What news about FlyBe any more routes out off Man next year and BiBaby got some news routes too ?

In response to the A380 queries, the first flight is still confirmed as Wed 1st September. Although a 'small snag,' is the delivery of the No: 2 airbridge which will service the upper deck. According to a very good source within the planning team, this isn't due to be delivered to the airport site until very, very late August (Best estimate at the moment!.)

To add to this, even though the 1st flight is the 1st of September, the 'inaugural' flight is, I believe, Saturday 4th September.

Emirates, together with MAG, have decided to invite the regions'/countries'/worlds' press to the 'inaugural' flight 3 days after the 1st flight so as to hopefully iron out any problems that may occur during the first 3 turnarounds and to hopefully have a few less hanger-on-ers around and about. we'll see.

Airbridges are still on their way from China via ship apparently :8

QANTAS
 

Just heard a rumour that QANTAS are starting back at MAN, anybody know anything?

Just heard a rumour that QANTAS are starting back at MAN, anybody know anything?

Might be them getting confused with our yearly QF2 service which is due on sunday. Unlike other years though, the QF2 is originating at MAN and not LHR.

However, Jetstar are getting B787's and we are apparently 1st or 2nd on the list of European destinations due to start when the B787's come online. The other 1st or 2nd is AMS

Although a 'small snag,' is the delivery of the No: 2 airbridge which will service the upper deck. According to a very good source within the planning team, this isn't due to be delivered to the airport site until very, very late August

Im getting a bit worried about this gate fiasco. Typical UK planning, do everything at the last minute and find the cheapest alternative possible. If that 2nd jetbridge is installed by 1st september Id be very very surprised. If the actual structure is not due to arrive until end of August, its will be another week at least before its installed and tested.
Dont forget, the upper deck is the F/J deck, so I dont think EK are going to be too amused by this!

Good on you MAG, lets give the world a perfect example of how to p:mad:s of your best customer :ugh:

I bloody knew something wouldn't be ready, didn't think it would be a delay of one of the airbridge's though. So is the first one attached yet? How's the re-decorating going in Pier B? I was in Pier B two weeks ago and then it seems to be the arrivals side that was being done, departures still looked terrible. Please, Please get rid of that horrible carpet and dirty old style windows on the western side were gates 4, 6, 8 & 10 are, gate 2 seems to look more modern from the outside, why was this updated only?

I don't quite get the Pier B extension, after gate 11 in Pier B, what were gates 12 & and the old gate 15, there seems to be plenty of space for the A380 passengers then there is a grey/silver extension attached to Pier B which is the new stand 12 and also has a new stand 15 next to stand 11 (confusing isn't the word) what is the grey/silver extension for if the passengers are going to be waiting at the end of Pier B for gate 12 boarding.

Stand 12 Airbridge 1 will appear very very soon

Hey,

With regards to Qantas;

QF6022 is due from London at 18:50 on Sunday and is due to depart as QF0002 at 21:45 for Bangkok and Sydney. Aircraft is a 744 operating from T1.

CabinCrew747

MAN often seems to fall under the radar but I think EK's decision to launch the A380 from MAN plus EY and I believe QR not giving up but also increasing capacity may turn the heads of a few CEO's...

Would be great to see Jetstar in MAN.

I'll go down now and state: the 787 will be the saviour and making of Manchester Airport.

MUFC_fan

'I'll go down now and state: the 787 will be the saviour and making of Manchester Airport'

As long as it delivers on costs 2 years + down the line.

MM

Given that's exactly what the B767 was supposed to do before the world retreated to Alliance hubs I seriously doubt it. Remember any Jetstar punter flying direct to MAN is one less flying QANTAS. Not for nothing did BA sell Go, competing against yourself is seldom successful.

What Jetstar marketing want and QANTAS management allow are not the same thing. You can have hub busting B787s at MAN or a fleet of A380s at LHR, unlikely you'll see both.

Exactly what do you want MAN saved from? Looking pretty good from where I am and looking forward to flying through again in a fortnight.

Skipness,

A Jetstar punter flying from Manchester is NOT one less flying QANTAS. It may be one less flying QF's competitors (EK, QR, EY, SQ etc.), but rarely QANTAS itself. The notoriously unreliable LHR Shuttle followed by a stressful transfer at Europe's worst major airport is an ordeal that most clued-up Northerners rejected long ago. Despite all the codeshares, BA MAN-LHR frequencies have eroded from 12x daily to 8x daily and most Shuttle flights are operated by A319/A320 versus B752/B763 ten years ago. That is because LHR connections are not attractive to us up here whether the OneLondon Alliance carriers like it or not. Their convenience is not our concern.

QANTAS have a simple choice. If they want to stick with LHR only that is fine; it is their commercial choice as a business and good luck to them. But if they seriously believe that those ex-LHR flights will attract MAN-originating pax to the full potential of the market then they are delusional. A Jetstar schedule from MAN is QANTAS' best prospect for making inroads into the Gulf carriers' dominance of the 'Kangaroo Route' from the North.

SHED.

The argument of using B757/763s on the shuttles 10 years ago, vs A320s nowadays, a lot of that has to come down to the improvements made in the railways, more and more people are choosing to take the train down to London from Manchester than fly, hence the smaller a/c ?

Of course, people are still using LHR as a transit point hence why I believe BA are adding an extra LHR rotation from MAN in place of a LGW flight from the winter schedules as well

GrahamK,

Your comment regarding domestic travel is valid but it does not invalidate my own point. The railways have made inroads into the Manchester-London market. However, the cutbacks in BA MAN-LHR Shuttles were evident well before the West Coast Main Line upgrade was completed. Returning to my point regarding Skipness' post, EK/EY/QR/SQ have established themselves as the carriers of choice on the 'Kangaroo Route' from the North. I'm sure that QANTAS themselves are well aware that their LHR transfers are significantly disadvantaged against these more reliable and superior* products.

* 'Superior' here refers not to onboard cabin service, but to the transfer experience at LHR and the notorious unreliability of the frequently cancelled MAN-LHR Shuttles.

SHED.

Ironically, the reason for adding an extra evening LHR shuttle during the winter is to cater for the increased transfer pax heading downunder for the southern hemisphere summer.

Well that's nice to know but me and mine will stick with EK via DXB, thanks!

Only fly in the ointment with Jetstar appearing at MAN is that they seem to be planning on hubbing their flights towards Europe through Singapore. Given that MAN already has a service to Singapore I wouldn't be at all surprised if that moved us down the list.

With regard to the trains - just got back from a long weekend in London, and for the first time in probably 10 years went on the train. Just under 2 hours Stockport-Euston, for less than £90 return for 2 adults and a child, and unless your final destination is nearer LHR (or LGW) than the city centre then it's a no-brainer. Could have got it cheaper but only booked a couple of weeks ahead.

Shed I agree with you, and if I were in Manchester I would not choose to fly all that way with two stops rather than one. However, airlines are not uniform bodies, companies can be quite competitive internally and the business case for the A380 and the SQUILLIONS of dollars that was spent on the hardware was to get as many peeps as possible on board QANTAS with good seat mile costs.

Jetstar was partially created to retain the QANTAS presence in markets they were unable to be competitive, this collides full on with the introduction of the A380 into London as this was bought to ensure QANTAS remains competitive in delivering armies of Aussies to it's Oneworld partners at the European end to connect onto their final destinations.

It's not that long ago that BA were booking people over LHR-JFK rather than the direct MAN-JFK service as it can depend on "whose" passengers they are within a company. It's barmy but it's true. MAN is better off with Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, but I feel many still pine for the old legacy days of the old flag carriers and will never admit it. Now that's also barmy but I do understand it.

The 767 is not as efficient as the 787 for obvious reasons. It is not fair to compare the aircraft by airline preferance over aircraft performance. Look at it this way: TOM are looking to fly to destinations such as Honolulu, Vietnam etc. - these would not have been possible with the 767.

As people have mentioned, flying Jetstar doesn't exactly mean moving over from Qantas. What a naive statement. What about EK, SQ, QR, EK, TK, AY or SK?

You mean like LH owning LX or BA owning EC? It all goes into the same pocket although they technically 'compete.'

I somehow doubt that...

Although EK, QR, EY etc. have contributed significantly, the trains are one of the massive factors.

A couple of years ago I would agree - but have you used T5? Far better than DXB, DOH and AUH put together IMO.

Lest we forget that at one point BA/QF owned the so-called 'Kangaroo route' yet the carriers you mentioned managed to dismount them from their perch. Could it not happen again?

As mentioned above, the days of terrible transfers at LHR have gone, certainly where BA is concerned!

I think what is "barmy" is how naive people on here are. The majority of passengers that actually count (J and F) don't themselves choose who they fly with! You really think sales execs of, for example, a pharmaceutical company, decide whether they fly EK or BA simply on which they prefer? Those days went only 3 years ago. It is all down to contracts etc. If you're based in Manchester and you're having to go to SYD and your company is prone to using BA - guess what? Your going via LHR...

I know it isn't as black and white as that but remember - would BA rather have 10 F passengers flying MAN-LHR-the world on one of their A319s or 149 Y flying MAN-LHR? The shuttle isn't there to make money, it's there to provide LHR with the lucrative long haul passengers.

Just my 2 cents!