There are also the flights from Southamton not on Sale yet.
Air Berlin has only got a few flights on for sale for the winter yet, specially the classic charter destinations.

Re Air Berlin W05/06

Apparently no slots have been applied for on the TXL/MAN/TXL ,but they have applied to increase
DUS to twice daily !

any other interesting snippets from the latest slot round for us to pontificate on? Given the lack of a furore this time round I assume EZY haven't had another go for MAN ops!

Northwest to Detroit...?
 

This route is being rumoured heavily round the airport.....could we expect an announcement soon...?

Air Berlin no more
 

according to an E-Mail I just received from the Air Berlin Press department, there will be no more Air Berlin flights to Manchester from Winter:
"Sehr geehrter Herr Müller,

danke für Ihre Anfrage. Leider wird Air Berlin Manchester im Winter nicht mehr anfliegen.

Mit bestem Guß
Angelika Schwaff"

For 'Curious Pax' and others ...
 

Your observation that the Winter slot list has not yet been widely discussed is well-founded. However, I suggest that there is good reason for this. In the recent past (last couple of years or so?) MAN's slot-lists have appeared on PPRUNE and elsewhere in the public domain apparently within hours of being circulated internally. This should not happen; the results can actually be very damaging in two respects.

Firstly, the leaking of information regarding early-stage interest from airlines considering a service to any airport alerts the marketing departments of nearby rivals to pick up the phone, issue invitations, wine & dine, launch a charm-offensive and make "offers which can't be refused." This is damaging to the business whose commercially sensitive information has been leaked in the first place.

Secondly, the role of the slot-list is not widely understood in the public domain. Certain well-meaning over-enthusiastic amateurs interpret information contained therein as an assurance that named services *will* be launched. Inevitably, when many of these fail to transpire, we have the usual round of "more big names down the pan" and "useless management" postings. The simple truth is that the slot list is speculative by definition, and the hefty no-show rate is a fact of life in the aviation business. This is true of all major airports, but MAN has been especially exposed to criticism as a result of it's slot-lists being leaked. I am not aware of any instance where the slot list of another UK airport has appeared on PPRUNE (if I'm wrong please correct me), and there is good reason for that.

If anybody requires a reminder of the issues raised by my comments, scroll back to Jan/Feb on this thread. Look at the silly false hopes raised by the Summer list, followed by the acrimonious postings which followed as airlines returned slots. Next, take a look at the MAN Summer schedules which have transpired in reality, and the growth which has seen the airport surpass 22 million passengers in a 12-month period. Not a bad result for a management mercilessly lambasted on here for not securing the business of every kite-flying fancy on the slot-list. This is the reality, and the only fair yardstick by which the MAplc team can be measured.

I am fortunate that my employer (not MAplc ... surprise!!!) does receive a copy of the slot-list; however, it is always entirely clear that it's contents are considered confidential in nature and should not be distributed beyond our walls. So I do understand the frustrations of those left to wonder what appeared on the list whilst a fortunate few already know. But look back to Jan/Feb on this thread and you will see a clear example on the record of why the speculative slot-list should be retained in confidence by MAplc and it's partners.

Finally, do not suppose that you are missing all the juicy clues by not seeing the slot-list anyway. JET2 services appeared at MAN quite out of the blue ... they were not on a circulated slot-list prior to the big announcement. Similarly, I don't recall Air Berlin appearing on the slot-list prior to announcing their intentions a year ago. And when BMI Baby first turned up, they appeared to use slots which had been booked for British Midland schedules to Paris & Brussels etc., no doubt intentionally keeping the project out of the public eye (and away from the gaze of competitors) until the time was right! With regard to Easyjet speculation, a similar scenario is likely to transpire. *If* they plan to serve MAN we'll all hear about it on the day of the big announcement and not a moment before. Anything else is idle rumour ...

Best to All. Flames welcome.

SHED.

I cannot believe Air Berline, who have had barely a year's operation at MAN are going to axe all their routes......

off to LPL perhaps ?

Could well be correct because EZY have not included (as yet) LPL/CGN in its winter schedules.

Cologne isn't an Air Berlin destination from Manchester.

No, but could be from Liverpool.

..... or from Blackpool

Marks & Spencer Simply Food to close
 

I was told by one the cashiers in Marks & Spencer Simply Food at the The Station today that it will be closing down at the end of the month. This, after just a year of operation. The closure has apparently been put down to being located in a too quiet a part of the airport.

We could have told them that.

Shame though, as although not many general public use it, staff do!

BA to JFK
 

Does anyone know when the aircraft that operates MAN to JFK goes in for its refurbishment? What will it be replaced with while it is being tarted up?

It will be replaced by an already refurbished 767. Some time in the New Year.

Re M&S and the Coffee Shop. They are only open "High St." hours. I've lost count of the no of pax looking at both places at 7am and shaking their heads [also closed on Sundays:confused: ]
watp,iktch

yeh i agree, M & S was put in a bad position so im not suprised that it's closing. Same thing happened years ago with Harrods in terminal one. They did a great trade in plastic carrier bags but not much else! Its all down to bad planning, Harrods should have been in T2 with all the US carriers, same goes for M & S.

Sadly, location was not the only problem affecting the Airport M&S. It failed to tailor it's offering to it's largest potential market: the staff! Opening times have already been mentioned. But they also spurned innovations which could have earned them very significant extra trade.

Within days of them opening I pointed out to the duty M&S staff that if they were to accept Luncheon Vouchers (as does the M&S in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens) they would do very well indeed. I - and around 200 airport-based colleagues - receive over £500 in LV's annually from my employer. I would have dearly loved the convenience of using them ALL in the airport M&S. No doubt many colleagues (and other airport-based staff) would have used the facility too. But in the absence of M&S taking them, one uses those LV's elsewhere. In my case, that meant buying the very meals (for work breaks) which I would have preferred to buy locally from M&S if it had been possible to do so. I politely pointed this out to the M&S managers on several occasions, but the response was always a knowing smile and that pitying look which says they wouldn't be seen dead stooping to accept LV's.

Well, sadly, M&S's loss has been Sainsbury Local's gain [Piccadilly Station]. They've had all my LV's. And the top-up cash too. Multiply that by afew heads and you're talking significant loss of business for a small M&S branch. I'm saddened by the closure of M&S, but a company which fails to adapt to it's market must eventually die. I just hope this doesn't prevent a well-run grocer having a go on the Manchester Airport site.

As for M&S, the sooner they're taken over by someone with a bit of business acumen the better. Nice products, useless customer awareness.

M&S
 

They should consider a site in the refurbished arrivals hall at T1, like at LHR T4. Just think of all the bread and milk they would sell to recently arrived home holidaymakers!

Let's face it, you kust wouldn;t open a business at The Station, you just WOULDN'T! It's a white elephant. The trams will never arrive, the escalators never work, the bus station is too far away from the terminals, the rail ticket office is poorly located, there is nowhere to buy a National Express ticket...and it calls itself a 'revolutionary transport hub'.....hmmmmm.....

and with the newly started Travel City Direct/Air Atlanta Europe Check in area who knows what it should be called? Or perhaps the signs should read 'Terminal 1 - 2 miles away along the broken travelators check in' in the vein of T1 Ground Level Check In!

Well done Manchester yet another blinder! Way to confuse the passengers. Im fed up of being asked where check in desks 400-410 are, especially when you tell the pax its in the station and they look at you like you are mental!

I wonder how many happy bucket and spaders end up in T2 departures cos they took a wrong turn at check in!

Agent x has spoken! :ok: