...and I've mentioned this before, T3 UK Border Control does not have an Iris machine, as it is claimed there is not enough space for one. It is far quicker to clear passport control, if you are a non-EU national. Utter disgrace.

So if AF and BE are codesharing which carrier is moving terminals?

codesharing doesn't always involve combining 2 flights into 1.

I know the rationale behind running JFK as summer only as it's primarily a leisure route, what I can't quite get my head round is why the service isn't offered around Xmas and New Year, the demand at this time is massive from m experience....

American and also Air Canada shift a lot of their metal from East <-> West to North <-> South as the Carribbean holds an obvious attraction for frozen North Americans in the Northern Winter. This allows the aircraft to be used fully across the winter season and not just for the mental period over the holidays.

The border control posts at MUC are sited in banks at sites all around the terminal, and I'd be surprised if only 3 were open in the whole terminal building - whichever it happened to be. However, with 3 booths it took '15 minutes'. At MAN, with the 3-4 booths on Monday evening it was taking an hour. I've never, ever, arrived at T1 without seeing massive queues.

I also really don't think that only queuing for 10 mins at almost midnight at a tiny 'terminal' like T3 is really such a fantastic success. Such low expectations are perhaps a part of the problem at MAN. I don't queue at FRA for ten mins at any time, even with B777/B744 and A380 pax all arriving.

The serious issue, is that the bother and hassle stops many people from flying. They frankly cannot be bothered with it.

My last visit thro Munich ( T2)was in July, OK for arrivals as autoglide says. However, departure was another story. There were no effective queue controls on the outbound passport control desks & it took me in the region of 40-45 minutes to get thro. I was early so OK, several others missed their flights causing further queues at the LH service counters. At least in the UK we don't have exit controls ( yet).
I can think of many places a lot worse than MAN. Truth is, it's a lottery, some days good, some days crap, and that applies anywhere you go I'm afraid.

MAN T1 certainly didn't have "4" desks last week when I flew in. All were open, and I think I remember seeing them numbered up to 10 or 12, plus the electronic gates.

MAN-CDG
 

BE shows these departures for weekdays: 0615 (BE), 0645 (BE), 0940 (AF), 1230 (BE), 1510 (AF), 1735 (BE), 1945 (AF)
Weekday arrivals: 0815 (AF), 1015 (BE), 1100 (BE), 1340 (AF), 1635 (BE), 1900 (AF), 2130 (BE)

Any news on a MAD service from MAN anytime soon?

With AF operating out of T2 and handled by Swissport and Flybe operating out of T3 and handled by Flightsupport, anyone care to explain how this agreement will function as a single product ??

MAN-MAD even less likely now
 

With the news from Easy over at Liverpool that winter 10/11

• Madrid is double daily on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.
• Berlin is double daily on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.
• Barcelona is going back to double daily.

I guess that kinda nails any chance of a MAN-MAD service from anyone.
Shame the extra flights to MAD / SXF & BCN were not routed to MAN, but EZY seem intent to compete with existing MAN routes rather than start new ones ( eg AMS, HEL, MUC, HAM GOT etc):confused:

Now even I am confused by the BE/AF codeshare -

ringwayman - where did you get that schedule from? I have just gone on to Flybe.com and its showing all departures as 'operated by Flybe' with a mix of Q400 and E195 ecolabels coming up.....no mention of AF operating any services.

Very straightforward. You may notice that there are 2 sequences of flight numbers on the BE timetable (I don't see types listed on their online tinetable): those beginning BE31 and those beginning BE74 (that's when you ignore the current block beginning BE72 which end with the summer timetable). If BE is operating all, you would expect them all to be sequential.

Then read OltonPete's post in reply 390 in this thread which is based on the AF website and states that there's 3 AF services. Look at the times that's been quoted for BE operations and it's clearly demonstrated that the BE31 series are those for the Q400 and Emb195 and the ones beginning BE74 are the BE codeshares for the AF services.

I dont know if I'm going against the subject but please can anyone let me know which Terminal/Gate the A380 goes from?

Is it the same as the regular 777 gate?

Thanks lots

It's gate 12 at the end of Pier B on Terminal 1. Or gate 62 on the West Apron for the "privilged few" as happened this week!

In reply to The96er, I am not sure how this can work as you ask with 2 handling agents, it may be the case BE or AF are looking at changing Handling Agents in due course. If this were the case I would imagine AF would be the one to move as it would be an easier shift than BE leaving their current agent.

In reply to The96er and how the share will work with different HA's, maybe one airline is looking to change their HA shortly?

At last!!

Manchester Airport targets London rivals with cheeky advert campaign - Manchester Evening News

Game on!


Light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance :E

If it takes me all day I'm going to find the post where I said MAN would be resurrected one day! ;)

I just have one question: they are filling all flights up at the moment anyway, so without the extra capacity, what are they advertising for? EK and EY in particular are flying higher and higher.

Also, could I just point out to all those doom mongers regarding F from MAN, EK seem to be doing swimmingly. Roll on 3rd daily flight!:}

The problem is where is the one and half million passengers that are bypassing Manchester airport going and which airlines are they using and why are they choosing to use London airports. Placing a few adverts in strategic places around the South East corner Britain is unlikely to change there minds for when they next plan to fly.

Advertisement is never, ever straightforward.

A prime example is MOL at Ryanair.

What is the whole point of advertisement? For people to recognise the company surely? Who are we talking about now? Who are the newspaper talking about?

Compare the Meerkat is a cr*p advert in itself however it is arguably the best piece of promotional material since the Coca Cola Christmas advert.

If the proposition of the advertsing is "one stop to the world" almost every airport in the UK can offer that. Direct long haul remains limited forcing passengers to London for non stops or Euro and Middle East hubs. The facts are that passenger numbers are back to the levels of 10 years ago. We dont even have direct services to major European capitals. 18m fly but where are the 8m lost? I cant see this campaign changing things.

Personally I think the advertising campaign is to be applauded, well done the new MD.

An awful lot of potential passengers have absolutely no idea of the full range of long haul services from The UKs "Capital" provincial airport, fed as they are by the sterotypichal image that London is the "be all and end all".

...interestingly it is NOT just a few billboards, it is also targetted via email at CEOs / Senior Managers in an area of 25m people, North of Birmingham and West of Leeds.

There are more major cities within an hours drive of Manchesters catchment area than any other UK airport, located as it is, slapbang in the middle of the country, Manchester should by any "sensible measure" be their local international airport of choice.

Only LHR, LGW, MAN, BHX, GLA and NCL can offer that guarantee...

Anyone with a connection into FRA, CDG, AMS or DXB could say that in fairness IMHO. That is more then the above.

DXB yes, but the others? What flight flies non-stop CDG to SYD? Or FRA for that matter?:confused:

Those are the destinations served from DXB, AUH and/or DOH...

Unless you don't count SYD as a major city?

MUFC_fan,

Go compare! beats the meerkats hands down!

and dont forget if it wasn't important they wouldn't

do it.

MM

We can differ but we are digressing.

I think the advertisement campaign is something promising from the new man in charge...

Isn't this your 'wanting it both ways at once' logic rearing its head again. Spend months (years?) moaning about centralisation of air services in one place and how the regions are missing out. In the next breath, regions suddenly becomes region and you are making the case for centralising the services of half the country in Manchester. Do the politicians and business leaders of Brum', Leeds, Liverpool... really want this, or are they just as proud of their own regional identities are you are of Manchester's and would actually want to see their own airports develop - arguably at the expense of MAN. I'm not starting a willy waving war here - just pointing out the contradication.

As Going Loco points out, a contradiction could be read into MAN's latest advertising campaign. I read it as a sensible statement put with a touch of humour. We're seeing attrition now, as the always-suspect economics of mass low cost air travel are being questioned, even by one of the main protagonists - see the O'Leary thread elsewhere. Other than to traditional popular holiday destinations and one or two continental hubs, the North of England cannot sustain multiple departure points, the market is too small. Some centralisation is inevitable if direct links from this region to important worldwide destinations are to be maintained. If the northern market is fragmented, Heathrow or Amsterdam will be the main beneficiaries. The 1978 Airports White Paper had it about right, MAN is the gateway airport for northern England, just as Liverpool and Hull are the gateway sea ports. MAN will never rival Heathrow but can sustain direct services to key hubs worldwide if it can be allowed to attain critical mass. The 2003 White Paper which suggested that all UK airports can grow is flawed, as was most economic thinking at that time. MAN is still a publicly owned airport and is run for the public benefit. It still has amongst its stated aims to be run for the economic and social benefit of the region. Perhaps this public ownership should be wider-spread beyond just the immediate local authorities? That region could be the whole of the north of England. The surface links to MAN are already good, and they can get better. The North needs to act together and not like the feuding cities of medieval Italy. Some cities or regions are better placed to act in a certain capacity for the benefit of the whole of northern England. Each has a strength to offer. The privatisation of most airports has made such joined up thinking difficult, but not all may survive in their current form.

Flew out to Zurich yesterday morning. Queued on T1 ramp for access to car park 10 mins.
Got into depature hall, jammed with what seemed like an endless queue going somewhere. Checked in and found said queue snaking around hall 3 times was for security. 30 mins to get through.
If security can't cope with high volumes, surely it is time that either flight times are staggered more or seperate security points, one for charter the other for scheduled.

Manchester has always been my local airport, I lived in Stockport all my life, I worked at the airport for 19 years for the airline that FlyBe took over. I then had a slight career change and moved to Nottingham.

My new venture sees me flying to destinations all around the world and living in Nottingham I have a big choice, European destinations can be found from EMA, STN, LTN, BHX, LBA, and MAN, I have used them all. I do many a long haul too and have used BHX, MAN and LHR on a regular basis.

After 2 years of using all of the above I will not use MAN again. Everything that has been said in previous posts is true. Queue's are everywhere you look whether outbound or inbound, baggage, security, passport control all take an age, (in my opinion BHX is just as bad).

For all my recent flights I have driven to LHR, easy to get to, easy to park, easy to get through security and easy to retrieve your luggage on return, oh yes and security staff actually smile!.

Unfortunatly all the ad campaigns in the world won't get me back to MAN.

Going loco
 

The problem is that it will be a long time if ever that Leeds or Liverpool could support long haul routes, its been tried and failed.:{
That's not to say they they shouldn't keep trying.
Birmingham does better but even they are now losing long haul routes.
In my opinion Manchester is the only airport in the north west that has shown it can support long haul.

E.F.

Yes the New York route failed out of Liverpool but the PIA flights out of Leeds certainly haven't!

A TATL route operated by CO/UA, DL, US or AA would work from Liverpool but considering it's proximity to MAN I cannot see it happening any time soon.

Bradford has probably the largest (% wise) Pakistani community in the UK - an EK A332 would probably work from LBA! Yet again I cannot see it happening when they are clearly falling deeply in love with MAN.

MAN complains that LHR takes it's passengers yet MAN takes a hell of a lot from LBA, LPL, GLA, EDI, BHX, EMA etc.

Longhaul - LHR or MAN
 

There's also the cost issue as well. There is often a premium (call it something else if you like) when travelling from a regional airport on a longhaul flight. For example, when travelling to Singapore last year with SQ I found MAN fares to be approximately £100 more than the equivilent flights from LHR. As I'm between the two, the choice of LHR was quite simple really. That's aside from the fact that you're more restricted for options (airlines/routes/number of flights per day) when flying from somewhere that isn't LHR.

I don't think it's down to the 'regional' aspect, it's more due to supply and competition.

LHR is one of, if not THE most competitive long haul airport in the world so therefore SQ has be far more price competitive however good their hard/soft products are. Less supply=higher fares. Ask SRB...

EK at MAN is a prime example, as is SQ. Their prices are higher than they are from any other UK airport, the reason being that there simply isn't enough supply and they are able to get away with charging higher fares.

Simply take a look on EK's website and compare all UK dept points - I will almost guarantee that MAN has the highest fares, certainly in Y anyway...

If Oman, Gulf and, oh I don't know, Cathy, came into MAN, then fares would soon fall. Simple supply and demand.

I fly from Manchester on average at least twoce a month, and I cannot remember the last time there was a major queue at check in, security or immigration on return. I am no flying at non peak times either.

Maybe I am lucky or the others are unlucky but the same story can be true at all airports some of the time.

Isn't this your 'wanting it both ways at once' logic rearing its head again. Spend months (years?) moaning about centralisation of air services in one place and how the regions are missing out. In the next breath, regions suddenly becomes region and you are making the case for centralising the services of half the country in Manchester. Do the politicians and business leaders of Brum', Leeds, Liverpool... really want this, or are they just as proud of their own regional identities are you are of Manchester's and would actually want to see their own airports develop - arguably at the expense of MAN. I'm not starting a willy waving war here - just pointing out the contradication.

Quite frankly it's prop estrous to compare Manchester to Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool etc, they are in the wrong location, they do not have the transport links and in some instances are limited by both demand and indeed capacity.
Based on major populations centres then yes for "half the country" Manchester is much more convenient.

Granted there will always be exceptions, of course there will be some niche services that will be successful but Manchester is the only credible platform that can support a wider range of LH services.

It is centrally located and can therefore attract passengers not just from Manchester, a massive provincial capital in its own right it can also attract pax from regions on the margins as well. It is the second most popular overseas inward destination outside London so the traffic is not just one way, that is another important factor. With three terminals and two runways and vast apron space, it has the infrastructure to cope.

The question is whether it can be made more "commercially attractive" in terms of fare structures etc and also whether it can break the perception of simply being classed as nothing more than a regional airport.