Having just been delayed over 24 hours in Frankfurt, where queues to rebook flights were in excess of three hours, where there were poor queue managment, limited help, poor facilities or information for stranded pax , escalators not working etc etc. Manchester was a palatial breeze to arrive back into. gate 25 to rail station 20 minutes.
They (FRA) had a fraction of the snow we have had in Manchester- but the airport ground to a halt for hours. ( ice & de-icing issues)
Manchester has a fraction of the resources some other places have and don't do a bad job.
The nature of air travel these days and the drive for low cost everything will mean that people will have good and bad experiences wherever they are, Manchester being no exception.

``Pully, your obviously a man who likes smaller airports, straight in straight out with only 1-2 departures either side for the quiter experience, so no point trying to change your mind.``

Right in one Old Boy but doesnt everyone?????

``Pully, your obviously a man who likes smaller airports, straight in straight out with only 1-2 departures either side for the quiter experience, so no point trying to change your mind.``

Right in one Old Boy but doesnt everyone?????

Yes would be great, but one of the downsides of offering the level of flights/service MAN does, is that unfortunatly it will get busy.
You cant expect MAN to handle 3-4 times the amount of traffic LPL does, but then expect the queitness of LPL at the same time.
Aint gunna happen no matter how much you moan :=

They (FRA) had a fraction of the snow we have had in Manchester- but the airport ground to a halt for hours. ( ice & de-icing issues)
Manchester has a fraction of the resources some other places have and don't do a bad job.

To put in in perspective, at least we are not closed until 06:00 tomorrow, like LGW is!!!!

Right in one Old Boy but doesnt everyone?????

No not really. I actually know quite a few people (mainly leisure orientated passengers it has to be said) who love MAN because of the buzz it has. It's ok us guys who fly on a very regular basis to have pre-conceptions of what people want in all aspects of the airport/airline experience but there are a whole swaithe of people out there who enjoy the buzz of a busy airport and they love the shopping mall style departure lounge. My partner for example despairs at me when we go on holiday because he wants to be at the airport early to enjoy the airport experience, the shops, the bar etc etc. Consequently he doesn't particularly like LPL but at the end of the day, if he needs to fly from somewhere to get to somewhere then he will.......because at the end of the day thats what an airport is there for.

Thats not to say that many don't like small, minimal fuss airports because they do however it's no good slating every little thing just because you prefer one type of facility to another.

I've never come across anyone who likes being in an airport for more than the minimum time. Well, perhaps one or two people.
The quicker the experience the better IMO.

Back on topic, I used Terminal 3 yesterday morning and found it pretty efficient. Arrived by train at 07.30 and on the plane at 08.15. Excellent - and this is a regular occurrence as I do this every week.

You will find plenty of passengers on the bucket and spade routes (mainly) who treat the airport as part of the holiday. The shops, the atmosphere is all part and parcel of that hence why people spend and support retail at the airport.

As you say you fly on a regular basis like myself so I appreciate your own point of view, I'm the same and thats why my partner as I said, despairs of me as he loves the airport.

Latest METAR says that Manchester is SNOCLO but can't find anything anywhere else. Can anybody confirm/deny?

still aircraft arriving, but LPL is snowclo by the looks of it. 2 easyjet and 1 ryanair holding

After a bit of snow clearance its open again.

Rumour from another site,source is usually good.
Second Emirates 380 to start at the end of March.
From a.net BKK not getting second daily 380,but continuing with 777.
Jubilee

I guess there was a brief SNOCLO for an inspection but was only a few minutes

Seems there is a lot of conflicting info on the status of the airport. Somebody already mentioned the state of the arrival boards last night.

This morning I heard that approach anticpated a SNOCLO which didn't happen and had stuff holding and diverting..... and I was told the other day that the airport twitter was telling people that the airport was closed by snow when it wasn't!

Perhaps MAN should use Sky News as their official outlet as they are always correct....:eek:

Suzeman

Intersting that when I write Tw*tter in the text it comes up as PPrune. Are they related?

MAN was SNOCLO at 10pm last night for approx. 50 mins so to clear the snow and put down anti-ice. Some aircraft diverted whilst the rest were in the hold.

As for today they have been on top of it for most of the day. It was SNOCLO was about 15 mins this afternoon but the snowbrush and ice vehicles are constantly working.

Hats off to MAN for a vastly improved plan this year round.

A couple of aircraft landed at about 2300 and then it closed again. At midnight they were saying 0100. Don't know when it actually re-opened. According to the MEN 15 flights diverted

Suzeman

PS - now SNOCLO again 1900

Ah right! Also just realised MAN was SNOCLO and they've just opened it 2 minutes ago. It's been closed for at least an hour or two i'd say.

Looks like it was SNOCLO for an hour or so.

The current Winter Ops plan is here

http://www.magworld.co.uk/magweb.nsf...LWinterOpsPlan

Suzeman

Hic Burp
 

From UK Airport News 01.12.10

Epernay, the Champagne bar with branches in Manchester and Leeds, has launched its first outlet in the travel retail sector, with a new venue at Manchester Airport. Airside in Terminal 1, the 160 cover bar mirrors the style and offer of Epernay’s city centre sites. However, as a reflection of the broader clientele base and environment of this new location, the airport branch also includes a food menu.

As with its downtown venues, the drinks list here features nearly 100 Champagnes, including a number of older vintages and rarities. There are 11 different Champagnes available by the glass. A selection of ‘speciality Champagnes’ is also available to order by the glass, changing on a seasonal basis.

In addition to a concise but carefully thought out selection of still wines, beers and spirits, the bar offers four pages dedicated to cocktails. The food menu has a distinctly rustic French feel, including oysters, cheese and meat platters, French onion soup or beef Bourguignon.

See this being a bit hit with the locals.....:rolleyes:. But what's this - no Boddingtons?......

Suzeman

Arrivals information
 

Agree with the earlier comment about the dysfunctional arrivals board. Whilst monitoring live traffic using a well known piece of flight tracking software last night I could see several aircraft in the hold which then dispersed to divert to Liverpool, East Midlands, Birmingham and Heathrow, including a BA flight which had originated at Heathrow, yet the live flight arrivals on the Manchester Airport website continued to show expected arrivals. Had I been at the airport to meet someone on any of these flights I would have been very annoyed at the lack of true information.

Diversions
 

Good Morning

I Noticed yesterday that Manchester stated they were Not excepting diversions except for Emergencies.

Then low behold a PIA 310 arrived diversion from Leeds whic had been known about for 2-3 Hours.

Is there are reson why Manchester were not accepting Diversions ?

Is there an eception to that rule which permitted PIA to Land

Fly Be were told no diversions accepted (What is the difference)

a Q400 takes a lot less space than a 310 howvever it does not ear as much Revenue for the Airport (Ah is that the answer)



Regards

The PIA 'divert' was actually pre planned into MAN before the no diverts notam, and even though it said 'diverted' on the arrivals board, it was actually 'scheduled' into MAN.

With it looking likely LHR having some issues in the next few hours, the no divs notam may be lifted, as a few longhaulers low on fuel may be looking to get in. (although that may constitute an 'emergency' so may let them in anyway)