding is the problem, indeed Little Red is a decent enough moniker. We all knew Shuttle was BA domestic and Diamond Service was Midland, Virgin's prblems here go much deeper.
In other news, the bearded billionaire is off into tax exile. He's selling the London home and moving to his own wee private island full time. If this allows VS to be more focussed commercially then it might be a turning point.
In other news, the bearded billionaire is off into tax exile. He's selling the London home and moving to his own wee private island full time. If this allows VS to be more focussed commercially then it might be a turning point.
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Mr A TIS
Agree re Air Canada Rouge how can they justify these prices with a 30" seat pitch.
Think Id rather fly from LHR on normal Air Canada with a better seat pitch, at least I'd be able to walk after a long flight !
Nigel
Agree re Air Canada Rouge how can they justify these prices with a 30" seat pitch.
Think Id rather fly from LHR on normal Air Canada with a better seat pitch, at least I'd be able to walk after a long flight !
Nigel