Manofman

It seems that Manchester is the center of your universe.
It is a large regional airport - my first comment which I
scrubbed was to be:'spoke not hub' perhaps I should
have gone with it,so you could better understand?

Ametyst2

Your post is a wise one.

MM

...and with something rather big, I understand. :eek:

Well they've got to fly the buggers somewhere...

Elsewhere it's thought of a 1 77W (3 class!) and 2 A332 (2 class). Either way, we're not talking a large increase in capacity.

Other news from today is Ryanair putting further expansion on hold till airport charges come down and with that, the number of pax they expect to carry will come down to 800,000 from the projected 1 million.

The web site is up and running but has a name change for legal reasons.

You can book online or pay on the coach.

www.airportbycoach.com

Manchester - 7
 

I muchly enjoyed the comment about Management by Comittee turning racehorses into camels . .superb (writes down to use himself later . .)!

Have we all been enjoying the 'Festival of Self-Congratulation' that is planetalk this month? So nice to see so many smiling faces standing around clapping each other on the back for a job well done by so many faceless workers beneath them . . well done all (scrapes irony and sarcasm off the wall).

Along similar lines i propose an alternate award ceremony . . Categories for this will include. . .

Most Bizzare Walking Route for Arriving Pax Award
Most Difficult to Find Sortation Chute for New Ramp Staff Award
Most Lengthy/Difficult Staff Entry Point Award
Most Distant Staff Car Park (By Postcode) Award
Departure Gate Most Obsured By Shops Award
Most Ignored Signage Award
Most Difficult Gate for Pax to Find Award
Most Inaccessable Gate for Disabled Pax Award (aka the Chris Bonnington Award for Terminal Design using Steps)
Longest Remote Bussing Departure (requiring sandwiches and toilet stop) Award
Most Lethal Airbridge Award (By Terminal).

Nominations on here by 1st May for announcment and Award Ceremony 5th May . . . Vote Pruners, its your right!!!

T-M-D(emocrat):E

I'll start.

QUOTE]Most Bizzare Walking Route for Arriving Pax Award
Most Difficult to Find Sortation Chute for New Ramp Staff Award
Most Lengthy/Difficult Staff Entry Point Award - The hilarious "staff priority" channel in T3 departures. Hilariously takes around 15mins. Priority my @rse.
Most Distant Staff Car Park (By Postcode) Award - Staff West
Departure Gate Most Obsured By Shops Award - Gate 141
Most Ignored Signage Award - All in T3
Most Difficult Gate for Pax to Find Award - Gate 141.
Most Inaccessable Gate for Disabled Pax Award (aka the Chris Bonnington Award for Terminal Design using Steps) - Where to start with this one? Gates 3, 141-148.
Longest Remote Bussing Departure (requiring sandwiches and toilet stop) Award - Gate or stand? Gate is obviously 3.
Most Lethal Airbridge Award (By Terminal). Gate 44 without a shadow of a doubt, fcuking thing dropped out from under the door with nothing touching the drop bar! Door was only opened a crack and poof floor disappears! :eek:
[/QUOTE]

But the money they saved by not fixing that airbridge was probably what paid for the world's smallest WHSmiths at Gtae 50. A wise investment some may say!

Came in on an SQ328 last week absolutely packed to the rafters. They even had a fare paying pax in 16K, which is very unusual as 16H and 16K are always kept empty for the second tech crew they have on the MAN flights. The F.O. had to spend his time down the back when on his break. Sad to see this going down to 3 times a week next month.

After doing my fair share of pummeling the hole that is MAN these days, I have to say my last two arrivals have been extremely quick. OK last week off SQ328 I had hand luggage only, was off first as I was in row 16 and watched with amusement all pax in J go to 1L as I went to 2L alone knowing that's the way off at MAN. I was in the motor 10-12 minutes after disembarking.

Also stunned to see my arrival a couple of weeks earlier on LH from FRA and luggage arrived within 10 minutes of getting to the belt and I was out 20 mins after disembarking with checked luggage, which is the best I can remember in the last 15 years.

Just shows they can make it more user friendly if they try. The place is still a mess though and T1 is now horrible to depart from. I have a paticular hatred of being made to walk through a duty free shop when I have no wish to do so.

Absolute bollox. End of discussion. ;)

Manchester - 7
 

The wheels have fallen off again . . .airports 'ChromaFusion' has been offline for 2 1/2 hours now . . no-one knows when aircraft are landing, where they are going or how many or IF there are any Wchr requests . . possibly because its the start of the long weekend? Shall we ask Geoff if we can have a new comp when he comes in on . ..erm . . TUESDAY?!!!

T-M-D

Well MAN Flyer, a different experience for me this time.

I have come back through T1 half a dozen times this year and have also experienced the quick baggage delivery from LH

But just a couple of days ago I had a bad experience. Arriving in T1 on Pier C after a particularly arduous trip, I just wanted to get home. But...

1 Inbound autowalks on Pier c u/s - surprise, surprise...:(

2 Major disaster - no Manchester Evening News in the dispensers..:}

3 IRIS system not working again - on approx 1/3 of my trips through the airport this is the case. The sign saying it is u/s is strategically placed so you go at least halfway down the channel and then have to backtrack and join the queue much further back than you would have done if the sign was at the entrance to the channel. HMI staff have no idea what is wrong with it as usual. :*

4 Bags should all be delivered within 30 mins of chox. At chox +28 the first bag arrives. Some bags get stuck on the belt and jam in the reclaim hall. Lots of bags are then stuck on the feeder belt from the sorting area. No one comes into the reclaim hall to sort it , so pax free the bags themselves. My bag arrives at chox +35. After all it is only a business class priority bag - and most business class bags on this flight seem to come on to the reclaim last. :*

5 At last out into arrivals and a lift into the T1 MSCP. One lift is u/s and large queues build up. :*

6 Not one of MA's Customer services staff seen during this experience.

Whilst some of this is not MA's fault, it IS their problem as most punters will feel they had a bad experience at Manchester and couldn't care a monkeys about who is responsible for what

So welcome to Manchester, the winners of the ACI Europe Excellence in Operations Award in 2008 in the 10-25 million ppa category.The award was made because of, as the judges said “its simple, innovative approach to attracting airlines”, and therefore seems to be nothing to do with service standards.

Hope all the delegates to the next ACI Europe Conference in Manchester in June have a better experience then I did.:}

Suzeman

PS T-M-D

1 Could you explain for us mere SLF what ChromaFusion is supposed to do when it is working?

2 Are you related to the MAN Ops Director? :}

Man/lpl
 

Just booked May 4th with open return £9-50... excellent...

website has glitch in that return journey times not showing... am sure just teethng problems...

Europes best?
 

I heard Manchester got the ACI Award coz they are spending loads of money to host the ACI Europe Conference (at the same time as laying staff off). The award is not of course given on merit by the voting public but by a number of "well connected" people within ACI......You will probably find that the CEO of MAN is on the ACI Europe Board?.Scandal :=

Mmmm...ACI Service Quality - awarded to Manchester "for innovative ideas in attracting new business / airlines".WHICH ONES WOULD THEY BE?

Didn't they get rid of their sales team?? Now wasnt that a good innovative idea and what a difference that has made.I would have thought the Planners should have been first down the road?

They need to start spending money on Customer Service at Manchester rather than more concrete for ghost aeroplanes to park and speculating on buying airports elsewhere when they cant get it right on their own doorstep!.:ugh:

Chroma Fusion is the system in which all airline operational info is input to. Things such as ETD's and ETA's, wheelchair requirements, gates and stands. Actual arrival and departure times. Chroma Fusion then links up with all the screens in the check in, departures and arrivals halls. It is in Chroma Fusion that belt assignments are given to the baggage loaders and baggage hall personnel. It is in ChromaFusion that all the automated information that you see over the check in desks and furthermore where the check in desk assignments are made. So without Chroma Fusion , you are pretty much screwed and are flying blind.

Does anyone know if Air Livery are opening a new painting base at Man?
If they are it be more jobs and hopefully more movements.

From the Air Livery wesbite:

Does anyone know if Air Livery are opening a new painting base at Man?
If they are it be more jobs and hopefully more movements.

They will allegedly be taking over the old BA hangar, about time it got
used for something good !!! Hopefully we will see some interesting colour
schemes come and go ????

bM

With the demise of Ringway Reports can someone please post a link to a good website that gives a full report of Manchester movements please?

Steve

Probably a better chance of a reply in Spotter's Corner

Its not as easy to read but try tasmanchester.com
and then Click on Whats Due and/or Arrival Logs

Chroma Fusion
 

Thanks Trash Hauler

I presume Chroma Fusion replaced AMOSS?

And shouldn't something as important as that have some redundancy and back up? :confused:

Suzeman

You get your Binos out and see what comes over the Bolin on Finals. :ok:

Manchester - 7
 

Yes indeedy Suzeman, Amoss is dead, long live chroma! erm 'Backup'?!!! ahahahahahaha . . .classic. Think of the cost involved which could be better spent on fixing the travelators, lifts, escalators . .and new 'OFFICES TO LET' signs on buildings. Saying that they did manage to get it up and running by 2330L . . not bad considering it froze up and conked out at 1947L!!
T-M-D

There you go assuming MAN has anything backed up. Do you not remember the power cut chaos? Back up, don't be daft. :ugh:

Back Up
 

I am guessing that the only back up MAN has is power supply for the shopping mall and tills. $$$$. Running an airport seems to be a secondary business.:ugh:

Are Monarch moving to T2?

Is their enough room for MON??

MON are strongly rumoured to re-sign with Aviance next year who now no longer operate from T2 which may influence the decision as to whether they move from T1 to T2.

Had a trip through T1 over the last few days, and much to my amazement, the miserable old dump is now actually quite nice airside. I never thought I'd say it but it was on the whole, nice...
But who came up with the idea for the baggage hall, of having a looped message repeatedly babbling on that you are now 'entering the baggage reclaim hall, make sure you have all your bags blah, blah, blah' After 25 minutes of listening to this voice every few seconds, with it's bizarre accent, it makes you want to scream.

Have you heard the message in T2 baggage hall?

Ah yes - the message in the baggage hall in T1 with that awful voice. Yes it is quite enough to drive you to violence after a long trip :* I think it is activated by movement down the stairs from the passport area as it doen't seem to occur at regular intervals; frequent yes but not regular, which made it even more annoying when you thought it had stopped and then the bl**dy thing started again, and again and again.....

It really annoyed me earlier this year when I had arrived back tired out but a couple of visits ago it had stopped. Blessed relief. At last something unserviceable making the experience better!!

Alas on my last visit there she was, going again- blah, blah, blah BUT the volume seemed to be reduced. If you stood at the reclaim at the Customs end, you couldn't really hear it unless you tried hard. But of course, if you stand at the other end to get your bags first.....well that's your choice.

Perhaps someone could report the Airport under H+S legislation for it being an audio hazard, or under Human Rights laws as being torture?? :}

Why is it needed to be repeated so often? Most people are going to be in that hall for many minutes - often too many minutes - so a message every few minutes like the ones advising you to keep your baggage with you at all times would be more appropriate. And aren't there signs too?

As I've not arrived at any other UK airports recently - do they have similar messages repeated every few seconds ? If so, is it another DfT (or whatever they are called this week) initiative?

Answers on a postcard please.

Suzeman

PS
Not experienced the T2 message - it can't be worse can it? :eek:

Terminal 3 arrivals has the same issue. Not even landside and already people are thinking "God I hate this place".....

Not bright....

In T3 there is that very nausiating female recording at the bottom of the escalator, landside up to the FLYBE checkin. "No baggage to be taken on this escalator" over & over again every few seconds. Dreadful !!:*
What's wrong with just a sign ? Punters will ignore both anyway, but please cut this noise pollution crap out.:sad:

Sounds like MAN is now acting like a shopping centre as well as being one. You also get silly warnings at the end of escalators in Asda and Tesco's. There will be similar warnings as we're going up and down a/c steps next!

To be fair (unfortunately) to the MAG operators....if we didn't live in the pathetic society that we do whereby people have to be told not to fall over or trip up otherwise they will sue....we wouldn't need the announcements....

When the country reverts to a common sense society the noises will dissappear......

....in other words....they are here to stay!

Yes but they are a health and safety message


Ian

PS see you later Suzeman

I know it's a health and safety message....!!!

we never used to have them....people didn't just fall off escalators not knowing what to do when they come to the end of it....

it's common sense to walk off the end!!!

what i am saying is....unless people nowadays are "told" to walk off an escalator....they feel they have the right to compensation if they fall over and break their legs....

the real truth is....they should be told to get lost and banned from the premises for causing problems

Envoy 320

It`s the world we live in now, people will sue over anything if they think that they can earn some easy money. I find it rather tiring that people will always blame someone for their own carelessness/ stupidity so it is just a case of cover your back for everything.

Isn`t the message on the airport escalator more a security message, I know people are stood around talking and put their hand baggage down and then see their case and forget the carrier bag with newspaper or whatever lying in the middle of the hall.

Perhaps another CCTV and a sexy voice saying excuse me sir, yes you with the MUFC shirt on you have just left your bag behind lol!


Ian

Manchester - 7
 

Reminds me of the joke . .

Officer - 'Didnt you SEE the arrows?'
Motorist - 'I didn't even see the INDIANS!' . .(sorry 'Native Americans')

Seeing as how they are so frequently ignored i wonder how useful . .

A) Signs are to a BLND pax travelling alone (?)

B) Piped announcements are to a DEAF pax travelling alone (?!)

C) Final calls are in a 'Silent Terminal' (remember our beloved Airport Authority does not now allow more than a limited amount of final and/or name calls . .and none at all 'too early' - going once, going twice . . OFFLOADED!!) . . i suppose it DOES rather unpleasantly interrupt the Shopping Experience people are so enjoying . Sensible policies for a happier airport! :rolleyes:

:E
T-M-D

Airport Annoucements
 

Seems only to get more 'computerised' announcements unfortunately.

The airport has apparently invested in a automatic final calls system, the system will make the call in English then in the language of the destination the flight is going to.

Is that where I left it? Wondered where it was...:}:ok: