Manchester Happenings
 

Does anyone know anything about a possible new twice weekly Royal Jordanian service from Man to AMM?

Also, anyone know if Virgin and US Airways are to move terminals next year from T2 to T1?

Recap of recent rumours (in no particular order)

Delta or American to Los Angeles

Air China to Beijing

US Airways to Charlotte

Sri Lankan to Colombo

BMI to India

China Airlines to Bangkok and Taipei

Qantas to Sydney

Virgin Express to Brussels

Continental 2x daily to Newark

Cathay to Hong Kong

All Nippon to Tokyo



There are probably more. Which, if any will ever happen, only time will tell.

US Airways wil probably be defunct by Feruary so Charlotte is a big if!

All Nippon is a dead duck, the rumour started due to a brief charter op.

There are so many more long and medium haul markets ex-Manchester, yet to be exploited.

Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Male, Colombo, Dhaka, Tehran, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Cairo, Nairobi, Mauritius, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cancun, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Detroit and Montreal must be at the top of the list!?!

Manchester should have the likes of Thai, Cathay, Qantas, JAL, Air India, Sri Lankan, Biman, Etihad, Gulf Air, Egyptair, Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius, South African and Northwest operating flights. Other airlines have shown that there is much potential in more long haul routes from Manchester. For example, going by CAA fligures for September, one route in particular, San Fransisco, is carrying HALF the monthly equivelent of the US Airways MAN-PHL route, at approx 4000 pax/month. This SURELY shows that there is a market for at leats 3-4 weekly widebody flights, direct from MAN to SFO. What makes matters even stranger is that the MAN-LAX market is larger than the SFO one, and no-one is even flying that one!

Regards

Mike

Aeulad

Pax travelling to/from the NWUK can access Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai, Delhi, Mumbai, Male, Colombo, Dhaka, Tehran, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Cairo, Nairobi, Mauritius and Jo'burg via the EK services to Dubai. (Sorry ,Mike! I couldn't resist that!)

Together wth Kuala Lumpu, Manilla, Jakarta, Brisbane, Auckland, Christchurch, Dar-es-Salam, Perth, Hyderabad, Chennai, Cochin and Peshawar...

...and very soon Beijing, Cape Town and a whole host of other destinations targetted by Emirates.( Or that!)

I can remember Qantas serving the airport years ago and as a child remember seeing Northwest(Orient) 747's regularly on Pier B. I'm not too sure if Cathay, Air Mauritius,Air Seychelles, Malaysian, Air India etc operate 'Seasonal services' to MAN but I know they've all 'dabbled' with MAN services at one time or another, as have SAA and Gulf Air but they've never stayed on the route because the PAX figures havent materialised.

As for US East/West Coasts, well that's BA for you, and their attitude of ' If we can't make any money on it then we wont let anyone else have a go.' I remember Laker used to serve LA from MAN and look what BA did to them!

It's ripe for 'Tricky Dickie' to throw a couple of his A343's 'out to pasture'at MAN with a couple of LAX's , SFO's 3 or 4 times per week. Just hope he doesn't give it to Air Atlanta.

:ok

Malasian still operate to Manchester 4 times a week passenger plus I think twice a week cargo, Northwest Airlines have only ever operated cargo never passenger

Golf India Bravo

My apologies G-I.B.

It was probably C.P. Air, TransAmerica and WardAir that I was confusing them with. It was a long time ago (about 25-30 years ago)...aah! Those were the days... Sunday afternoons in summer with my dad... access to the roof of Pier Bravo...the smell of kerosene... getting the two-fingered salute from a pair of Spantax DC-8 pilots!!!

:ok:

Ah yes they were good days and I even remember when they parked side on be fore the nose in parking! and flying on an Air Spain DC8-21

Golf India Bravo

Air Spain, a brilliant blast from the past!

http://whipsnade.co.uk/picturelibrar...r_120_wide.jpg

G-I.B.

'...Before nose in parking?...Air Spain DC8-21?...'

My god,Man! You should be crown green bowling, fly fishing or enjoying some other equally sedate pursuit at your time of life instead of messing about with computers!!!!

:D ;) :ok:

The joys of smokey Dan-Air Ambassador starts, Euravia Constellations, KLM 'Flying Dutchman' colourschemes and Mercury Herons etc..........those were THE days!!

Back to my zimmer-frame??

You will have us crying into our rosiners even though it is just 9.35 am in the mornin'!

Rosiner: A nice cup of tea with a few generous measures of whiskey added for taste!

There is now even a sentimentality associated with the Palmair/European Boeing 737-200 regularly doing the WW flight to Cork! :{

So what's happening with easyJet and Manchester? Is it going to happen this summer?

Vuelo is that you...................?

Dwlpl,
To quote that meat-loaf bloke, "you took the words right outta my mouth"

:ok:

Scottie Dog, My recollection of the Dan-Air Ambassadors starting was that it was almost impossible to see across the airport while it went on seemingly for ages.

Who.what is Vielo? I think you must be confused, dwlpl.

Vuelo - Give us the heads-up on the new long-haul routes into Ringway that you promised would be announced soon! I need to book a flight back home for next June...I'm holding out in the hope that CX of QF will return to Manchester. I hate transiting through LHR.

chipsbrand andScotiedog

Yes the Ambassadors were paticularly smokey and their start ups seemed to take longer than the other types you mention. It was great once the new piers were built, as you were above the smoke on the roof!

are there to be charter flights to south africa from manchester this winter? also, is the new airline muted on here a few months ago, still going to operate services to pakistan? its all gone very quiet....

Not heard anything about new South African service, its a pity that Vuelo dissapeared as looking back through his posts he used to ask about new South African services, he might have been able to answer your questions.

According to the airport timetable for November, Air Scandic are operating to Cape Town and Durban on Tues/Sat and to Islamabad on Weds/Sun with a DC10 from 23rd November. The info includes timings and flight numbers, so presumably slots have been reserved at least. No doubt we'll see the reality come the 23rd....

who are the flights to ISB being operated for? A holiday company? PIA?

Air Scandic are not operating to Cape Town Durban and Islamabad they do not have the aircraft the only a/c they will have after the A300 go is one md80 and next year they are lookingat getting a 767 and or 747. they will lease the two finair 757 for the summer

:ok: rampman

wonder what will happen to all those poor bugger that booked holidays to South Africa through CT2 travel. They were pushing direct flights from Manchester to Cape Town heavily in the press and on billboards at MAN.

I hear that Jet2 are to announce a twice daily MAN - BOH in a few weeks time.

Should be good for bringing the BA and BE fares to SOU down further!

Anyone know anything else planned for MAN next year?

I think some of you on this thread may have been right.....

Anyway...

MAN - BOH would be very handy indeed, hope it's true :)

The 1400 Emirates is in as a 772 for next summer, evening stays as the 332.

Regards

Mike

Air Berlin to HAM, TXL, PAD and DUS. Maersk to CPH. FlyBe to SOU. American to MIA all start today and tomorrow.

I am not convinced MIA is a good choice for AA. I still say SFO or LAX would have been a better choice.

Cathay Pacific to put a second freighter into Manchester on Thursdays only(Starts this Thurs) for the winter schedule, shud be a 747-400F

MoM

Ref AA's MAN-MIA ... we are actually approaching the BEST time of the year for visiting Florida. Whilst the British market is geared to a Summer crescendo, Mid-Summer is actually LOW season for North American tourism to Florida (due to hurricane/tropical storm season etc.). Consequently, cheap accommodation deals are offered to the (less well-informed?) UK customers at that time of year. Florida accommodation providers benefit by filling their establishments at a period of low domestic demand; British tourists get to visit the "Magic Kingdom" during the school Summer hols. Good business for mass-market operators.

But the American Airlines MAN-MIA schedule has the opportunity to serve a more discerning market. Affluent Brits on their third or fourth visit to Florida who have learned the best time of year to visit ... and will happily pay the peak accommodation prices to do so. Some of course have bought their own properties. The Winter MAN-MIA flight is ideal for these experienced leisure travellers who actively avoid the Tropical Storm lottery. Plus, MIA can service premium cruise transfer traffic and through-passengers to South American business centres which have been difficult to reach from MAN in the past.

In short, I do not think MIA was a bad choice vis-a-vis LAX or SFO. The latter two offer good potential also (bring them on!), but that does not make MIA a bad call. Admittedly, there is a significant increase in capacity between MAN and Florida this Winter (Virgin MCO, assorted charters SFB etc), but alot of affluent British travellers have learned the advantages of avoiding the Summer months. This Winter we'll see if those travellers can sustain the extra capacity serving Florida's *real* peak period!

Best Regards, SHED.

Thats a point well made, but the stats don't lie, and according to the CAA figures, SFO is one of the most popular USA destinations from MAN.

Are AA expected to revert back to the BOS service next summer or carry on with the MIA as an all-yesr round operation?

Ahhh remembered your old password Vuelo? :)

Heard the pax figs this morning on the way in....

nearly 200.....

Looks pretty good to me considering its the second day of operation.

Besides I am sure AA would do a range of additional services but they have to use the BA terminal...and their buddies ramp facilities.

Surely BA who would not be too impressed if they creamed off yet more pax from the Shuttle....!

Word on the street is that AA wanted to continue BOSTON as it was so succesful, but with BAs hand on the tiller pressure was apparently applied to stop it.......at least for the winter !

Really? I thought it was just a case of there being no demand for a BOS route in the winter, that's certainly what the AA cabin crew told me when I flew to BOS a few weeks ago from MAN.

I don't think BA hold quite as much 'power' at T2 Manchester as people would like to believe.

The real issue at T3 is the lack of avalable stands for widebodied aircraft. Once plans are put forward for the expansion of T3 next year the issue should resolve itself.

Are BA Citiexpress to announce some new routes from MAN for summer 2005? Luxembourg, Leipzig, Salzburg and Lisbon would be nice.....

Of course Luxembourg and Lisbon would mean going head-to-head with daily services provided by Luxair and PGA Portugalia respectively.

It's posted on an air newsgroup that Dragonair are to start weekly MAN - HKG passenger services in spring 2005. Anyone know any more info on this? Wouldnt this be their first European passenger service?

The Chief Executive of Manchester Airport will be participating in a phone-in on BB GMR from 11am tomorrow, you can listen live at www.bbc.co.uk/manchester

You might even like to call him and ask him questions!!

Mr Spooner has just said on GMR that MAN is pushing Air China / China Airlines hard.

He expressed his wish to see CPX return to MAN in the next couple of years, saying " They love Manchester"...yeah right..they have proved that havent they !!

In general Mr Spooner was generally being hassled by the public about a load of nonsense, i.e one old lady was complaining that St Mawgan isnt close enough to Newquay !! Enough said.

Rgds

SC