As one of MAN's most frequent users for years, I can confirm that claims that it is a 'World Class facility' are deluded.

The infrastructure and two of the terminals (T1 and T3) are poor compared to other similar sized airports.

Here, have some Manchester news (that doesn't mention H******w)

Latest News & Updates | Airport City Manchester

260000 sq ft logistics unit.

Hong Kongs 60 millionth passenger this year came off the MAN-HKG flight. But of random trivia there.

As one of MAN's most frequent users for years, I can confirm that claims that it is a 'World Class facility' are deluded.

It depends how you define the term "World Class", much is subjective based on the passengers own journey.

If you live in one of 30+ major towns in the North of England and are able to hop on at your local railway station and alight without any change in stations in the centre of the airport, well to the 4m passengers who use the facility that "might" be deemed as World Class.

The £800m construction of Airport City "might" be deemed as "World Class".

Being stuck at an airport for up to 13 hours after three of your electrical sub-stations serving the airfield become submerged coupled to unrestrained (I think that was the term) baggage containers hurtling around the airfield like confetti and subsequently knocking out the ILS......the sum of which left 000s of passengers stuck at the airport on Christmas Day

hmmm well , would you view that as "World Class" !

Manchester may have its faults , but probably no more or less than any other airport !

With regards "Gatwick Obviously" it just needs a further word adding at the end "Not".


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The M E N has some additional images of the proposed warehouse project which may be of interest and provide a sense of scale !

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co....-sq-ft-8313028

Come on, aside from destinations served and airline choice, MAN is not a world class airport.


T3 is a hole, inside and out, T1 is an over-crowded, maze ridden mess that looks horrid approaching from land-side and T2 just about suits its purpose but constrained by a bottleneck at T1. Pier C at T1 internally is just dire. Its draughty, has amirrored ceiling and having to wait on jetbridges to disembark because another flight is boarding is just laughable


The old tower still looms over the airfield lie a 50' throwback and the airport layout in general is just messy.


So come on bagso, I'm not ashamed to be a MAN fan, but, lets not dress the place up to be something its not, it does need a complete re-build, and, for the airlines served and population served, infrastructure wise, its an embarrassment.


MAN needs a complete re

Someone mentioned earlier that SV are showing only 3 x weekly again for next summer with a reply that summer changes may not have been uploaded yet.
What is the situation with Etihad where the schedules from April show the morning flight reverting to a A332? Is the upgrade to a B777 on that flight only temporary?

Re the old tower, I suspect it has to be there for contingency purposes. I know the old tower in DUB is still fully kitted out in case there is a fire in the main one, and is used a couple of times a year operationally for training and testing of equipment

There is no ATC contingency at MAN.
The old tower is defunct.

Bagso

Much as I admire your enthusiasm etc, I do feel that it clouds your vision of reality.

There really genuinely is nothing world class about the facilities at MAN. If you really think so, you need to get about more.
The suggestion that a proposed new warehouse - you provided a link to the story - is some kind of evidence, is well wide of the mark. It's a bog standard warehouse that might struggle to make an impact in Warrington just down the road.

The best news in recent times on the infrastructure front is that it seems at long last that the 'powers that be' have woken to the fact that much of what exists is no longer up to the job and there are plans to bulldoze much of it and start again.

The departure gates in T1 are outdated and shabby. Now compare T1 departure gates to Airports like Zurich, Schipol and dare I say it T5 Heathrow. Manchester could learn from DBX, DOH and ABU on what they have done/doing to their Airport terminals.

Far better looking at Hong Kong, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Incheon.

Heard rumblings today about a potential 4th daily EK, but they were no more than rumours.

Seems CX is doing fantastically well, SV loads also impressive.

We know the ME3 are doing OK aswell, but nobody ever mentions SQ.

Although really happy CX are now at MAN, SQ must be getting squeezed all the time. Be a real blow if SQ were lost.

So I was wondering what loads SQ are getting, and what their reaction to more ME3, and now CX, would potentially be ?

I'd like to think a direct service rather than a pull out !!

Terminals 1 and 3 at MAN are similar to my local football club (Sheffield Wednesday's) Hillsborough stadium, modern, maybe even World class, in the 1960's but crumbling, outdated and totally left behind by more modern facilities today. Not sure exactly when T1 had become a gloomy rabbit warren but the sooner it's replaced the better.

"world class" at MAN
 

Define "world class".........

Anyone who is widely travelled will tell you that there are many airports much, much worse than Ringway.

TAP could be about to go 19 weekly for S15, but, also likely there is a bug in the GDS.


TP326 LIS 0705 MAN 1000
TP321 MAN 1045 LIS 1335


A319/F100 daily from 30/4/15


TP324 LIS 0735 MAN 1025
TP329 MAN 1110 LIS 1400


A319/A321 daily currently operating


TP322 LIS 1340 MAN 1630
TP323 MAN 1710 LIS 2005


A319/F100 wed/thu/fri/sun currently operating.


I am assuming glitch as seems odd operating 2 flights so close together, unless to add capacity at a needed time of day for connections, but, currently all flights are bookable on GDS, however TP326/321 not bookable on website.


I suppose time will tell what happens

And there are so many different aspects of the air experience to consider...check in, security, immigration, airside facilities, efficiency of handlers, queues for take off/landing and thus punctuality. Everyone will have a different experience and value different aspects. I find Manchester 'acceptable'; my local airport DSA is a delight to fly from but that's because it's so quiet and rather pointless unless you want to get sunburnt or fly to Eastern Europe; Schipol has superb terminal facilities but if your plane lands on the wrong runway you have a tour of West Holland before the plane arrives at the terminal...and, as FDF says, try defining what 'world class' means.

Hey there, just looking on the flybe website and its saying that they fly from Manchester to Warsaw. You can't book flights but i was just wondering if anyone had anymore info. I know Ryanair fly there and it seems as if the flights are doing well, but i didn't think flybe had it in them to compete with Ryanair?

Flybe seem to have snuck in a 1 weekly Lyon on Saturdays this winter. Bookable on their website too. Didn't see any info about it being launched.


BE3191/3192 departs MAN 0830.

Not naive nor deluded i recognise that MAN has faults BUT as do, other airports. I used to make numerous references to the Olympian efforts of the "Hot Pour Team".

My point is the arrogance that an airport like Gatwick has in making pompous claims that by declaring that if they get a second runway the UK gets two World class airports. Sorry it does not !

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Reading the BA/IAG thread it is is interesting that the UK contingent seem to view slots into LHR as the main prize, whereas the Irish see the advantages of feed from the regions re preclearance at DUB as something that BA would be interested in.

If it is the latter AND is making what appears to be a huge difference to DUBs fortunes, why is MAN not more vocal in exploring this ?

AND assuming MAN could obtain this where would you put it ?

I "think" WR mentioned West end of T2 ?

But if that end is the one to be extended is that dooable ?

Assuming then they were sufficiantly insentivised because of the preclearance would there be room to move the three AA flights to T2, this would allow 3 more based RYR to slot in ?

OR would this jeapordise AAs own connections through T3 decapitating poss FlyBe connections, assuming there is significant enough traffic connecting via MAN ?

A good question. Generally, SQ have picked up this last 12 months so it will be interesting to see what happens in Dec/Jan after the introduction of CX, given that there was plenty of advance notice of the new CX service for travellers to consider the options for say Australia and New Zealand.

From the CAA stats for SQ for the last 3 months:

Month Average Load % increase on prior year
Sep 166 18%
Oct 125 5%
Nov 108 4%

Dec'13 160 6%

The average loads (hopefully correctly calculated) assume all flights operated in the month, but could be misleading dependent on pax just flying Manchester-Munich. Sorry the numbers don't separate better on posting)

It might also be worthwhile keeping an eye on the figures for ME3 for a possible impact there.

I've not checked but I assume SQ is bookable from MAN for next winter with the same Munich stop.

Certainly CX seems to have made a very encouraging start.