Cathay to start MAN flights again !

[This Charming Man]

Starting Spring 05
2 x week , HKG -SVO - MAN and HKG- MUC - MAN . A340 a/c.

[EK]

Excellent news!

I'm surprised that Cathay are only operating twice a week and via Moscow / Munich? I would have thought there was demand for a non stop service to Hong Kong, look at the success of Malaysian and Sinagpore Airlines!
It's good news to hear that Cathay are coming back to Manchester though, long over due.

I wish them all the best!

[MEFLYBE]

WOW this is great news!

As well as Hong Kong, Manchester is getting a long overdue Moscow service. Will the flights go through DME or SVO? I am assuming CX will have full traffic rights between MAN and Moscow?

Well I gotta say if you want to go from MAN to Moscow, a CX A340 is the way to do it!

Regards

Mike

[BEST L/CONTROLLER]

It's about time CX are coming back,

I remember whe you could look across at terminal 2 from the multistorey carpark and see them all there SAA/CX/QF/SQ/DLx2/AAx2 when they used T2 that is.

Great new for MAN up our Northern airports weyhey!

CHEERS!!!!!!;)

[camwerd]

No need to go out there and ask them to come now.:sad:

[EGCC]

So is there a deffinite date set for the MAN flights? i've yet to hear an official announcement.

[This Charming Man]

EGCC - You will see a carefully timed announcement when everything is tied up AND the airline gives it's go ahead.

I understand that MAPlc will not do press releases without concurring with the airlines concerned.

I hear that further route announcements are in the offing (upto 10 !) so it's fingers crossed that they all come off :D

brgds

[elgan]

This is Great news for MAN. All i hope is that there will be more freqs added, and it will go Non-stop in the end.
Any idea where the 10 new destenations are This Charming Man?

[eggc]

Some candidates maybe....

Air India
Sri Lankan
Gulf Traveller
Qantas
South African

plus a few new long haul bmi's...

we'll see....

[elgan]

Hope so, that's all I say! I seemore bmi longers happeing hopefully in the next few months!

[This Charming Man]

Also further airlines/extra routes in the melting pot on top of what EGGC has accuratly posted are...

All Nippon 2x week (on behalf of Star Alliance)
China 3 x week TPE/BKK/MAN (Pax Flt)
Thomson Fly (New Base , expect announcment soon)
Continental 2nd daily Newark
HLX - more STR flts and a new unkown dest

I believe it's a race between Air India and BMI for the one license.

The only problem now is , given whats gone on recently , where do you park them all?

brgds

[aeulad]

I wish Gulf Air would start MAN-Bahrain. BAH has a higher O+D traffic level than DOH and with all the GF connections, surely some kind of service would be viable? They could operate BAH-MAN-DUB?

Regards

Mike

[eggc]

add Maersk to the list...

just announced daily CPH starting Autumn

[Adola69]

These services IF they materialize are indeed good to hear. What perplexes me is how are MA going to cope with them? They already have the biggest cul-de-sac in europe, with its problems of manoevering & parking etc.
Once upon a time they were the foremost in planning ahead and giving a very high level of service. Now I'm afraid it's " Lets see what totally ****e idea we can come up with that costs us virtually nothing"! i.e making the 24R passing bay an aircraft parking and loading area !! Which 'Einstein' thought of that?
If the service level agreement is anything to go by on the firm that maintains the lifts and walkways in the tube is anything to go by, ( One walkway out of service now 2 months, 1 lift T2 Never works) god help those new services, unless they come in at 1 a.m. and leave again before 4 am.!!

Any truth in the rumour that in order to perhaps gain a runway slot and ease parking that Cathay Pacific Cargo are trying to be encouraged to go the other MA bolt hole, Nottingham International! For gawds sake leave it out ( If it's true). We want more freighters not less. Use the Freight area for what it was built for not for parking dead aircraft. ( Air 'nta spring to mind).
I DO HOPE JEFF M***HEAD reads this. "Get some concrete down, in the right places, and make sure that the pieces we have don't keep having to be closed every 10 bleedin minutes to be repaired " Manchester must be the " Hot Pour " training center for Europe, as demonstrations in its use occur with monotonous regularity.
But We've got a Concorde!!

Whinge over, - best of luck.

[Dragonball]

Wouldn't want to pee on your parade, but the UK CX management have already stated a preference for a fourth flight at LHR, than returning to MAN.

[Bagso]

If Cathay don't come that's their loss.... !

.. they sold MAN down the river 4 years ago when BA marketing stuck their sticky fingers in their pie !

( ...more for Emirates, I'll take a 3rd, 4th and 5th Emirates service any day ... or how about a European base ? )

that said how on earth can 4 CX flights a day make money ?

With BA and their buddies QANTAS that makes about 8 a day to HKG ....barmy!

It's getting to the stage where all the slots into Manchester will be used up soon anyway, this might have something to do with the unseemly scramble for route applications, so they will be stuffed anyway

....they will then have to go to either LGW or god forbid Stansted.
( get the wellies out ! )

[Caslance]

Stop taking it all so personally, Bagso.

Both Cathay Pacific and QANTAS are in business to make a profit and it's reasonable to assume that they made their decisions to further that aim, not to affront the good burghers of Manchester.

[Dragonball]

Bagso. I don't think Cathay sold MAN down the river, lets not forget at that time there was a lot of trouble with industrial action from crews

As for how do they make a 4th flight pay, it's easy when your turning away passengers form your other flights due to full loads.

[Bagso]

totally disgaree chaps - Caslance and Drgaonball !

Obviously its only a personal view but if the tie up bewteen BA and its partners airlines was not as strong I really doubt that you would not have seen either airline pullout !

Maybe I'm a cynic but over 30 years I saw objection after objection come in for route applications ex Manchester all from the same airline and all aimed at putting airlines off developing direct service from Manchester.

To be honest I don't actually blame them, why would they want a major hub 200 miles up the road offering direct service.......

BUT pardon me if I raise an eyebrow when two airlines who succesfuly operated daily direct services then pulled the plug within 12 months of a so called strategic alliance.

..or was that purely coincidental ?

All I want is free competition !

[MAN777]

At the time of QF pulling out I dont recall them hiding the fact that it was BA who were pulling the strings. It was a sad loss as QF were early pioneers of long long haul out of MAN. I believe that CX was more a victim of the economic downturn and political change in HK, the tourist industry was decimated there after the handover.

Still these airline losses were replaced quickly by the likes of EK, Qatar, Malaysian and Singapore, they have prospered at QFs CXs expense. Token feeder services by QF on 146s will not be tolerated by canny northerners, they would much rather make the transfer in luxury half way there, rather than endure the cess pit and chaos of LHR.

[Caslance]

Sadly, Bagso, that's exactly how strategic alliances work in the cold hard world of business - each partner operates in their own "territory" and they pass cross-territory business to one another.

[This Charming Man]

Sadly , Caslance , YOU miss the point of Bagso's original post.

He may of blamed CX when really what he is saying is that the stratigic alliance that they have with BA has lead to BA pulling the strings , and in his view (and he has a point) CX used the economic downturn in Asia and crewing issues were a poor excuse. If you talk to the (ex !)
CX staff at MAN they tell you that the service was in the companys top 6 for loads and profiability. They had to turn pax away towards the end of the service because of the stops in Europe taking the rest of the seats.What gave it away was that 3 months later CX announce a new extra daily service to LHR !

BA in return also got extra slots at HKG because the agreement stipulates that they run from the same airports.

best rgds

[Caslance]

I don't think I'm missing anything, TCM.

The world of business is a jungle, and the airline business is no exception.

[Dragonball]

This Charming Man.
Not sure CX were in the top six for profit and loads when the decision was made, and we certainly wasn't turning punters away.
Having said that, MAN figures weren't the worst in the CX network, and I believe the final decision was between MAN and AMS.
HKG chose to pull out of a city rather than out of a country. I know that is one factor that influenced the decision.
It would be fantastic to see the CX pax flight return to MAN, with the large asian population we have in the north, I'm convinced the loads and profits would also return.

[This Charming Man]

I agree with you Lance that business is business . But do you agree that the world's favourite does'nt like it when someone is successful at MAN and MAN is then used as a porn in their business world . Subsiquently , services get chopped or never start up like it now looks that Cathay is a dead duck ?

best rgds

[jtr]

PORN, did someone say PORN??? Oh sorry false alarm.

[Caslance]

I agree with you, TCM, but that's not the same thing as saying I like it or that it doesn't happen anywhere else .;)