Nice to see some growth from Swiss.....even if it does seem rather conservative, 1x weekly GVA and the BSL slowly creeping back up to a decent frequency!

Does anybody happen to know if we are likely to see Tehran flights return anytime soon? Any likelihood of IR taking up the void left by Mahan? I always understood that after a slowish start the Tehran route was very healthy in terms of loads.

The Tehran route did ok, although I hardly think it set the world on fire in terms of loads! Averaged about 80 per flight, perhaps slightly more after they'd closed their BHX base.

Last I heard, Mahan were trying to sort themselves out and were looking at restarting services on Sept 10th. Obviously this date is now long gone and still no news. Anyone heard anything since?

Mahan Air
 

All that I can add is that they have been suspended from the IATA BSP settlement scheme.

This basically means that normal travel agents are unable to sell and account for their tickets through the GDS systems.

Ticketing via local agents and the interbet would of course still be possible.

A pal of mine flew from MAN for the first time recently. Knowing my links with the place, he shared with me his thoughts. I could have predicted everything he said, before he said it:

The car park bus dropped him "at the station. It's a long walk to the terminal!" Especially because "the travelators weren't working". And of course, T1 (ThomsonFly - nice leather seats) is a bit "up and down and round about" to get anywhere.

But when he arrived back in, he found the station again by "following a nice young lady who looked very nice in her uniform". There's a few of them about, I told him.

So, same old same old. If they can't get the basics right, what hope have they got?

Not surprised that it was a long walk, Tomson"fly" from T2.......:rolleyes:
watp,iktch

T1? T2? Forgive me, I was sleepy.

Nonetheless - u/s travelators is even more of a problem walking to T2!

I think my main point still holds - ask the buses to drop the passengers miles away, then expect them to cart their luggage past broken travelators. Customer service? Pah.

Regarding the travellators, they are not broken but are switched off at night for energy saving purposes between the hours of 00.00 and 04.00. This applies to the C Pier travellators in T1 and the airside ones in T2, as well as those along the skylink. They are switched on by Terminal Control at 04.00. As very few trains and buses arrive between these hours, it is uneconomical to keep them running. If I'm on an early shift, I always walk the length of the skylink when I come on at 5am and start up any travellators that haven't already been switched on. I make it my personal responsibility :)

Regarding the car park/hotel buses, many hotels and independant car parking companies choose to drop off/pick up at the station because it is easier for them to do so at this one central point rather than going to all the terminals. It is their decision to do this and has nothing to do with the airport. The areas outside all three terminals are now open for these buses to use if they want to but many of them have chosen to stay at the station for their own convenience. All MA car park buses, ie - Shuttle Park, T1/2/3 Long Stay and Premier Parking, drop off and pick up outside the terminals.

At my house I have a PIR that puts on the light so I save money on my lighting bill, I just like saving money. Do you think it would be the science of rockets for MAN to PIR the transterminalamogifiers with the same space age teknoliggy?

1 small question. When did all of security become my mate? I don't know them, never have done, so why do they always call me mate? I'm old and looong in the tooth, so a snotty nosed yoof calling mate at 5 am really spits on my ice cream.
Rant done.

Personally, I think that the autowalks should be fitted with sensors so that they don't move unless someone approaches it. This has been trialled at the station with some degree of success, although I don't believe it is as energy efficient as switching them off completely. Obviously in the day, all the autowalks should be fully functioning and in an ideal world this wouldn't be a problem. But escalators/autowalks cease on many occasions throughout the day, mainly due to the emergency stop button being nudged or if there's been an accident, it needs to be switched off for health and safety reasons. The Customer Service teams check the travellators, escalators and lifts throughout all three terminals at regular intervals on each shift and restart autowalks etc if necessary, but obviously this is not always going to be number one priority.

I'm not trying to make excuses here or disspell anyones argument, just want to tell it like it is from my background in Customer Services.

FlyZB- no problem 'mate':E

FlyZB said:

I've seen that before, although it may have been on escalators rather than autowalks - Frankfurt Airport and the railway station, if I remember correctly.

Well, here's the latest from the coal face.

Thai now delaying any new service for another year......Again.:ugh:

PIA B777-300ER delivery in January 08. 747s to return soon...:rolleyes:

Etihad to go twice a day B777/A330 combination.

Qatar looking at B777 and A340 ops.

SIA daily end of October, possible increase to 10 a week and/or B777-300ER.

Oh yes the best til last,

BA JFK service to be B787 by 2012. :\

I see that W5 Mahan Air have a slot request on 1 /11.( only checked that day).

I thought they were having trouble getting back into the UK? Can anyone confirm their slots??

Fuelboy

Manchester Airport Pay discimination.
 

Manchester Airport apparently might have to dig deep if it is found guilty of
discrimination.
It is alleged Hundreds of full time Security staff have given MAN 28 days notice to explain
how it is going to resolve the matter of paying its part-time staff who
complete 20hrs per week. 1.5hr/pay O/T thereafter. So a part-timer who
does 20hrs overtime pw. Total hours worked 40 will receive 50hrs pay.
As you can see part timers are paid 10hrs more pw then full timers if they do 20hrs O/T which they do quite regularly. Allegedly airport was warned 2 years ago about this but did not act.
According to UNITE union the airport are guilty of sex dicrimination, pay discrimination and more.
What do you think ??

Being paid overtime at a higher rate is compensation for:

1 the irregularity of when you receive it (overtime is by its nature unpredictable and at short notice)

2 inconvenience if you'd made other plans

It is also a reward for workers' loyalty and flexibility.

Would full time workers like to give up a 40hr/wk contract to go on to 20hr/wk and hope they get another 20hrs/wk overtime every week? Would that pay the mortgage? No, so that's why the full timers trade some overtime premium for a guaranteed income every week, to pay the bills.

I'm sure the airport lawyers will have agreed these contracts before they were issued.

Is this a non-issue? Is it just the airport unions rattling their sticks in the swill bucket again for some other agenda, perhaps to make themselves look like they're doing something? The airport unions have sadly been impotent for years.

Workers still come; management still treat them badly. Welcome to capitalism.

I would like to add, before you all rip my head off, that I have great sympathy with the poor wages, working conditions, welfare facilities etc. of the ops staff, as well as having to park miles away at 3am to get in for an early start, when the bigwigs park in undercover luxury and only have to waddle across the road to OH at 9am.

Well, here's the latest from the coal face.

Thai now delaying any new service for another year......Again.:ugh:

PIA B777-300ER delivery in January 08. 747s to return soon...:rolleyes:

Etihad to go twice a day B777/A330 combination.

Qatar looking at B777 and A340 ops.

SIA daily end of October, possible increase to 10 a week and/or B777-300ER.

Oh yes the best til last,

BA JFK service to be B787 by 2012.


are these comfirmed?

Gayrugbybloke - where is he??
 

Does anybody know why the above has stopped posting "Rumours, good news, and funnies" to this site. it's been a good few months since we had his witty comments to read? Has he 'Aliassed' himself one time too many?:\

Didn't Vuelo know him...

A chap called GayRugbyMan posts regularly on A.net forum and I think he knows Vuelo too - as his posts on A.net seem very similar to Vuelos on here - not to suggest that Vuelo / GayRugbyBloke / GayRugbyMan are the same person...that would be just wrong :}

A little birdy in OH tells me that there is paperwork on the table and pens drawn for an imminent announcement to come out of Northwest, that being DTW-MAN-DTW with 752s from Summer '08. :ok:

That is on Airliners aswell. Was pretty obvious really. They are also to launch another 2 routes to Europe on top of that. Favorites are CDG and AMS from two other NWA bases.

Now only UA and MAN has the full works!

Are NWA usually cheaper than DL/AA/CO/US to america?

Cheers.
Some good news for the airport anyway! Come on CX!;)

Couldn't CX just put 100 seats on their Cargo a/c and be done with it?:}

Aaaah but MUFC_Fan, CX already have something operating from MAN in addition to those big freighters...... they have over 100 seats per flight, they operate numerous times a day, have a red white and blue colour scheme and drop the pax at a place called LHR to connect with a real CX flight, job done :ugh:

Not sure on their prices compared to the other lot but NW should be a good addition to the network, could be a good grower starting with the 757 then look towards A330 or 787 ops if the route proves a success in the medium term?

Anyone got any other new snippets for next summer yet?!

As CX are determined to offer a "lesser" service out of MAN than they do out of LHR i.e. stop off in Moscow and not operate non-stop, then I think we may have to wait a long time for them to bring back passenger services. So how a passenger gets to HKG depends where you want to connect - think gonig with Finnair might be the quickest way to do it.

From Turin's post, one can say :

SQ went public on the "10 times weekly, subject to passenger demand" a while ago so not really adding anything to what was known (unless he's got knowledge of slots requests applications? I've seen Friday, Saturday and Sunday mentioned as the 3 extra days of operation but without times) and operating daily from October has been known for a couple of months or so. Hopefully the 2 extra services a week will attract sufficient passenger numbers for them to evaluate the 3 additional services with a view to starting them in 18-24 months time.

Etihad - I'd rather have them see what the new split timings a la Qatar will do for them before going to 2 daily! Don't think we could state with any confidence that current loads justify expansion just yet.

Qatar - I've seen the config of the 77W. Nice 2 class effort seating 330ish passengers i.e. ideal for MAN and a little bit bigger than the A333s they will be operating this winter. However, I believe they're intending using them on transtlantic runs though.

As for BA, logically if the 787 is replacing the 767, then should BA's MAN-JFK still exist in 4 years time, then it will be 787s. (Not too sure which variety of 787 though as they are getting both -8s and -9s).

BMI
 

BMI to add extra flight to EDI Monday to Thursday from 28 October. On timetable but not announced by BMI on Website

Also they announced Daily TLV from LHR a while back. Announcement removed anyone know why

Viscount

So they are going to do both MAN and STN!

I'm guessing STN will be first? MAN will be popular with the football supporters and with of course increase profits at MUFC!:}:}

Anyway, great for both airports!

When is the launch?

no idea,you cant book flights yet though so.probs next summer.

air asia x
 

I wouldn't read too much into MAN being shown on the map. In fact it has been showing for many weeks now so its not new. The map only really shows
the destinations being considered

Air Asia haven't said which will be the first destination in the UK or europe come to that. We will have to wait and see

Viscount

AirAsia X (D7) announced its first route - KUL-OOL, four-weekly - last Friday. A promotional ticket for KUL-OOL-KUL was about £92 all-in.

D7 has permission to begin flights to/from STN. But whether that'll be its first UK destination is completely uncertain.

D7 will be acquiring 340s - two, I believe. I wonder whether these would be used to/from the UK, or whether it'd operate the 330 via BAH, as some info. has suggested.

The biggest problem is the almost complete lack of information. I think it's just a case of waiting to see what materalises.

well AK is deaprting back to KUALA LUMPER tommorow,its been in for 3-4 days.

http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/a...&searchCode=ak

Air Asia X
 

Not usually one to contribute to the rumour mill without hard facts (I leave that to others :E), but I've heard from numerous different people in work tonight that, after sniffing around T2 for the last 3 days, a big announcement from Air Asia is expected sometime next week. Let's wait and pray...

I am always here, looking, but not usually speaking. And no, I am not her, and she is not me, and they are not him, and he is not them....

Just like the Scarlet Pimpernel.

"They seek him here, they seek him there"

Stats for September
 

MAPLC Stats for September don't make good reading on PAX front down again

Cargo on the other hand is doing very well up nearly 24% on last year

Viscount

Again we know the figures are going to be down until the Flybe/BAcon effect and the drop in LHR/LGW work through
Don`t expect an increase this year

Ian

Judging by the mutterings from the unhappy punters in the massive security queues in T1 this afternoon, pax will continue to fall. With a choice of other regional airports for most flights, MAN is becoming a less attractive option. BTW, building more shops is not going to be the answer.

Just read a report that it took over an hour to get through immigration at Stansted the other night so it is not just Manchester

Ian

i know everyone have thoings against man,i flew in peak season in august from T1 and found it fine most i qued was around 10-15 mins.
security was tight etc which is what you want.

Climate Campaigners 'Blockade Airport'
 

From Sky News

Climate change protesters say they have blockaded the entrance to domestic departures at Manchester Airport. Robbie Gillett, a spokesman for Plane Stupid, said activists had locked arms to prevent passengers passing through security. A Greater Manchester Police spokesman confirmed they were dealing with a protest at the airport.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport said the protesters had not passed through security checks.

"We have got some protesters in Terminal Three," he said. "They seem to be blockading the entry to the security through into the departure lounge. At the moment, passengers cannot get through to security, but we do have alternative ways of getting passengers through. It is a public area of the airport. They have not breached security. The police are on site and they are dealing with it."

The spokesman added that the protesters had not yet caused any delays to flights.

Pax figures
 

Liverpool JLA are reporting a pax increase of 13.7% for the period June to August.This compares to another slippage by MAN on the pax front.
Liverpool now has ( or about to get) around 19 scheduled destinations not served from MAN. Notably Madrid, Berlin, Gdansk & Bucarest.
Where there is a choice, is it that people prefer JLA ? From experience it is easier to park, easier to transit through, not everything is on different levels & queuing is significantly less.
People want an easy & relaxed experience from check in to gate. They are not getting this from MAN. I am sceptical the new T1 security will make any difference, as it is all about more retail shopping. No point in adding more x ray machines, when the existing ones arn't always staffed.

No just to the passengers I would have thought! Will get the goss tomorrow as not in today!

Plane 'Stupid', a very appropriate name for them! What do they hope to achieve? The majority of people flying out of MAN this morning will be there by choice and are therefore not going to be put off flying by a load of jobless morons! If anything, their presence will have a negative effect as they've been delaying passengers getting through security which is bound to annoy most people.

On the subject of Liverpool, it now serves 19 destinations not served by MAN does it. So what? How many destinations do MAN serve that LPL doesn't? I agree that MAN seriously needs routes to Madrid, Geneva, Berlin etc but Liverpool is purely a low cost base and therefore its route structure is bound to be different.

Why is it that Manchester and Liverpool are seen to be in competition with one another? From a management point of view, the growth of LPL is worrying for the top dogs at MAN but from a passenger point of view, surely it's good news. Fact of the matter is, people of the north west can only gain from the fact that we now have a greater choice of airports to fly from. If a route is not available from MAN, then it may well be available down the road at LPL and vice versa. This has got to be better option than transiting through the mess that is London!