Manchester-2

[Scottie Dog]

I'm given to understand that the next stage in the project will be the start of work on the new taxiway Echo. This is scheduled from 3rd June through until mid-November.

[Scottie Dog]

Breaking news is that Ethiopian will start a 4 x weekly service from Manchester to Addis Ababa.

[ETOPS]

start of work on the new taxiway Echo

Is there a handy map showing where this new taxiway is sited?

[Scottie Dog]

Is there a handy map showing where this new taxiway is sited?

I'll try to upload a map later in the day when I'm on the laptop.

[LAX_LHR]

Cracking news to get Ethiopian on board. A return of a sub Saharan link has been a long time coming!

[Dobbo_Dobbo]

Cracking news to get Ethiopian on board. A return of a sub Saharan link has been a long time coming!

here here.

Hopefully it gets de-linked from BRU before too long.

[Scottie Dog]

Not a very clear map however hopefully it may help.

The work I refer to will be towards the very southern end of the proposed layout, roughly on a line be intermediate holding points C2 and D4. Please note that this diagram is not necessarily the final layout and is subject to change

https://image.ibb.co/cmP65d/Screenshot_20180514_082244.png

[Mr A Tis]

Ethiopian

Anyone know if they will have traffic rights MAN-BRU-MAN sectors?

[paully]

When do they start?

[chaps1954]

1st December 2018

Ian

[LAX_LHR]

Flights will be:

ET724 ADD 0045 BRU 0530/0630 MAN 0655
ET725 MAN 1900 BRU 2115/2215 ADD 0600

no 5th freedoms.

[BHX5DME]

Great news for MAN a great addition.

[LAX_LHR]

Also worth noting Ethiopian is expected to be just one of 3 new long haul airlines this winter.

[ATNotts]

Also worth noting Ethiopian is expected to be just one of 3 new long haul airlines this winter.

Adding new long haul in the winter (low) season is very impressive. Manchester have really taken that vital step forward from being a (the) principal airport outside London to become a major international gateway that airlines have ambitions to serve, in the same manner that Munich has transitioned in recent years. For businesses looking to locate and source property and staff at sensible prices this transition makes not just northwest England but central and northeast England ever more attractive places to base, if only London centric bosses can see beyond the magnet that is the capital. All that needs to follow if decent surface infrastructure, but i'm not holding my breath on that one!

[Dobbo_Dobbo]

Flights will be:

ET724 ADD 0045 BRU 0530/0630 (tel:0530/0630) MAN 0655
ET725 MAN 1900 BRU 2115/2215 ADD 0600

no 5th freedoms.

Terminal 2 I assume?

[Mr A Tis]

Doesn't ET724 currently route ADD- BRU via VIE ?

Is VIE being dropped in favour of the MAN add on? or are we looking at a 2 stop to ADD ?

[LAX_LHR]

I think VIE is being reshuffled to have new flight numbers.

[SWBKCB]

Flights will be:

ET724 ADD 0045 BRU 0530/0630 MAN 0655
ET725 MAN 1900 BRU 2115/2215 ADD 0600

no 5th freedoms.

Have I read that right - 12 hour stop at MAN?

[LAX_LHR]

Yes, that’s right. Most ET Euro flights day stop.

[MARK9263]

Also worth noting Ethiopian is expected to be just one of 3 new long haul airlines this winter.
Who are the other two?

[Scottie Dog]

Who are the other two?

That would be telling........
:E

[Curious Pax]

There’s the Thai rumour that resurfaced recently, and then the Jet Airways/Virgin thing to India. Plus you wouldn’t rule out something Chinese, so 2 of those 3 perhaps?

[LAX_LHR]

Hot on today’s announcement, there will be an Ethiopian A350 due on 26th. Arrives 0730 departs 0900.

[Scottie Dog]

A slightly better map for ETOPS to explain the location of the initial work on new taxiway Echo - this appears to be the building of fillets across current taxiway Bravo.

https://image.ibb.co/bZ3tLd/Screenshot_20180514_191509.png[

[SWBKCB]

Update from the Evening News - don't know how much of this is new.

Has the 'super terminal' idea been downgraded? Here's what bosses have to say (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-airport-terminals-new-plan-14651399)

[Dobbo_Dobbo]

Update from the Evening News - don't know how much of this is new.

Has the 'super terminal' idea been downgraded? Here's what bosses have to say (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-airport-terminals-new-plan-14651399)




I have tried to summarise the key points and some thoughts on the article in the MEN below - I hope it's an accurate and fair summary!

1 - some design elements (e.g. living wall) are not set in stone. This is because final decisions are being postponed until the last possible moment to incorporate the latest technology.

2 - however, some design element decisions have been taken, for example teardrop check in desks and bag drops (I assume a similar design to MUC).

3 - whatever the design decision, the end result is intended to achieve the wow factor.

4 - T1 still set for demolition "in the long term".

5 - the intention is still to have three piers, with an intention to add a fourth in future (see below).

6 - USPC is still in negotiation, but it is complicated because it requires US and UK government approval. It is fair to say that both governments have plenty on their plate right now, so I wouldn't expect anything soon.

7 - the size of the terminal extension is actually bigger than first forecast (albeit on a smaller footprint?). The initial plan was a 140% size increase but it is actually 150% larger.

8 - we know the west pier has been demolished, I wonder what the future holds for the east pier (the new baggage hall is bolted on to the rear of it) and the interior of the existing terminal building.

9 - the taxiway is larger than initially planned, presumably because MAN anticipates increased use of A330/B787 sized aircraft.

10 - the piers have "evolved" and not necessarily "shrunk". Interestingly, it is claimed that one pier (presumably not the one under construction) includes an "extra lounge". I did not know any pier contained a lounge, I assume this is a new (but welcome) development.

11 - stands increase from 105 to 112. The number of air bridges at T2 will increase from 12 to 28 (I assume this is based on 3 piers rather than 4).

12 - look and feel: the terminal building promises panoramic views through large glass windows, large porches are at the entrance, and the living wall may be replaced by a multimedia space. I hope the new look and feel is replicated in the old building so that it has a consistent internal feel.

13 - the forecourt is a concept. I'm not sure it should be that complicated to finalise, but I hope the external (forecourt and airside view) has a consistent look and feel from the new build to the old.

14 - lots of new car parking (IMO sensible, but the road network needs to cope!)

15 - no funds diverted to STN, the cost is now in excess of £1bn.

[Curious Pax]

Interesting the phrases used in the MEN preamble sound familiar. Methinks the author has been frequenting these parts!

[caryh]

7 - the size of the terminal extension is actually bigger than first forecast (albeit on a smaller footprint?). The initial plan was a 140% size increase but it is actually 150% larger.



This has likely been achieved using the new mezzanine they say has been added.

[JerseyAero]

Hot on today’s announcement, there will be an Ethiopian A350 due on 26th. Arrives 0730 departs 0900.

I assume this is a football flight for the Champion's League final in Kiev ? making use of the aircraft that usually sits around at LHR all day?

Thanks

[Dobbo_Dobbo]

This has likely been achieved using the new mezzanine they say has been added.

I presumed this, but am not clear if the mezzanine has been created by increasing the roof space or by squeezing an extra floor into the existing building size.

[The96er]

12 - look and feel: the terminal building promises panoramic views through large glass windows, large porches are at the entrance, and the living wall may be replaced by a multimedia space. I hope the new look and feel is replicated in the old building so that it has a consistent internal feel.

The airport must have a different idea as to what constitutes 'glass' , because what's on show at the moment looks far from impressive with absolutely minimal use of glass.

[Dobbo_Dobbo]

.@BTVI Exclusive: Sources say #JetAirways board approves expansion of International network. Jet Airways to add four New Flights in Six Months. New routes decided;
Mumbai-London, Mumbai-Manchester,Delhi-London, Mumbai - Sydney
@jetairways

[azz767]

https://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/media-centre/press-releases/trans-atlantic-partnership.html

can we see this affecting the MAN operation in any way? Delta have done well out of this none the less

[j636]

Traffic Statistics | Manchester Airport (http://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/about-us/publications/traffic-statistics/)

April traffic, small drop but domestic had a strong month.

[LFC22]

The airport must have a different idea as to what constitutes 'glass' , because what's on show at the moment looks far from impressive with absolutely minimal use of glass.
It underwhelms, to say the least. I was expecting modern glass piers such as the ones at FRA but instead we've got dull grey, to blend in with the Manchester weather I assume

[LAX_LHR]

Thomas Cook increasing MAN-CUN to 8 weekly next summer, up from 6 weekly. Tuesday’s will see 2 flights, one at 0930 and one at 0935!

however, remains to be seen if that capacity stays bookable, due to the rampant gang crime, Cancun is quickly loosing its appeal amongst the Brits at the moment.

[BHX5DME]

Can confirm the ETH359 is for the football
An ETH788 ops from LPL too
SAA A333 will also be involved

[Scottie Dog]

My source says that both ETH aircraft, plus the SAA are operating into Liverpool - therefore no longer relevant to the Manchester thread. Things of course may change!!

[LAX_LHR]

Worldchoice sports website still has the Ethiopian A350 down as Manchester, but now sold out.

There are a few other flights due into MAN on 26th too,

[LAX_LHR]

The Jet Airways route to Mumbai has now officially been announced:

Jet Airways launches Manchester to Mumbai flights | Herald Series (http://www.heraldseries.co.uk/news/national/16233854.Jet_Airways_launches_Manchester_to_Mumbai_flights/)

thats new long haul airline 2 of 3 for this winter announced, one more to go.....

[sinbad73]

I can just see the confusion between Jet & Jet2 at MAN :rolleyes:

[LAX_LHR]

Times for the flights:

9W130 BOM 0230 MAN 0755
9W129 MAN 0935 BOM 0040

Mon/Thu/Sat/Sun with A332 from 5th November.

taken a long time but finally got the elusive Indian link!

[Plane.Silly]

I can just see the confusion between Jet & Jet2 at MAN https://www.pprune.org/images/smilies2/icon_rolleyes.gif

And unless they're using T3, which is highly unlikely, it's almost guaranteed, now they spread over T1 and T2
Even worse, both operate an A332 (granted LS's is leased)

Panic ensues (grabs the popcorn)

[chaps1954]

Two new long haul two lovely colour schemes and 1 more to go, be it Thai or Hainan both great schemes so much better than these eurowhite bland schemes
Manchester arrivals in the early morning are getting like a mini Heathrow with long haul after long haul and long may it continue.

[GrahamK]

Thai or Kuwait next? Or even both?

[LAX_LHR]

Long haul airline 3 is going to be a few weeks away yet, the airport will space out the next announcements to help the exposure of the first two routes announced.

[Betablockeruk]

Long haul airline 3 is going to be a few weeks away yet, the airport will space out the next announcements to help the exposure of the first two routes announced.

What a week! You wait ages for a bus and then two come along.....

Great work by the PR people to really push the news.

Amazing comments about Jet2/Jet Airways. Wow! I personally got confused with Thomas Cook and Thomson so they renamed the latter TUI UK just for me :ok:

[chaps1954]

That would be a good claim to fame Oh the power!

[Ringwayman]

And its going daily from March

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-17/india-s-jet-air-to-offer-first-direct-mumbai-manchester-flights

[Mr A Tis]

STAR ALLIANCE

Star Alliance are now building up a good network from MAN. Would it make sense, or even be feasible, for Star Alliance to operate from one terminal & to have their own decent Star Alliance shared lounge.?
Aegean, Adria, Air Canada (Rouge), Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore, Swiss, TAP, Turkish, United ....and maybe even Thai.

ONE WORLD
Their presence is a little thinner with American, BA, Cathay, Qatar,Finnair & Iberia, would they not be better together also?

SKYTEAM
There is only Air France & KLM ( & Delta if they came back-Virgin are not in any alliance)

Long haul non aligned airlines: Emirates, Etihad, Hanain, Oman, PIA, Saudia & Jet Airways.

Is the TP an opportunity to bring these alliances together?
Certainly need to up their lounge offerings throughout the TP if they plan to sustain premium pax on these long haul services.

[AircraftOperations]

STAR ALLIANCE

Star Alliance are now building up a good network from MAN. Would it make sense, or even be feasible, for Star Alliance to operate from one terminal & to have their own decent Star Alliance shared lounge.?
Aegean, Adria, Air Canada (Rouge), Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore, Swiss, TAP, Turkish, United ....and maybe even Thai.

ONE WORLD
Their presence is a little thinner with American, BA, Cathay, Qatar,Finnair & Iberia, would they not be better together also?

SKYTEAM
There is only Air France & KLM ( & Delta if they came back-Virgin are not in any alliance)

Long haul non aligned airlines: Emirates, Etihad, Hanain, Oman, PIA, Saudia & Jet Airways.

Is the TP an opportunity to bring these alliances together?
Certainly need to up their lounge offerings throughout the TP if they plan to sustain premium pax on these long haul services.

Saudia are SkyTeam. I'd imagine that all current (& future) Star, OneWorld and SkyTeam carriers will all be in the new terminal eventually. What they then decide to have shared desks/lounges is another question.

[sinbad73]

STAR ALLIANCE

Star Alliance are now building up a good network from MAN. Would it make sense, or even be feasible, for Star Alliance to operate from one terminal & to have their own decent Star Alliance shared lounge.?
Aegean, Adria, Air Canada (Rouge), Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Ethiopian, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore, Swiss, TAP, Turkish, United ....and maybe even Thai.

ONE WORLD
Their presence is a little thinner with American, BA, Cathay, Qatar,Finnair & Iberia, would they not be better together also?

SKYTEAM
There is only Air France & KLM ( & Delta if they came back-Virgin are not in any alliance)

Long haul non aligned airlines: Emirates, Etihad, Hanain, Oman, PIA, Saudia & Jet Airways.

Is the TP an opportunity to bring these alliances together?
Certainly need to up their lounge offerings throughout the TP if they plan to sustain premium pax on these long haul services.

STAR ALLIANCE - didn't they try this with the 'minihub' during the 1990s? Admittedly *A was much smaller back then.

[sparkysam]

Got back from CUN yesterday after our ninth trip to the Riviera Maya. The place is Britsville now

[Danny G]

Got back from CUN yesterday after our ninth trip to the Riviera Maya. The place is Britsville now Yep TUI are flying daily dreamliners out of Manchester and LGW and Thomas cook are not far behind now. Its replaced Sharm and is as cheap as going to the Costas. We are trying Puerto Vallarta this year, one TUI 787 from LGW and Man means its not overcrowded with Brits

[Scottie Dog]

Taken yesterday on my monthly walk-about of the MAN-TP project.

https://image.ibb.co/m69nmJ/IMG_6018.jpg
General view, as always, across from the top of T1 multi-storey car park with Pier 1 in the background.

https://image.ibb.co/n1wp0d/IMG_6600.jpg
Now to the top level of T2 car park with the new car park growing larger with each day. To the left is part of the T2 extension.

https://image.ibb.co/bOy2Ld/IMG_6601.jpg
T2 extension is getting wider.

https://image.ibb.co/fMPbfd/IMG_6603.jpg
And it now has floors and other structures within it.

https://image.ibb.co/iqhjYy/IMG_6604.jpg
There is still room for the extension to gain depth as it does not yet match the old building.

https://image.ibb.co/eCBp0d/IMG_6605.jpg
The size the extension is starting to become apparent in this shot.

https://image.ibb.co/mpwNLd/IMG_6606.jpg
There is still possibly a little space for the extension to expand to its right as there is apparently a road to run between it and the new car park. In the background can be seen the link connector from Pier 1.

https://image.ibb.co/iRHe0d/IMG_6608.jpg
A walk down beyond the car park extension allows this view with the Terminal extension directly in front. To the right is the link connector between Pier 1 and the terminal.

https://image.ibb.co/iGP3RJ/IMG_6607.jpg
Not a lot has changed since I photographed this view last month. There is however an idea of size when look at the workers on the nearest Node.

https://image.ibb.co/nPAoty/IMG_6610.jpg
Similar to an earlier view, but with a better idea of the length of the link connector.

https://image.ibb.co/k9aXLd/IMG_6611.jpg
Looking across from the Staff West car park towards the end of Pier 1, with new taxiway Lima concrete in the foreground.

This was my final photo - before a 'jobsworth' told me that photography was not allowed due to security. This will be taken up in the hope that I will gain official approval for future visits.

[LAX_LHR]

Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways has said MAN-BOM will go daily on 26th March, and that due to bilateral restrictions on DEL-LHR, they will also launch MAN-DEL in the near future. He also said MAN-ATQ could also be considered in the future too.

[roverman]

Just back from my first experience with Thomas Cook long-haul and I have to say it's really good value for money. This was a business / leisure trip to the West Coast MAN-LAX-MAN, outbound in Y class and back in PE. Both flights appeared to be full, certainly there were no spare seats in PE coming home overnight. It's also clear that this route is not just being used by UK-originating holidaymakers. There were plenty of Americans on board, and people making connections at MAN. Ground staff were calling out pax connecting on to Malpensa. What surprises me is that this route is so seasonal given the above. It has only just resumed for summer 18 and yet was sold out. I can't believe that the demand can just switch on at the start of May and off again in October. Surely it could run year-round and at a higher frequency in summer.

It's a shame that MT seem to have dropped JFK back to 6 weekly next summer in favour of a second CUN on Tuesday. JFK has been really strong and has a higher frequency this coming winter than last, so doesn't seem to make sense to reduce even slightly next summer, unless there are obligations to the in-house holiday arm.

[MANFOD]

roverman. Good to read your positive comments about MT to the west coast of the US.

In terms of summer 2019 and frequency to JFK, are you sure the TCX schedules have been finalised and loaded yet?
The reason I ask is that on their long haul timetable BOS & SEA don't appear. In fact, there are only 38 weekly L/H flights which would mean 6 based A332s not fully occupied. I was under the impression it would be at least 7 a/c.

[roverman]

roverman. Good to read your positive comments about MT to the west coast of the US.

In terms of summer 2019 and frequency to JFK, are you sure the TCX schedules have been finalised and loaded yet?
The reason I ask is that on their long haul timetable BOS & SEA don't appear. In fact, there are only 38 weekly L/H flights which would mean 6 based A332s not fully occupied. I was under the impression it would be at least 7 a/c.

I am only going off what is currently showing on the website and what has been reported here about the increase in frequency to CUN. It may not be complete but to show 6 weekly JFK seems strange frequency unless it's the complications of aircraft rotation still to be confirmed.

[LAX_LHR]

Cathay Pacific will upgrade to the A350-1000 from 1st December, confirmed and bookable. Seems these guys are doing very well at Manchester.

[roverman]

Cathay Pacific will upgrade to the A350-1000 from 1st December, confirmed and bookable. Seems these guys are doing very well at Manchester.



A welcome Beast from the East! Looks like this is in lieu of the rumoured increase in frequency, for now at least. Seating config 46J/32PE/256Y Total 334, an increase of 54 seats per day.

[MANFOD]

Re CX
A welcome Beast from the East! Looks like this is in lieu of the rumoured increase in frequency, for now at least. Seating config 46J/32PE/256Y Total 334, an increase of 54 seats per day.

Even if there is no increase in frequency for now, the larger a/c means nearly 20% uplift in seats with increases in all 3 classes. It would be interesting to know the dispersal of pax at HK from the MAN flights and what proportion connect to mainland China.

[eggc]

CX equip change to -1000 is only temporary for now, runs Dec till Feb, then back to -900.

[Armodeen]

Cathay Pacific will upgrade to the A350-1000 from 1st December, confirmed and bookable. Seems these guys are doing very well at Manchester.

I am really looking forward to seeing this beast at MAN :D

[eggc]

Saw the prototype -1000 in Hamburg (XFW) last week, a very attractive and impressive aircraft. Will be great to see them in MAN.

[spannersatcx]

The first CX 350-1000 gets delivered next month, by the end of the year there will be 6 in total, now math is not my strongest suit, but 6 into 14 doesn't quite work!

Plus bear in mind a new service starts to the US in December which will be operated by the -1000.

So chances are you may see the odd 1 or 2 a week in December.

[LAX_LHR]

So are you suggesting the bookable & daily -1000 May get drawn back to just 1/2 a week in December?

[eggc]

That could be awkward if they sell the extra 54 seats daily the -1000 provides...and a -900 turns up :}

[GrahamK]

Some more news, PIA increasing flights to Islamabad, up to 7 x weekly at some points

[spacedog]

CX216 CX217 is being sold as a A350-1000 from the 1sr Dec through to 28th Feb.
So if the aircraft is subbed to a A350-900 and it is full there will indeed be problems.
No doubt the unlucky passengers will be sent on the BA shuttle to LHR to connect with one of the CX departures

[Mr A Tis]

I've lost track of the Cathay A350 orders, they ordered 900s then upgraded some to 1000s then late last year downgraded 6 back to 900s and then deferred some deliveries. But I think Spanners is right in that they will be lucky to have 5 1000s in use by Dec 1st. Presumably having announced the 1000 on the MAN route must mean alterations elsewhere on the network yet to be published (?) If the 1000 is unavailable- with seats sold then I wouldn't be surprised to see a 777 sub on some services.

[LAX_LHR]

The Ethiopian charter on 26th has been confirmed by the CAA

[Curious Pax]

The Ethiopian charter on 26th has been confirmed by the CAA

That’s the outbound; there’s also the return on the 27th.

[LAX_LHR]

Yes but just wanted to quickly clarify as there had been mentioned it was going to LPL instead.

[BHX5DME]

there should be a A359 ex MAN and a 788 ex LPL

[LAX_LHR]

Looks like Jet2 are bringing Vienna back as a year round destination:

LS959 MAN 1400 VIE 1730 Mon/Fri
LS959 MAN 1510 VIE 1840 Wed

LS960 VIE 1805 MAN 1935 Fri
LS960 VIE 1815 MAN 1945 Mon
LS960 VIE 1925 MAN 2055 Wed

B737-800 from 1st May

[j636]

No doubt the unlucky passengers will be sent on the BA shuttle to LHR to connect with one of the CX departures

Not unusual in the industry to have an aircraft displayed but the bookable capacity capped to a lower level and only released closer to departure if the larger aircraft is staying or aircraft changed.

[LAX_LHR]

Amadeus showing Loganair as re-starting the MAN-GLA route up to 3 times daily from 1st September. Not on their website though.

surely they aren’t coming back to give it another go?

[ifu05596]

Amadeus showing Loganair as re-starting the MAN-GLA route up to 3 times daily from 1st September. Not on their website though.

surely they aren’t coming back to give it another go?
Personally it would be great, live in glasgow, Work in Manchester often and from the Hebrides so those clan Loganair points were great!! I thought it was odd they withdrew as they added direct from Stornoway, Kirkwall and Sumburgh and having one stop alternatives seemed like a good idea and would grow the route potentially (albeit can do via Inverness). They did come off all Eastern operated routes but this is now back to Flybe so maybe they don’t feel the same obligation...

[Ex Cargo Clown]

Amadeus showing Loganair as re-starting the MAN-GLA route up to 3 times daily from 1st September. Not on their website though.

surely they aren’t coming back to give it another go?

They've denied it.

[LAX_LHR]

They've denied it.

true but VLM denied all intentions when I found their schedule too so one to watch.

[Ex Cargo Clown]

true but VLM denied all intentions when I found their schedule too so one to watch.

VLM are notoriously flakey, and it's a very thin route. The Loganair route can only work as a BE feeder.

[LAX_LHR]

Indeed but just reporting what is in Amadeus.

[Caravaggio]

Experience at departures terminal 3 not as good at midday this month as last trip was. 5 minute queue at drop off due to road works preparation for the £3 drop off scam. Not all security channels open despite it being Friday of Bank Holiday weekend. 15 minute queue at security. Security helper very polite and friendly though.

[GavinC]

Link (http://mediacentre.manchesterairport.co.uk/blog-rob-stewart-mantp-programme-delivery-director-on-the-evolution-of-man/)

plenty of newish info and, of more interest, a new CGI of the T2 Madterplan

[nigel osborne]

Link (http://mediacentre.manchesterairport.co.uk/blog-rob-stewart-mantp-programme-delivery-director-on-the-evolution-of-man/)

plenty of newish info and, of more interest, a new CGI of the T2 Madterplan

Its all very impressive with much more terminal space and better taxiway clearance.

However just 7 more aircraft stands than 2017 the way i read it is hardly adequate ??

Surely they need to build the 4th pier and associated stands to cope with the near time expansion Manchester is seeing again for the next 12 months alone ??

[Baltic Skies]

T3 experience yesterday was dreadful as ususal.
Long queues at security,lounge full with no seating available
Just an awful way to spend an hour before taking a flight

[LAX_LHR]

Looks like Biman are aiming to return to MAN in November operating Dhaka-Shylet-Manchester-Shylet-Dhaka 2 weekly with B788.

New York tag to be added as soon as they are allowed, but likely 2019.

[Logohu]

Looks like Biman are aiming to return to MAN

Excellent news for the hotels around MAN that cater for disrupted passengers ;)

​​​If it happens let's hope Biman stay a bit longer this time

Is this the third long haul route announcement we are waiting for, or is that still to come ?

[M62]

T3 experience yesterday was dreadful as ususal.
Long queues at security,lounge full with no seating available
Just an awful way to spend an hour before taking a flight
That was just the icing on the cake for us. After a two hour trip from Leeds due to congestion in Leeds city centre, M62, M60 and M56 (which I accept is not MAN's fault) to be queuing for 45 minutes to do the last mile into the car park is pathetic. I had considered the train but the woman sitting next to me on our flight had taken the train from Leeds, which got as far as Piccadilly and then terminated due to some problem on the line to the airport. She had then the joy of a tram ride, which took an hour.
This isn't the first time I've had issues getting to MAN and we made our flight because you have to factor this sort of delay into your travel time but it does impact on your decision making when looking for flights and the chances of me using T3 in the near future are about zero.

[Rutan16]

Did you have any intentions of using a T3 carrier in the near future anyway ?

Seems your moan is more about generally poor infrastructure, and even more so, ongoing works to rectify many of those weaknesses that have already been identified.

By the way blame goes straight to the Transport Minister -The Rt Hon Chris Grayling representative for those well known northern boroughs of Epsom and Ewell for the mess of Northern TPE and electrification or more correctly fractured modernisation and timetable misery being inflicted across the north at the moment.

In reality other than Sun and Sangria /Ouzo flights from Leeds, Finingley and staying with MAG East Midlands as well, think what are your better options ?

Lets see two and half hours on the train and an hour on the tube or a little shorter and then fleeced on the most expensive railway on the planet - that will get you to Hearthrow won’t it !

Or anything from 4 hours drive south and parking that will probably cost you more than your holiday !

You could try National Express but that will leave you in the lovely Birmingham Mill Lane Coach Station for a least half an hour of luxury !

Or oh I know a connecting flight well yes KLM will do that for you over Amsterdam okay for that business trip I suppose.

BA however a little less convenient these days via Heathrow what with one mid morning and one evening flight lots of customer choice there!

And well Dublin might beckon however unless you make a risky self connect you could be spending some hours looking across runway 16/34 !

Suppose you could try Birmingham however flights do tend to be rather more expensive and I suggest you google and read over the terminal experience online as they have their problems too !

Then there is Gatwick it’s a real pi**er to get to and from the Northwest and Yorkshire and especially since BA cut flights and Arriva Cross Country decided Bournemouth would pull more punters than Gatwick and Brighton combined !

Luton is a building site and Mecca for East Europe no disrespect meant and 40 minutes to get up New Airport Way in the morning is far from unheard of !

Oh and before I forget wind speeds over a little over a breeze might find your Leeds flight in Manchester in any case.

Just left out Newcastle I think they have an airport of sorts ( jest !)

[LAX_LHR]

Excellent news for the hotels around MAN that cater for disrupted passengers ;)

​​​If it happens let's hope Biman stay a bit longer this time

Is this the third long haul route announcement we are waiting for, or is that still to come ?

this isn’t the 3rd airline I eluded to, so this is extra and could make 4 new long haul airlines this winter. With HU to CAN also in the running, as well as the capacity increase from CX, our eastern flights look rosy this winter.

[doublesix]

Did you have any intentions of using a T3 carrier in the near future anyway ?

Seems your moan is more about generally poor infrastructure, and even more so, ongoing works to rectify many of those weaknesses that have already been identified.

By the way blame goes straight to the Transport Minister -The Rt Hon Chris Grayling representative for those well known northern boroughs of Epsom and Ewell for the mess of Northern TPE and electrification or more correctly fractured modernisation and timetable misery being inflicted across the north at the moment.

In reality other than Sun and Sangria /Ouzo flights from Leeds, Finingley and staying with MAG East Midlands as well, think what are your better options ?

Lets see two and half hours on the train and an hour on the tube or a little shorter and then fleeced on the most expensive railway on the planet - that will get you to Hearthrow won’t it !

Or anything from 4 hours drive south and parking that will probably cost you more than your holiday !

You could try National Express but that will leave you in the lovely Birmingham Mill Lane Coach Station for a least half an hour of luxury !

Or oh I know a connecting flight well yes KLM will do that for you over Amsterdam okay for that business trip I suppose.

BA however a little less convenient these days via Heathrow what with one mid morning and one evening flight lots of customer choice there!

And well Dublin might beckon however unless you make a risky self connect you could be spending some hours looking across runway 16/34 !

Suppose you could try Birmingham however flights do tend to be rather more expensive and I suggest you google and read over the terminal experience online as they have their problems too !

Then there is Gatwick it’s a real pi**er to get to and from the Northwest and Yorkshire and especially since BA cut flights and Arriva Cross Country decided Bournemouth would pull more punters than Gatwick and Brighton combined !

Luton is a building site and Mecca for East Europe no disrespect meant and 40 minutes to get up New Airport Way in the morning is far from unheard of !

Oh and before I forget wind speeds over a little over a breeze might find your Leeds flight in Manchester in any case.

Just left out Newcastle I think they have an airport of sorts ( jest !)




I take it you either work For MAG or only visit occasionally! As someone who works there driving daily the place is a joke and don’t try to think otherwise.
​​​​​​.

[Rutan16]

And did I say otherwise no i didn’t - the signage and diversions or the roads are bl**dy confusing and a nightmare. The terminals are at breaking point in the morning especially T3 , the railways are a mess courtesy of Grayings short sightedness and Network Rail ineptitude wiring down south .
Buses in GMC desperately need an over powering and regulatory body !
Still you missed the whole point - Right now just about all the UKs major airports are creeking yet Manchester is actually doing something with the TP programme underway and its not just vapid and endless talk.
Only other airport taking action is Luton and that’s an equally pleasant experience I think not.

[MAN2SIN2BKK2FRA]

this isn’t the 3rd airline I eluded to, so this is extra and could make 4 new long haul airlines this winter. With HU to CAN also in the running, as well as the capacity increase from CX, our eastern flights look rosy this winter.


MAN was actually mentioned in the Bangkok Post yesterday as being back as a target for Thai Airways in a report re the financial turnaround of the airline

[commit aviation]

Only other airport taking action is Luton and that’s an equally pleasant experience I think not.

You could add Stansted to that list as well (....and the challenges are the same too!)

[jubilee]

To balance out transport etc to the airport. Saturday May12th. caught the train at my local station, (Glossop) into Piccadilly arrived on platform 2 as I alighted on to the platform Trans Pennine to the airport was pulling into platform 3.
On arriving at the airport on to the overhead walkway all the moving walkways working,(Yes I know its unusual) Into T3 about 15:15 straight through security, no waiting, slight delay on flight due to fog first thing in the morning,
Made up delay on the flight.

Return from PMI used the new BA service on the 19th.May, arrived back about 2 pm. 5 minute delay in passport, 8 minutes wait for the train into Manchester, just caught my train to Glossop with about 1 minute to spare.

SEE SOMETIMES EVERYTHING DOES WORK ACCORDING TO PLAN.

From earlier post by LAX he was not sure where this Saturday flight originated from, the answer is LCY. Load about 50%, but it was its first flight back to Manchester, and certainly a lot better than the low cost airlines.
Jubilee

[MANFOD]

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/business/thomas-cook-flight-manchester-seattle-14714781

Note the quote in the article that 43% of bookings for Seattle have transfer feeds at either end of the route.

[ZOOKER]

This is a thread of 2 halves, is it not?

On one hand, we have LAX, Scottie Dog, dobbo-dobbo, Gavin and MANFOD gushing excitedly about all these new 'bookable' services, 'Masterplans' connectivity and leg-room.

And then along come Baltic Skies, Loghu, Council Van, M62, A Tis, doublesix and Rutan, telling us of the harsh reality of NW air travel and it's connecting ground-based infrastructure......Or apparent lack of it

Shplendid!

There appears to be little, if any, 'joined up thinking', somewhere along the line/road/airport/tram-way/bus-route*.

* Delete as applicable. :E

[LAX_LHR]

The ‘lack of joined up thinking’ has always been a major feature in this thread, and it seems neither side can win.

The ‘negative side’ get called moaners, the positive side get called ‘fanboys’ and that’s just the way it’s always been and likely always will be.

i personally try to stick to routes news now. I have interjected a bit in the past, but I’ve just accepted now people like a moan. Some of the moaning is justified (like staff east debacle and so on), some of the moans are not (a 15 minute wait at security on one of the busiest days of the year at the UKs 3rd largest Airport isn’t a valid moan in my opinion), but apart from that, this thread is what it is.

welcome to Manchester :E

[chaps1954]

How very true, people will moan about anything, my moan is the traffic going to work down the A34. Airports
Hmmh difficult as I find CDG a bloody awful place makes MAN look and feel a dream. If you go to any venue when it is
really busy you just expect delays be it bus, train or concert venue.

[ZOOKER]

chaps, yes, apologies for omitting you from the list.

There are good dreams and bad dreams though. Why should you "just expect delays" at venues though?

[Caravaggio]

A15 minute wait at security on one of the busiest days of the year is acceptable if all the desks are open. They weren’t hence it isn’t acceptable.
Did MAG not know that it was going to be a busy day or were they just saving money and making the passenger experience worse than it needed to be deliberately.
Surely the aim of management should be to make the passenger experience as good as it can be within the current physical constraints of the terminals.

[LAX_LHR]

Caravaggio,

I’m not getting involved, I’m aiming to just post routes news going forward. I’m just simply not interested in how long it takes individuals to go through security.

[chaps1954]

15 minutes is damn good took me 2 hours at Toronto years ago and over a hour at CDG plus all the delay with the long walk and then train and then another walk just to clear customs

Ian

[FFHKG]

Guys,

This forum is about airports as well as routes and I think that Caravaggio has a good point - the airport should be working hard to give a passenger the best possible experience. We can all highlight airports where there has a been a long wait for security, but in general I wait less than 5 minutes to clear security, even at busy periods, at most airports I travel through both in Europe and Asia - less than 5 minutes at both Hong Kong and Haneda this week for example.

Like others, I have had a good and bad experiences at Manchester - the bad ones are always when they have insufficient lanes open and lack the staffing/flexibility to open extra ones. They could learn lessons from LHR T5 which is much improved in the last 12 months..... nobody shouting or being aggressive, smiling staff, and a pleasant experience with all lanes open on every occasion I have been through. The key to this improvement, I think, seems to be having at least one duty manager in the security area at all times.

[Mr A Tis]

I feel I am missing out.
50 minutes to get through Jet2 T1 security last week.
= no spend in any shops & straight to gate.

New TP is all well and good but that won’t solve Manchester issues.
The current issues could be improved- security lanes open, better queue management, lifts walkways and escalators working, traffic management improved ( rather than another cash opportunity like fast track etc). Consistency in security procedures too.
The customer experience could be enhanced by the simplest changes. Given we have a dated piss poor infrastructure then these things should be top priority.
i have a T3 trip next week and just dread going to that hole.

[Suzeman]

Oops - bish, bash, bosh
Currently ongoing situation
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-airport-gate-evacuated-crack-14717762

[DomyDom]

The airport is in the middle of a major infrastructure upgrade so we have to accept that for a limited time the services are going to be less than ideal. I myself have recently experienced real improvements in transfer times through security and passport control and there is always the option to pay a bit more and go through quicker. As for toilets, food, drink etc. at busy times the airport is clearly struggling to cope with demand. I'm sure we will see some improvements in the next couple of years but in the meantime we will have to manage and feedback constructively to the airport. When you visit other airports across the world is not the worst by a margin but still needs to improve.

[Navpi]

Major infrastructure upgrade

True but falling through the floor should not be a part of the customer experience !

[Lee J]

I must be seriously lucky... flying 4 to 6 times a month to/from Manchester for the past 3 years at varying times, from different terminals, with different airlines and using the various official car parks close to the terminals, I don't seem to come across so much disruption as others claim to experience.

Recently I've been leaving the Premier Inn on Runger Lane at 5:20am, driving to T1 M&G, through security, grabbed a drink from WH Smith and still had 5 minutes to sit down before the gate opens for a 6:20am flight.

More often than not, I spend more time queuing at security in Gibraltar (which only ever has 2 or 3 flights departing) than I do in Manchester.

I would suspect the main user of the airport, an average holidaymaker has little issue with what some people are complaining of on here.

[Mr A Tis]

Lee can I travel with you? I usually pass through 2-5 times a months & I do not recognise your experience in any way.

[The96er]

[ Who cares about employing enough staff to ensure that the airport operates efficiently on the first really busy weekend of the season. ]

It's not just MAG who are under-staffing, Every service provider is knowingly doing the same - Handling agents/cleaners/Fuellers.... it's now become an accepted way of operating to the frustration of the guys and gals who actually have to do the job.

[SWBKCB]

It's not just MAG who are under-staffing, Every service provider is knowingly doing the same - Handling agents/cleaners/Fuellers.... it's now become an accepted way of operating to the frustration of the guys and gals who actually have to do the job.

The phrase is "you get what you pay for"!

[Lee J]

Lee can I travel with you? I usually pass through 2-5 times a months & I do not recognise your experience in any way.


Sure as long as you don't slow me down at security unpacking your bag into 4 or 5 trays :p

Like I say... I must be very lucky :confused:

[LAX_LHR]

New Virgin route to Los Angeles starts May 22nd 2019. Boston increases to 3 weekly, Las Vegas to 4 weekly as well as B747 on daily New York and Atlanta. Barbados also sees a B747. 6 based aircraft overall.

San Fransisco gets the chop however.

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/virgin-atlantic-reveals-major-manchester-expansion-14338

[Curious Pax]

New Virgin route to Los Angeles starts May 22nd 2018.

Presume that’s 2019?

[MANFOD]

Thanks for the info.

If BGI is a B747, it would suggest 4 x B747s fully occupied if MCO were say 12 x weekly, unless some MCO flights were A332/3. It could also mean LAS, LAX, and BOS would be A332 or A333s. Do we know the full fleet breakdown for MAN at this stage?

[Betablockeruk]

Very welcome news after todays 2h45 TCX delay to LAX (another 15 mins.......)

Is this the missing Long Haul announcement?

[LAX_LHR]

No the missing one is Thai.

the fact it’s appearing in several news outlets as ‘coming soon’ means it’s no big secret.

[ZOOKER]

It would be superb to see Thai at Manch'.....Parked next to Singapore.

Have we ever had a Thai aircraft at EGCC?

[LAX_LHR]

WE had a Thai B744 divert from LHR a few years back, even further back I’ve seen a pic of a Thai DC8 (I think) parked at T1 but don’t know the date or circumstances as to why it was there.

[Flightrider]

SAS and Thai had a DC-8 interchange/leasing arrangement for many years so it's possible pics of a Thai DC-8 might actually be a SAS aircraft operating SAS flights.

Interesting news on VS. LAX for SFO is a straight swap by the looks of it (now that the A330-200s can get to LAX which the -300s I doubt could) but that is some serious capacity growth on ATL and JFK with 450 seats a day to each.

[techair]

I seem to remember about 12 years ago that the Thai royal flight B737 dropped by one evening.

[MAN2SIN2BKK2FRA]

I seem to remember about 12 years ago that the Thai royal flight B737 dropped by one evening.
I remember that, in fact the photo from the gate showed it was the New King 10 in the left seat

[ZOOKER]

"I'm aiming to just post routes news going forward. i'm just simply not interested in how long it takes individuals to go through security"

Well, LAX, say's it all. You're either a member of MAG Management or a 'Travel Agent'.........Or even worse....SIMON CALDER?

PS, 'Going forward' is classic 'management-speak'.

"Don't have nightmares".

[LAX_LHR]

And your on ignore from this point forward zooker, I’m not interested in entering your childish tit for tat debacle. Adios.

[Ringwayman]

Last couple of Thai Airways visits were 28th Oct 2013 and 13th Nov 1989.


For VS, we seem to have:
747: daily JFK, daily ATL and 12 weekly MCO = 4 based for 26 flights
A330: 2 weekly BGI, 3 weekly BOS, 3 weekly LAX, 4 weekly LAS = 2 based for 12 flights.

Aren't GLA-MCO and BFS-MCO 747 routes? That could mean they are using a MAN based 747 next year so you get 28 flights a week out of them.
MAN-SFO is 3 weekly. So either the route is getting reduced frequency or it's being culled as it can't operate using the planned A330 operations for the other routes.

[ZOOKER]

I obviously touched a nerve LAX......Have fun.....Going forward....:E :ok:

[roverman]

New Virgin route to Los Angeles starts May 22nd 2019. Boston increases to 3 weekly, Las Vegas to 4 weekly as well as B747 on daily New York and Atlanta. Barbados also sees a B747. 6 based aircraft overall.

San Fransisco gets the chop however.

https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/virgin-atlantic-reveals-major-manchester-expansion-14338


Good news. Overall it's heading in the right direction. The PR piece makes no mention of SFO getting chopped so I'll take your knowledge as good on that one, LAX.
SFO always felt like a route which wouldn't support two carriers at MAN, especially when they fly on the same days at roughly the same times. VS have blinked first, I trust MT will keep the route. These two are head to head on BOS, another thin route and will now also showdown on LAX, which should be a strong route. If my recent experience on MT is anything to go by, MAN-LAX is currently under-served.

[mufc4evr]

LAX makes much more sense than SFO, surely if they are clever they will codeshare down to Oz with VA/DL and try to capture a share of the market

[110Cornets]

LAX makes much more sense than SFO, surely if they are clever they will codeshare down to Oz with VA/DL and try to capture a share of the market

They will indeed codeshare with Virgin Australia and Delta, meaning Manchester passengers now have a new one-stop option to Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane, schedule permitting.

Oz via the US is traditionally more expensive than via Asia, but VS are selling it super cheap right now.

[Logohu]

WE had a Thai B744 divert from LHR a few years back, even further back I’ve seen a pic of a Thai DC8 (I think) parked at T1 but don’t know the date or circumstances as to why it was there.

15th February 1977 was the day a Thai DC-8-63 diverted to MAN from a foggy LHR. The mere sound of HS-TGZ whistling over Stockport was enough to spark a dash for the 369 bus to the airport :)

It would be great to finally see them back at MAN on a regular basis after so many years of rumoured starts - albeit this time in something a little quieter...

[Betablockeruk]

Great to see some TATL expansion but wondered why MAN can't retain a Washington service? BMI and then UA been and gone yet DUB (2 daily) and EDI (daily) both keeping their seasonal services going. Does it require some sort of governmental use to fill the front?

I used UA to IAD for connection thru to DEN and it was one of the better US hub experiences.

[roverman]

Great to see some TATL expansion but wondered why MAN can't retain a Washington service? BMI and then UA been and gone yet DUB (2 daily) and EDI (daily) both keeping their seasonal services going. Does it require some sort of governmental use to fill the front?

I used UA to IAD for connection thru to DEN and it was one of the better US hub experiences.

EDI and DUB don't have Virgin and Thomas Cook who are collectively eating the American carriers' lunch at MAN, and the latter seem content to sit and watch them take the market. Virgin's tie-up with Delta and MT's various code share agreements have the USA pretty well covered now through a range of hubs, as well as feed at the MAN end.

[FFMAN]

Great to see some TATL expansion but wondered why MAN can't retain a Washington service? BMI and then UA been and gone yet DUB (2 daily) and EDI (daily) both keeping their seasonal services going. Does it require some sort of governmental use to fill the front?

I used UA to IAD for connection thru to DEN and it was one of the better US hub experiences.

I was a regular user of the UA to Dulles on a point to point basis - I have a lot of reasons to go there regularly. My experience was that although the flights were more or less full (incl Business First) when you de-planed at Dulles, the pax terminating at Dulles, like me, were significantly in the minority - I'm guessing most were in transit to the House of Mouse. So despite DC being one of THE great USA experiences, it doesn't seem as though there is enough business to justify the route.
Since the demise of the UA route I've been taking TCX to JFK with a JetBlue (great airline btw) codeshare to Dulles or to Reagan...it's alright actually- and good value. I'll probably try the new Baltimore service next year and train it to Union stn....we'll see

[j636]

EDI-IAD is new and I would expect it will go like MAN in a few years. It was more a response to DY by moving capacity out of NY. You are right a lot of transit on UA IAD-Europe. Some Goverment J traffic helps the routes but insignificant..

[FFMAN]

I know and understand the hostility that certain forumers have towards BA. They have their reasons, mainly historical and more recently that BA have developed a track record of dropping the Manchester connectors at the first sign of trouble (like bad weather). I just wanted to provide some balance.

I am now stuck in a grim hotel in the German countryside as a result of Lufthansa now employing exactly the same commercial strategy as BA..
FRA has experienced a number of weather related problems over the last day or two and has quickly cancelled Manchester flights in a similar style to BA.

I accepted a flight proposal with LH on the basis that (well according to this site) there are 5 flights a day. I had a tight connection for the teatime flight which, I thought, if I missed I could get the 'regular as clockwork' 22.10 flight.....but no.... this is non-op today..... as is the first one tomorrow...for operational convenience There are more important priorities on the network than Manchester.....does this sound like BA? So there are no flights with LH between FRA and MAN between 16.50 today and 10.05 tomorrow. The desk agent told me in no uncertain terms 'there are only 3 flights a day between Frankfurt and Manchester'.....all airlines LIE to their customers.
BA are no worse than the rest of the low lifes in the vipers nest that is the airline business these days. Even worse: they get low paid, nice enough young innocent people to do the lying for them.
My next holiday will be a holiday from flying - as long as I can possibly make it.....and an even longer holiday from LH and FRA generally.

[TURIN]

There is usually a late FRA-MAN flight every day. It nightstops at MAN, STA about 2300hrs.

[FFMAN]

I could get the 'regular as clockwork' 22.10 flight.....but no.... this is non-op today.....

TURIN: why bother replying at all if you can't be bothered to read the post you are replying to? I know there is a late flight - I've been on it more times than I care to remember.

[Betablockeruk]

Thanks for all comments on MAN-IAD. Guess it's even more a non-starter after DT's latest trade war stunt!

[LFC22]

Something that got me wondering, why does the Singapore A359 ALWAYS hold near stand 62 upon arrival? Not just for short periods either, for at least 15 minutes usually. Today it must have been well over half an hour

[Cymmon]

Yes, that's correct. On my last flight on Qatar Airways we arrived a little early and had to wait for our stand to become free.
its good to know that Manchester has so many flights, let's hope expansion is good.

[CabinCrewe]

After all the multiple carriers on GLA-MAN has it gone down to just 2 flights a day W18?

[Navpi]

SIA RampSat

[TURIN]

FFMAN.
Well excuse me for trying to be helpful.
Perhaps if you could put together a coherent paragraph instead of a rambling jumble of words thrown together in the hope someone will read them it would help.

GFY!

[Betablockeruk]

Things getting a tad tight in the morning but no 'no div' notam in place.

Q) EGTT/QFAXX/IV/NBO/A/000/999/5321N00217W005
B) FROM: 18/06/04 03:00C) TO: 18/09/03 08:00E) DUE AD CAPACITY AND ASSOCIATED WIP, OPERATORS OF ACFT WITH A
WINGSPAN GREATER THAN 36M (ICAO CODE D, E AND F) ARE ADVISED TO PLAN
FOR ARRIVAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH SCHEDULED IN BLOCKS TIME (SIBT). ACFT
ESTIMATED TO ARRIVE BEFORE SIBT MAY BE SUBJECT TO EXTENDED AIR AND
GROUND HOLDING DELAYS.SCHEDULE: 0300-0800

[110Cornets]

Ethiopian has just gone on sale.

First flight lands 2 Dec. The plane will be in MAN all day, from 0640 to 1905, nice for those who like to take pictures of such things.

MTWTFSS ADDIS ABABA /MANCHESTER
.23.5.7 ADD1 MAN 0005 0640 ET 720 788

MTWTFSS MANCHESTER /ADDIS ABABA
.23.5.7 MAN1 ADD 1905# 0610 ET 721 788

[chaps1954]

Except in winter it will be dark when it lands and takes off and put on a remote stand during day but wonderful to see

[LAX_LHR]

Easyjet have put on sale a new 3 weekly Lisbon flight starting 28th October. Operates Tue/Thu/Sun on a MAN based aircraft.

[Caravaggio]

Terminal 3 deficiencies again. Just returned. Touchdown 13:15. 40 minute queue for Border Control. Only 4 of 10 desks manned and e gates working intermittently only.
Is it really too complicated to rosta appropriate staffing levels.
This isn’t about the terminal being too small it’s about inadequate management of the existing facilities.

[Scottie Dog]

Terminal 3 deficiencies again. Just returned. Touchdown 13:15. 40 minute queue for Border Control. Only 4 of 10 desks manned and e gates working intermittently only.
Is it really too complicated to rosta appropriate staffing levels.
This isn’t about the terminal being too small it’s about inadequate management of the existing facilities.

That is all down to Border Force and not the airport management.

[Caravaggio]

I am entirely aware it is Border Force. Do airport management not talk to Border Force management? Or is that In the ‘too difficult box?’

[The96er]

I am entirely aware it is Border Force. Do airport management not talk to Border Force management? Or is that In the ‘too difficult box?’

The same argument can be applied to all the service providers in the airport who are ALL knowingly under staffing. The reality is that the airport can do very little.

[Scottie Dog]

After all the multiple carriers on GLA-MAN has it gone down to just 2 flights a day W18?

As nobody else has bothered to reply I thought I would have a quick look at both the Flybe and Loganair websites.

At the moment I agree that Flybe only show the two flights - although on some days it is up to three. I suspect that at present the timetable is 'work in progress' and hopefully will show increases in due course. I do feel that it is still rather early for domestic schedules to be finalised.

I did hear a rumour that Loganair might be looking at returning to the route, but nothing definite.

[Suzeman]

Statement from Manchester Airport media people about the Government's latest attempt at a National Airport Policy. With Grayling "in charge", it will no doubt all turn to dust as everything else has that he has been involved with over the last few years (Criminal Justice system anyone?)

Anyway here's what MAN (as opposed to MAG) have to say about it (my bold)

"Today, alongside confirming support for the development of a third runway at Heathrow, the Government has confirmed, in a statement to Parliament, its support for other UK airports looking to make best use of existing runway capacity. The policy makes clear that Government supports all UK airports making best use of their existing runways. This follows a consultation last year as part of the Government’s development of a new Aviation Strategy.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “We welcome today’s statement from Government confirming its support for airports looking to make best use of existing capacity and agree that it is vital for the UK economy that the country has the best possible international connections

“Manchester Airport has demonstrated the role it can play in connecting the North to key overseas markets through the launch of services to the likes of Hong Kong, Beijing, San Francisco and Boston in recent years and the announcement of new routes to Africa and India in the past few weeks. Manchester is also serving as a second global gateway to the UK for investors and visitors.

“Building on these successes, Manchester Airport is investing more than £1bn in transforming its facilities and unlocking the spare capacity on its exiting two full-length runways.

“It is clear, therefore, that is has a vital role to play in meeting the UK’s demand for connections to global markets at a time when other major airports will have run out of capacity.

“Government must now match its support for a third runway at Heathrow with specific and practical proposals to maximise the potential of airports like Manchester in the period to 2030 – the earliest the third runway is likely to be delivered – and beyond that.

“This includes support for schemes like Northern Powerhouse Rail, which will dramatically improve access to the North’s primary international gateway and help secure dozens more direct long haul services to key overseas economies.”"

http://mediacentre.manchesterairport...icy-statement/ (http://mediacentre.manchesterairport.co.uk/statement-from-andrew-cowan-reaction-to-governments-national-airport-policy-statement/)

If anyone wants to read the Hansard report of the policy statement, it is here. A little bedtime reading after going to the pub perhaps?

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-06-05/debates/ED5F2A14-318D-4A18-8414-E472C9608DD2/AirportsNationalPolicyStatement

[Navpi]

It should have been called
HPS

[Scottie Dog]

What a shame that the airport press release has a couple of spelling errors - the most obvious is "exiting" rather than "existing" two full length runways!!

[MANFOD]

Thanks Suzeman
Had a quick scan of the Hansard report and noted that comments and questions about cost and the potential risk to the public purse from the Labour Shadow Minister and Justine Greening appeared to go unanswered by Grayling. No surprise if so.
May in PMQs seemed to imply that all the costs re R3 would be privately financed. So all the costs associated with road works and mooted new train links to the airport are being fully paid by the private sector are they?? And what about compensation to house and businesses affected - how is that being paid for?

Andrew Cowan's response got a remarkable headline in bdaily north west. Apparently he welcomed the government decision for the vital expansion of Heathrow and in the first sentence of the report he 'hailed' it. Hmmm. a classic case of a headline not quite matching the detailed article that followed.

[Ivor Fynn]

“Manchester Airport has demonstrated the role it can play in connecting the North to key overseas markets through the launch of services to the likes of Hong Kong, Beijing, San Francisco and Boston in recent years and the announcement of new routes to Africa and India in the past few weeks.

A pity that it can’t move it’s own workers successfully from Staff East to the terminal and back!

Ivor:ugh:

[Caravaggio]

so inter organisation management liaison at Manchester Airport has been put in the ‘too difficult box’ then.
Bit like Northern Rail and Network Rail then. Buck passing and it’s always the other organisation’s fault. No responsibility then for anyone.

[NRU74]

Dropped someone off at T1 this morning. Judging by the work at the free Drop Off area it looks like a Pay to Drop Off will soon be in force.
Suppose they’ve got to get the money from somewhere.

[lfc84]

so inter organisation management liaison at Manchester Airport has been put in the ‘too difficult box’ then.
Bit like Northern Rail and Network Rail then. Buck passing and it’s always the other organisation’s fault. No responsibility then for anyone.


i fail to see how the government / UK BF can pass the buck to the airport. it seems pretty clear to me.

please explain.

[Navpi]

I'm sure Bdaily is actually ran from Birmingham even tbough it has regional titles.

Maybe a none to subtle hidden agenda.?

But maybe they are choosing the wrong target for their ire.

As the Birmingham Mail stated, Graylng admitted it could be curtains for them in terms of trying to compete on a level playing field given LHRs competitive edge.

If I were a Brummie I would be apoplectic at some of my local Mps who support rw3.

[LAX_LHR]

TUI to open a new route to Southern Italy next May, Lamezia Terme.

TOM2684 MAN 0600 SUF 1015
TOM2685 SUF 1115 MAN 1340.
Saturdays B737-800.

nice to see some more ‘out of the box’ airports added.

[Johnny F@rt Pants]

This route was done in Summer 2006 by Thomson.

[pholling]

so inter organisation management liaison at Manchester Airport has been put in the ‘too difficult box’ then.
Bit like Northern Rail and Network Rail then. Buck passing and it’s always the other organisation’s fault. No responsibility then for anyone.


The bad delays usually seem to happen when there are a number of late arriving flights pulling up in short order. The UKBF staffing seems to be done based on schedule and it doesn't look like there is a large amount of flexibility built in. If an airline is constantly have the same flights arrive late, then that is its issue. If MAN is putting holds on the inbounds that make things late, then it is MAN's issue. However, it is also MAN's responsibility to make sure that the infrastructure can handle the predicted flows, which for T3 seems to be a problem at times.

[GavinC]

The bad delays usually seem to happen when there are a number of late arriving flights pulling up in short order. The UKBF staffing seems to be done based on schedule and it doesn't look like there is a large amount of flexibility built in. If an airline is constantly have the same flights arrive late, then that is its issue. If MAN is putting holds on the inbounds that make things late, then it is MAN's issue. However, it is also MAN's responsibility to make sure that the infrastructure can handle the predicted flows, which for T3 seems to be a problem at times.

of course this issue is exacerbated by the fact there are three terminals as well as there is less slack at each individual terminal than there is as a whole. People queuing at T3 whilst UKBF staff may well be doing little to nothing in T1 and/or T2.

what MAN most needs is less segregation!

[DomyDom]

TUI to open a new route to Southern Italy next May, Lamezia Terme.

TOM2684 MAN 0600 SUF 1015
TOM2685 SUF 1115 MAN 1340.
Saturdays B737-800.

nice to see some more ‘out of the box’ airports added.
I agree LAX_LHR when you think where the airport was in the dark days route wise in the late 2000s. We now have routes like this that I would have dreamt of then. I remember looking at LGW with envy however we must be there or thereabouts now. Especially when the latest long haul routes kick in.

[LAX_LHR]

I don’t know how reliable this article is, or who the carrier could be (surely not just Jet Airways on all 3 routes?), but towards the bottom it states ‘flights to Bengaluru and Delhi to be announced soon’. Seems the floodgates have been opened.

https://inc42.com/features/is-manchester-emerging-as-the-new-london-for-indian-startups-looking-west/

[eggc]

Heard anything on Korean sniffing about LAX ?? Picked up tit bits, but nothing concrete.

Are we nearing saturation point now for long haul ex MAN ?

Bangkok maybe about to happen, possibly more to India, both need crossing off the wish list, but where is sensibly left after that ?

Seoul / Tokyo / another China route or two maybe / South Africa ? New Zealand a long shot maybe...but is that our lot ??

Can't see South America being viable from MAN.

VS and MT have the states pretty much sewn up and are growing.

The upcoming Ethiopian is great option for Africa with its extensive network.

So I struggle to see where MAN can continue with its long haul expansion...

Where would you say gaps remain beyond anything listed above that is already flying, about to launch or on my possible list ?

An impressive position to be in by the way :ok:

[Rutan16]

Sri Lanka
Resumption of Cairo
Nigeria
Kenya
Jordan
Lebanon
Qantas return with Dreamliner perhaps they do say Manchester is pretty profitable via the sandpit !
Malaysia
Year round Air Canada with a max
Iran
Bangladesh
Halifax or St John with Westjet
Additional China routes for sure

Less likely imho
Japan
Korea
Taiwan
anywhere in South America
any of the ex soviet stans
Vietnam
Indonesia

[roverman]

Sri Lanka
Resumption of Cairo
Nigeria
Kenya
Jordan
Lebanon
Qantas return with Dreamliner perhaps they do say Manchester is pretty profitable via the sandpit !
Malaysia
Year round Air Canada with a max
Iran
Bangladesh
Halifax or St John with Westjet
Additional China routes for sure

Less likely imho
Japan
Korea
Taiwan
anywhere in South America
any of the ex soviet stans
Vietnam
Indonesia




Just about all of those mentioned above are potentials in due course. Qantas would be nice but given that London is their only European destination these days (having once served several including MAN) I think they will have other priorities. New destinations are good but we need to see consolidation of existing routes, too. Looking at the mind-boggling capacity between London and New York I think MAN could ultimately sustain 5 or 6 daily flights against the 3 daily in 2018. The US West Coast has surely got to become year-round and daily to LAX / SFO. BOS, ORD, should surely be capable of daily year round service and perhaps MIA as a springboard into Central and S America.

As well as new and more frequent hub services I think we'll see TUi and Thomas Cook continue to add more exotic far flung beach destinations which Heathrow will never serve (what was that about the National interest, don't people need holidays as much as jobs? ha ha)

Few can now question MAN's role as the Global Gateway for the North. Heathrow can have its 3rd runway, its good for London and the South but not needed by the North, we've already got most places covered in one or two hops.

[PDXCWL45]

Few can now question MAN's role as the Global Gateway for the North. Heathrow can have its 3rd runway, its good for London and the South but not needed by the North, we've already got most places covered in one or two hops.
Heathrow is one of those 1 stop options, so an expanded Heathrow with more new routes available especially ones that aren't available at MAN will help increase those 1 stop options.

[LAX_LHR]

As we know, TK start 3 weekly A330’s on IST this month. On top of that, there are lots of ad-hoc A330’s on other flights, making 2 daily A330 on plenty of days.

One key date though, 29th August. TK will send 2 B77W, which judging by fares are almost fully booked as it is. There is abnother B77W on 8th August. Seems the route is doing very well at the moment. Surely a 3rd daily is up for consideration again?

[zfw]

Sri Lanka
Resumption of Cairo
Nigeria
Kenya
Jordan
Lebanon
Qantas return with Dreamliner perhaps they do say Manchester is pretty profitable via the sandpit !
Malaysia
Year round Air Canada with a max
Iran
Bangladesh
Halifax or St John with Westjet
Additional China routes for sure

Less likely imho
Japan
Korea
Taiwan
anywhere in South America
any of the ex soviet stans
Vietnam
Indonesia


Went to Phu Quoc in Vietnam this year and TUI have already started invading from LGW, so don't think it will be long before we do have a flight to Vietnam, they are really ramping the place up as a tourist destination. And its only a 35 min flight to Ho Chi Minh.

[boredintheairport]

For selfish reasons Amman would be great. For non-selfish reasons Royal Jordanian could make sense for a One-World option to much of Saudi Arabia and the GCC now that Qatar is persona non gratis in much of the region. Amman is decent little airport and Jordan a terrific country. Very pleasant place to transfer.
And completely anecdotally but the last few times I went to Amman from Manchester (TK and BA) there were a lot from the Manchester flight on the Amman flight from both LHR and IST.

Sri Lanka is certainly a popular holiday spot, as others have said so is Vietnam. TUI or Thomas Cook could well be in with a shout there.

Lebanon I wouldn't expect soon with the growing instability there.

Bangladesh has been rumoured before with BBC about to get some Dreamliners.

Iran is, IMO, very unlikely with sanctions likely to resume soon.

Kenya, again selfishly, would be absolutely perfect.

I would think another China route is in the pipeline.

I've heard Cairo is coming back in various places.

Nigeria - who would operate? Virgin? I would think they would shoot for Johannesburg or Delhi before they went for Lagos.

[1mach]

Qantas brings back memories of a quick £10 1 hour flip in the 747 on 24th March 1985. Guess who was first on the flight deck!

[Lee J]

Qantas brings back memories of a quick £10 1 hour flip in the 747 on 24th March 1985. Guess who was first on the flight deck!

Reg Varney?

[Suzeman]

Qantas brings back memories of a quick £10 1 hour flip in the 747 on 24th March 1985. Guess who was first on the flight deck!

The flight deck crew I guess.... :E

[Mr A Tis]

Am I the only one that is not getting into a overheated frenzy of salivation over more new services ? I find using this airport is a depressing miserable experience and the thought of more services nothing to shout about. The infrastructure is 10 years behind capacity and the new TP barely adds new aircraft parking and the benefit (if any) will not be seen fully for another 10 years- by which time it will already be inadequate. As someone who regularly shells out £2K-£4K for a ticket, what I see is a very high cost airport with a remarkably low level of service.
Maybe some people on here should get back down to earth & think about improving the passenger experience BEFORE adding more services.

[zfw]

Am I the only one that is not getting into a overheated frenzy of salivation over more new services ? I find using this airport is a depressing miserable experience and the thought of more services nothing to shout about. The infrastructure is 10 years behind capacity and the new TP barely adds new aircraft parking and the benefit (if any) will not be seen fully for another 10 years- by which time it will already be inadequate. As someone who regularly shells out £2K-£4K for a ticket, what I see is a very high cost airport with a remarkably low level of service.
Maybe some people on here should get back down to earth & think about improving the passenger experience BEFORE adding more services.

Tend to agree it has been getting worse over the years and a management team that seems clueless and full of its own self importance and grandstanding, heres another latest survey thingy widely available on the net,
The world's best and worst airlines and airports | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-5807791/Worlds-best-worst-airlines-airports-revealed-London-Stansted-comes-second-bottom.html)
and it places MAG firmly in the bottom at 136 for Manchester and 140 out of 141 for Stansted. It wouldnt be so bad if they said "right, lets take it on board what the customers are telling us and do something about it" instead of blowing their own trumpet as to how good they are and a Premium European airport.

Unfortunately this is what the customers think.

Manchester Airport Customer Reviews | SKYTRAX (http://www.airlinequality.com/airport-reviews/manchester-airport)

[ZOOKER]

I'm with you Mr A Tis.

The airport seems constantly soliciting more services than it has the capacity to handle. It's not a new phenomenon either. I remember Delta and QANTAS, often sitting on the taxiway near the engine-test facility for up to 40 minutes because there was nowhere to park. New services would often be announced with a fanfare of trumpets from Olympic House. 12-18 months later, we would ask 'has the LOT been in today'?......Oh, no they've finished. Look at the number of operators who have been and gone over the years.

Is the 'Manchester experience' being nurtured at the other 2 MAG sites, I wonder? I hope not. In the past, EGNX was a great little airport.

[Espada III]

Although I frequently have a pop at the airport, I have to say that last week I was very pleasantly surprised. I flew out later afternoon from T1 with security taking about ten minutes at most and arriving back on Friday morning, passport control was empty for the Europeans (although the queue for non-Europeans was Horrendous). Arrived and left by train which was also painless and I discovered it is quicker to walk from the station to T1 via the ground than take the overhead route.

[roverman]

Am I the only one that is not getting into a overheated frenzy of salivation over more new services ? I find using this airport is a depressing miserable experience and the thought of more services nothing to shout about. The infrastructure is 10 years behind capacity and the new TP barely adds new aircraft parking and the benefit (if any) will not be seen fully for another 10 years- by which time it will already be inadequate. As someone who regularly shells out £2K-£4K for a ticket, what I see is a very high cost airport with a remarkably low level of service.
Maybe some people on here should get back down to earth & think about improving the passenger experience BEFORE adding more services.

Manchester, so much to answer for. I confess to being a MAN-fan but also a critical friend of the Global Gateway for the North. No one is pretending that the experience of transiting MAN is a world class one, it isn't. It will be better for some than others partly dependent on timings etc and sheer good/bad luck. But expensive?, what doest Thou mean, Sir? For airlines? Looking at Heathrow's fees and charges I would say not. For the passenger, you can choose to pay for what you want, most airport's charge a premium for goods and services because they've got you captive.

As for passenger surveys and travel trade awards, whether complimentary or critical I pay them no heed as they are highly subjective and often display a lack of understanding of the air transport world. OTP is a much-abused measure and flawed in its recording, it's also true that many of the factors affecting it are outside the direct control of the airport.

MAN is investing a lot of money in TP. Yes it could have come sooner. It won't be Changi or Doha when finished because we have a democracy in this country which requires accountability over any spending in the public domain, and vanity projects are frowned upon.

Ask yourself this. Why do you use MAN? I'll give you my answer. I use MAN because on my doorstep I have an airport where I can fly to a large number of destinations, such as Los Angeles where I recently flew directly in 10 hours for £460 return. The alternatives via LHR / DUB etc started at twice that price and took a minimum of 15 hours. Imagine living in Lyon, France's second city with a nice modern airport all payed for by the State, and from where you can fly to errr, nowhere in the USA. MAN has such an incredible range of services. Whilst I would agree that ideally using an airport should be a pleasant experience, what is its ultimate purpose? Right! - to get you to where you want to go. Manchester gets you to a lot of places and why wouldn't we want yet more destinations? Far from being clueless, MAN's management are landing big fish almost weekly whilst the wannabes of Europe look on. Manchester displays the great Northern tradition of demanding and offering value for money. Airlines don't pay a fat tariff to access a huge market of 20+ million people and many industries. Passengers get an almost un-rivalled range of air services at a non-capital/hub airport. They don't get marble and glass, they get an airport experience which sometimes has its trials but will get better in the coming years. No airline is at MAN to slot sit or wave their flag like at Heathrow, they are here to make a profit, something they can't at many so called 'nice' airports, it seems. I wonder why.

Apologies if I my post has wandered a little, but it's in the ball park.

[DomyDom]

I'm with you Mr A Tis.

The airport seems constantly soliciting more services than it has the capacity to handle. It's not a new phenomenon either. I remember Delta and QANTAS, often sitting on the taxiway near the engine-test facility for up to 40 minutes because there was nowhere to park. New services would often be announced with a fanfare of trumpets from Olympic House. 12-18 months later, we would ask 'has the LOT been in today'?......Oh, no they've finished. Look at the number of operators who have been and gone over the years.

Is the 'Manchester experience' being nurtured at the other 2 MAG sites, I wonder? I hope not. In the past, EGNX was a great little airport.

MAN has started a major investment programme so things will improve. You need the services to pay for this and at the end the day at sparkling new airport with no services isn't much use.

[sparkysam]

Perfectly said Roverman, we are so lucky to have OUR airport on the doorstep. I live in Stockport so its a small distance to worldwide services. You are correct it depends on when you travel,i have been through twice on return trips since the new year and they were stress free experiences. I am traveling again on Thursday through terminal 1, i may comment on my experience at a later date. Cheers Sam

[ZOOKER]

"Sparkling new airport".

Loving your work Domy.

[Mr A Tis]

i have been through twice on return trips since the new year and they were stress free experiences
Twice in 6 months covering 3 terminals hardly in a position to get a grasp on what's going on.

My experiences are constantly dire, but yes I do get the odd good day- but very rarely.

Dropped off the Vice President of Marketing for a major global electronics company today into T1, Queues to drop off, an hour to bag drop and nearly as long for security. I just asked if he could rate Manchester T1 experience from 1-10. His reply was sorry doesn't even cut zero.
Disbelieve all the surveys you want, but the place is getting a severely bad name from premium pax.

Hence any further passenger expansion without facilities in place first will only add to that negative passenger experience.

We don't want sparkles- we want trouble free travel.

[FFHKG]

Just wish some of you guys could see what is regarded as a "decent" airport outside your limited experiences in Europe. I travel extensively in Asia and many Chinese cities, some of which you have probably never heard of, far outshine what Mancunians put up with on a daily basis.....in my honest opinion, MAN is really third world and will probably never catch up Asia as far as airport construction and efficiency are concerned. God knows what those coming off Cathay, Singapore and Hainan think of MAN.

Seems to me that far too many on this forum spend far too much time making excuses for and accepting a third class product at MAN. I will be through T3 next week and am certainly not looking forward to the experience based on past experiences in the last 18 months.

Oh, and BTW, I am originally from Cheshire and worked in the NW for many years and have seen MAN's growth over the years.

[LAX_LHR]

If MAN had billions upon billions of pounds, cheap labour, cheap materials and a government not concerned with the environment and people’s rights to give off large swathes of land, then I’m sure they too could have the glamour palaces of Hamad, Guangzhou, Incheon and so on.

its not excuses, it’s living within your means. Yes, the experience at MAN can be trying at times, but, To compare the experience at MAN with the likes of Changi is completely pointless and borderline absurd.

Yes, the T2 development is probably 10 years too late, but, we are where we are. The fact is, MAN are now trying to right it’s wrongs with the redevelopment. It’s not so much about expansion, but more, improvement.

I could go on, but I’ll probably just face the barrage of belittling comments as usual so I’ll accept them in cribs and drabs rather than one big hit.

[CabinCrew747]

I travel through Dubai roughly 30 times a year and find the experience seamless, excellent lounges, the most extensive and best value duty free in the world, fast security, boarding direct from the lounges but what never fails to amuse and disappoint me at the same time is that my passport works flawlessly in the UAE E-gates every time in a matter of seconds when entering and leaving the country, (also the case in Australia and Singapore) yet in my home country, where I’m directed without choice to the e-border, I enter the gate, stand there for what feels like an age when there’s a huge queue of people behind you watching, until the machine finally decides to spit me out and send me for manual processing. Every single time without fail both at Manchester and Heathrow. Out of Manchester’s hands but angers me off so much whenever I enter the UK.

On top top of that, having flown through Manchester 21 times this year as a passenger, mostly to/from Dubai, what shocks me is that I board in a mega terminal displaying 21st century travel at its best only to disembark into the 70s in some creeky, cold and decrepit pier, up and down stairs, in some cases with queues back down the escalators to immigration.

And then traveling through T3, I just brace myself for the worst. It used to be the best place to fly out of in Manchester a decade ago, a calm and relaxing terminal and now it’s just chaos. Even though staff at security will always see that I’m a well prepared traveller with my belt, laptop and liquids in hand before I approach them, they still find it necessary to talk to me and everyone else as if we are 2 year olds at kindergarten.

Then again, I think this is just modern day England shining through. All profits, no pride.

[DomyDom]

I travel through Dubai roughly 30 times a year and find the experience seamless, excellent lounges, the most extensive and best value duty free in the world, fast security, boarding direct from the lounges but what never fails to amuse and disappoint me at the same time is that my passport works flawlessly in the UAE E-gates every time in a matter of seconds when entering and leaving the country, (also the case in Australia and Singapore) yet in my home country, where I’m directed without choice to the e-border, I enter the gate, stand there for what feels like an age when there’s a huge queue of people behind you watching, until the machine finally decides to spit me out and send me for manual processing. Every single time without fail both at Manchester and Heathrow. Out of Manchester’s hands but angers me off so much whenever I enter the UK.

On top top of that, having flown through Manchester 21 times this year as a passenger, mostly to/from Dubai, what shocks me is that I board in a mega terminal displaying 21st century travel at its best only to disembark into the 70s in some creeky, cold and decrepit pier, up and down stairs, in some cases with queues back down the escalators to immigration.

And then traveling through T3, I just brace myself for the worst. It used to be the best place to fly out of in Manchester a decade ago, a calm and relaxing terminal and now it’s just chaos. Even though staff at security will always see that I’m a well prepared traveller with my belt, laptop and liquids in hand before I approach them, they still find it necessary to talk to me and everyone else as if we are 2 year olds at kindergarten.

Then again, I think this is just modern day England shining through. All profits, no pride.
Not wanting to be too political but one issue I have noticed in the bars, restaurants etc. at the airport is an apparent staff shortage. There is definitely an absence of E. European staff compared to a couple of years ago. These don't appear to have been replaced by as many eager young Brits wanting to do these jobs, hence the slow service and long queus etc. at certain times. I know many voted for Brexit and it's just one factor amongst others I'm sure but I don't think it's helped improve the service.

[AirportPlanner1]

I’d concur with the last poster. Having never used MAN before as I reside in the south I’ve now used it a few times in the last few months because of the SEN service as it saves me time and money compared to the train.

I’ve used all three departures - 08:25, 17:00 and 20:45. My experience is consistent in security being absolutely fine and staff courteous, facilities clean, good wi-fi plus very generous at 4 hours free, and workstations and power being available around the gates (in T3). The frustration has been unacceptable queues for the food outlets to the point that I gave up once and didn’t even bother another couple of times. Last time (am flight) one unit had no queue but I soon realised why - neither did it have any food available as they’d already sold out, except for a few muffins. I’ve learnt to grab something at Piccadilly before arriving if I’m hungry.

[azz767]

I did an exercise during the last week whereby I noted all TCX and VS long-haul movements so I could better grasp their schedules and the TCX one threw up a couple of questions.
1. How come there is different flight numbers for some routes despite departure time being at the same time. For example TCX2924 to LAS leaves at 9.15 on Tues and Sat, and TCX 2640 leaves at the same time to LAS on a Sun. Why not keep the same flight number?. (there is also 3 different flight numbers for JFK, 2852 Mon, Weds, Fri, 2848 Tues, Thurs, Sat and 2866 on Sun)
2. Also how come the same flight number does flights to the same destination at different times during different days. For example TCX2604 does MCO at 11.00 on Mon however on Weds and Fri it leaves at 12.00.
Also a question from the VS schedule:
ATL has been A333 for the last few weeks. It goes back to A332 next week, is this due to the 4th A332 being ready for service or are we taking back one from LGW?.

If anyone would like the spreadsheet don't hesitate to message me.

[Betablockeruk]

London Stansted's new long haul routes drive growth (http://mediacentre.magairports.com/london-stansteds-new-long-haul-routes-drive-growth/)

Manchester Airport’s traffic was flat year on year (-0.7%). Growth is expected to return to Manchester during the busy summer season, as other airlines fill slots vacated by Monarch Airlines, which ceased trading in October 2017.

[FFMAN]

It surprises me somewhat that MAG and others prefer to badge the airport as a 'Northern Gateway'. It sounds peripheral and almost self-deprecating.
In my opinion this panders to a London-centric view of the world outside the M25.

Get a map of the British Isles and look at where Manchester Airport is. Draw a small circle around it (like a hub) and then draw lines from it to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Norwich, London, Southampton, Bournemouth, Exeter, Cardiff, Dublin and Belfast.....looks bang in the middle to me.

What about 'The UK's Central Gateway?

[PDXCWL45]

It surprises me somewhat that MAG and others prefer to badge the airport as a 'Northern Gateway'. It sounds peripheral and almost self-deprecating.
In my opinion this panders to a London-centric view of the world outside the M25.

Get a map of the British Isles and look at where Manchester Airport is. Draw a small circle around it (like a hub) and then draw lines from it to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Norwich, London, Southampton, Bournemouth, Exeter, Cardiff, Dublin and Belfast.....looks bang in the middle to me.

What about 'The UK's Central Gateway?
Or maybe Northern Englands Gateway would be more accurate.

[Heathrow Harry]

I travel through Dubai roughly 30 times a year and find the experience seamless, excellent lounges, the most extensive and best value duty free in the world, fast security, boarding direct from the lounges but what never fails to amuse and disappoint me at the same time is that my passport works flawlessly in the UAE E-gates every time in a matter of seconds when entering and leaving the country, (also the case in Australia and Singapore) yet in my home country, where I’m directed without choice to the e-border, I enter the gate, stand there for what feels like an age when there’s a huge queue of people behind you watching, until the machine finally decides to spit me out and send me for manual processing. Every single time without fail both at Manchester and Heathrow. Out of Manchester’s hands but angers me off so much whenever I enter the UK.

On top top of that, having flown through Manchester 21 times this year as a passenger, mostly to/from Dubai, what shocks me is that I board in a mega terminal displaying 21st century travel at its best only to disembark into the 70s in some creeky, cold and decrepit pier, up and down stairs, in some cases with queues back down the escalators to immigration.

And then traveling through T3, I just brace myself for the worst. It used to be the best place to fly out of in Manchester a decade ago, a calm and relaxing terminal and now it’s just chaos. Even though staff at security will always see that I’m a well prepared traveller with my belt, laptop and liquids in hand before I approach them, they still find it necessary to talk to me and everyone else as if we are 2 year olds at kindergarten.

Then again, I think this is just modern day England shining through. All profits, no pride.
fair amount of evidence that uk border force see e gates . as threat to jobs. Early. versions suffered from sabotage, now they won' t switch them on as they prefer long queues to show how understaffed they are

[GLAEDI]

Heathrow Harry, what utter rubbish about the e-gates. Border staff are definitely not causing queues to increase numbers, (although 40% cut in staffing levels since 2015 hasn’t helped workloads welcome to austerity) if Border Force staff wanted to cause queues they’d work to H&S rules, take their required breaks but the staff don’t as they want to process passengers as quick as possible to get on with the casework that everyday generates.

The reason that the experience passengers get from gates around the world depends on databases that they use. U.K. database is different from Europe, which is different to US which is different to Canada. The gates reject people with similar names so that officers can confirm the persons identity. In U.K. some names are more common ie John Smith and that can mean people with common names having to use the manned desks. The e-gates are just another tool to aid the quicker processing of passengers that aren’t of interest to Border Force. 95% of the rejection at the gates is an automated response that the gates software has decided that forever reason that person or document requires a check by an Officer to confirm that they can be admitted to the U.K.
Please remember Border Force is Law Enforcement, they monitor Sex Offenders, Counter Terrorism, Immigration Crime, Customs Crime, Human Trafficking, Forged & Counterfiet Docs this is on top of the role at the Border to identify wether that person should be admitted under the Immigration Act 71 or wether they require leave to enter. If they require leave to enter are they entitled to leave to enter.

[FFMAN]

Or maybe Northern Englands Gateway would be more accurate.

That would be fair and equitable if LHR referred to itself as the Gateway to London and the South East.
In any case you miss my point - it's all about positive marketing and perception. Accuracy too - make a dart board out of a map of the UK and MAN is more or less a bulls-eye.

People in all the other countries that I work in don't see Manchester as a 'northern' this or that. When I show them where it is on my phone they always say 'oh right in the middle'. You would be surprised how many people think London is in the middle of the country - including people who live in London.

[MANFOD]

"You would be surprised how many people think London is in the middle of the country - including people who live in London".

Including the present Secretary of State for Transport perhaps??:ugh:

I can see MAN might be pushed to refer to itself as a hub, so "International Gateway" does seem to fit the bill. What adjective should precede it is a moot point and "Central" does maybe have a slightly stronger sound to it. Of course, BHX might take a dim view of that.

On e-gates, I've been rejected the last 2 times and along with a dozen others was re-directed to the staffed desks. At least there was a MAN staff member allowing us to filter in the main queue rather than going to the back of it. Nevertheless, it would be frustrating if you'd had a wait for the e-gates first.

[FFMAN]

On e-gates, I've been rejected the last 2 times and along with a dozen others was re-directed to the staffed desks. At least there was a MAN staff member allowing us to filter in the main queue rather than going to the back of it. Nevertheless, it would be frustrating if you'd had a wait for the e-gates first.

My passport is always rejected at the e-gates. Despite me telling the staff at entry, they still make me go through the inevitable rigmarole - three swipes and you're out - wasting my time and the time of the people tutting behind me.
Once, when I mentioned that my passport never worked in the e-gates, a very helpful Border agent suggested that it could be something to do with the thicker 32 page passport that a lot of us frequent flyers use. Because the spine is thicker it doesn't fold back quite flat. Also the attempt to do so pulls the scan page slightly out of line. Try it if you have one. It seems quite a plausible explanation.
If this is the case then perhaps people with 32 page passports can go directly to the line instead of wasting our(and other people's) time?

[ZOOKER]

FFMAN/MANFOD,

Although my geography course was mainly physical stuff, the human geography module on 'mental maps' was fascinating.

[LAX_LHR]

Looks like Eurowings have finally pulled Hamburg from July. Up against daily Ryanair and 2 daily EasyJet just couldn’t be sustained

[Heathrow Harry]

Heathrow Harry, what utter rubbish about the e-gates. Border staff are definitely not causing queues to increase numbers, (although 40% cut in staffing levels since 2015 hasn’t helped workloads welcome to austerity) if Border Force staff wanted to cause queues they’d work to H&S rules, take their required breaks but the staff don’t as they want to process passengers as quick as possible to get on with the casework that everyday generates.

The reason that the experience passengers get from gates around the world depends on databases that they use. U.K. database is different from Europe, which is different to US which is different to Canada. The gates reject people with similar names so that officers can confirm the persons identity. In U.K. some names are more common ie John Smith and that can mean people with common names having to use the manned desks. The e-gates are just another tool to aid the quicker processing of passengers that aren’t of interest to Border Force. 95% of the rejection at the gates is an automated response that the gates software has decided that forever reason that person or document requires a check by an Officer to confirm that they can be admitted to the U.K.
Please remember Border Force is Law Enforcement, they monitor Sex Offenders, Counter Terrorism, Immigration Crime, Customs Crime, Human Trafficking, Forged & Counterfiet Docs this is on top of the role at the Border to identify wether that person should be admitted under the Immigration Act 71 or wether they require leave to enter. If they require leave to enter are they entitled to leave to enter.
well someone was stuffing items into the readers at lhr a couple of years back to screw them up.......... one can only speculate who would do such a dastardly thing......

[pwalhx]

My passport is always rejected at the e-gates. Despite me telling the staff at entry, they still make me go through the inevitable rigmarole - three swipes and you're out - wasting my time and the time of the people tutting behind me.
Once, when I mentioned that my passport never worked in the e-gates, a very helpful Border agent suggested that it could be something to do with the thicker 32 page passport that a lot of us frequent flyers use. Because the spine is thicker it doesn't fold back quite flat. Also the attempt to do so pulls the scan page slightly out of line. Try it if you have one. It seems quite a plausible explanation.
If this is the case then perhaps people with 32 page passports can go directly to the line instead of wasting our(and other people's) time?
I have a 32 page passport and travel fairly frequently, I haven't ever had a problem with the e-gates.

[Betablockeruk]

Still talking? At least they're talking. Question from yesterdays #AskMANTP Q&A session:


Is US pre clearance still on the cards, as it’s gone very quiet on that front.
1:12 PM - 14 Jun 2018

Conversations about US Pre-Clearance are very much ongoing both with the US authorities and the airlines who fly from Manchester to the states #AskMANTP (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AskMANTP?src=hash)

[Mr A Tis]

On the Q & A I noticed this question was not answered:
What's the reason you build about 30 security bays for screening travellers then only man five causing misery for everyone flying out?

[triggerfish]

How about tcx or tui doing Maldives as every flight I went on was non stop And packed full

[GEB74]

Just on the Egates.......
My newish Passport fails 100% at Manchester gates.
I have one of the most uncommon surnames in the UK. That and the fact my previous passport worked fine leads me to believe I'm not being pulled due to surname (also, when my other 4 family members sail straight through the machines, it's a strong hint). Without being funny, I'm unlikely to be terrorist profiled either!
My passport works multiple times per year at both DXB and AUH airport Egates amongst others.
The Egates at AUH are even the same machines at Manchester from what I can make out.
Every time I roll up at Manchester, tell the queueline jobsworth it won't work and he/she are wasting both my time and every one else behind me sending me to an EGate.
Every time, I end up at the manual desk.
Every time I ask the Immigration Officer, is the chip working - yes it's fine.
Either UK Passport Office are issuing shoddy passports (which they don't like replacing free of charge), or the machines at MAN are shoddily setup / maintained.
As the Passport works elsewhere, I believe it's the latter.
I now make my feelings loudly known every time mine and other peoples time is needlessly wasted...........
The rigid "Everyone must attempt to use the Egate" 'rule' is what frustrates me.

[Mr A Tis]

Same here, no problem with e- gates anywhere else, Hong Kong and even Funchal for instance.Reject rate at MAN about 80%.
T1 security today queue back to beyond Etihad check in. Using” Fastrack “managed the process in just under 50 minutes- heavens knows how long the others took.
unsurprisingly most of the shops were empty & the lounges quiet as few people had time to use them. New services maybe a pleasure for spotters but for pax it’s nothing short of an endurance test. Sigh.
anyway I won’t comment on this again,

[Crazy Voyager]

T1 Fast track is a joke. It took me over 30 minutes the other week. I have given up complaining now, nothing seems to happen.

At least I've been lucky inbound lately, often through the border in just a few minutes, but then my passport always seems to work in the e-gates.

[mickyman]

I have never had any problems at Manchester either way in all the years I have been travelling through it - I must be in the majority ?

[Logohu]

I have never had any problems at Manchester either way in all the years I have been travelling through it - I must be in the majority ?

Haha, you and me both mickeyman !

In Sydney the Qantas airport staff say they always know when the BA flight has arrived at the gate because when the engines shut down they can still hear whining ;) Mind you, the rigmarole to clear CIQ, security, or change terminals there some days make MAN look like an oasis of calm in comparison

[GavinC]

big update by the airport on their Facebook page. Lots of new images

[Fairdealfrank]

In Sydney the Qantas airport staff say they always know when the BA flight has arrived at the gate because when the engines shut down they can still hear whining https://www.pprune.org/images/smilies/wink2.gif Mind you, the rigmarole to clear CIQ, security, or change terminals there some days make MAN look like an oasis of calm in comparison

That's a laugh, Ozzies are great but they do like a whinge, and moan much more than the so-called "whinging pommie bastards".

[BHX5DME]

Norwegian 789 (LN-LNK) might be coming to MAN
Currently holding over MAN as BHX is closed due ironically a Norwegian 738 blocking the runway

[rkenyon]

I have never had any problems at Manchester either way in all the years I have been travelling through it - I must be in the majority ?

Same here. I travel through T1 or T3 weekly, and never have issues.

[Navpi]

https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/justine-greening-government-must-rethink-heathrow-airport-expansion-plans-1-9208924

Manchester front and centre so why is MAG so timid ?

[MANFOD]

"Manchester front-end centre so why is MAG so timid ?"

And how about our NW MPs. and business leaders? Do they believe the LHR hype, are they indifferent, or do they believe MAN is in some way insulated from what happens at LHR and MAN will continue to grow at the same rate with or without R3?

[SWBKCB]

From the M.E.N website this morning

More T1 issues (https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-airport-t1-departures-delays-14796614)

[Curious Pax]

Who gives a sh1t about passenger, 10s of thousands will be along tomorrow to spend in the terminal


Ironically if the passengers are stuck in the security queue for 2 hours they won’t be spending as much in the terminal. Which is the likeliest trigger to getting the situation improved.

Seems odd that they suddenly seem to be short staffed (I’m assuming that’s the likeliest explanation for the delays) as I would have thought that today would be slightly quieter than last Monday as all the schools are now back. If England were playing a lunchtime match I’d be looking at absenteeism due to that, but the morning shift will all be home in time for the 7pm kick off tonight. I suppose the fact that it was Eid on Friday could also be a factor.

Despite being naturally inclined to defend MAN they don’t make it easy when their spokesman says “Due to high volumes of passengers we’ve experienced queues at security this morning”. Many things about aviation can be unpredictable, but in this case they will have known fairly accurately how many passengers were due to pass through, and the timeframes in which they were likely to arrive, so even a first year queuing theory student could work it out. It smacks of more staff being absent than expected, either due to calling in sick, or leavers not being replaced fast enough. They could be honest and say that.

[MANFOD]

Like Curious Pax I'm normally inclined to defend Manchester, but if true, 2 hours to get through security in T1 is totally unacceptable and indefensible. Not seen it mentioned but it would be interesting to know if all lanes in both the main and Jet2 security were open and from what time.
That might give an indication of whether the issue was staff shortages, or a lack of security facilities or perhaps equipment failures.

And those sort of comments from the airport about the so-called reason being high volume of passengers are just patronising and annoying. As pointed out, school holidays have finished, so what might it be like late July when the main summer school holidays start and with July / August traditionally being the busiest months, unless corrective action is taken.

[Mr A Tis]

Friday was no different in T1 (50 minutes fast track) heaven knows how long for non fast track, as that queue was 30 minutes just to get to get to the scanning machine entrance. The only thing in the shops were tumble weed, virtually all were empty despite thousands of pax passing by, no time for anything. If you bought a lounge visit then hard luck as that is non refundable.

My quick trip to DUS showed a stark contrast. This airport handles similar numbers to MAN. Huge landside areas, with nice cafes for that last minute meeting, before going to security. Peak time wait for that was 10 minutes. Not to mention the skylink monorail from the terminals to multi storey car parks and train station. No drop off fees of course either.

Arrival back to MAN, only 40ish people had checked bags out of the 180 pax, but these were not delivered for one hour after arrival once the aircraft had departed already back to DUS.

Yes, as the MAN spokesman said " sorry for the delay, but it is busy"

Streuth, it's T3 next week for me and I'm not expecting any difference from T1 this week.
I'm already using trains instead of MAN for Domestics and I think where possible, LPL has now got to be in the running.

[LFC22]

It is well and truly going downhill. Even the roads leading to the terminal are a mess, god knows how long they've been dug up but not worked on. And I don't even want to get started on Staff East, absolute shambles. Think I may have to switch to Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham from now on.

[Luke1991]

When I departed Last Sunday (10th) the queue for security was around 45 minutes in T1. Fast track lanes only upstairs, all other pax directed down to Jet2 security, quite chaotic really, especially when the vast majority of T1 pax check in upstairs.
Arrival back this morning, flight was delayed by 90 minutes, which meant immigration was almost empty, apart from the non-EU passport line, and all e-gates up and running.
Only downside was Aviator delivering the luggage, took over an hour from disembarking til all luggage arriving on the belt.

[LFC22]

The managing director of the airport should be made to use staff east for as long as it takes him to realise how he is treating the workers like scum.
On a weekday at 5pm preferably. Heard many rumours that it's about to close however, and all the staff are about to be moved to Jetparks Ringway

[CabinCrew747]

Friday evening, T1. I was headed out to DXB and arrived 2 hours before departure. Checked in and then hit the absolute joke that is security at MAN. They had 2.5 lanes open (i'll explain) to cover an A380 plus many other departures. It took over an hour to clear. The worst part of it was that despite the huge queues, they closed a lane and sent home probably upwards of 20 staff who just walked straight by all the passengers patiently waiting. Quite the slap in the face whilst I understand people deserve to go home from work. They then reopened a lane but not fully. Only for scanning baggage whilst pax were redirected around a queue of people waiting, to be scanned in a different lane. At the time I reached the front of the queue, they stop scanning bags for over 10 minutes with staff all over the place. They looked like they didn't have a clue what they were doing. Couple this with the usual patronising, smug remarks from the staff aimed at passengers and it just made for an awful experience. As others have said, the shops were empty, restaurants and cafes empty. The only place I really saw many people was at the gates. I complained to the Duty Security Controller after I got through and their response was "we don't have any control over how many staff we get".

Absolute shambles. Compare this to DXB where at peak times, you can expect perhaps a 5-minute wait at security.

[ZOOKER]

Council Van, do the CEO/Top Management Neddies still park their 4x4s outside Olympic House?

[FFMAN]

The most recent T1 meltdown is not the first one in recent times. I was snarled up in one around three weeks ago. Same thing...Security A closed to all but Fast Track. Despite having a LH Business Class ticket I was directed to Security B on the basis of 'It'll be quicker - trust me'.
The queue for Security B trailed back through the check in queues for TCX. People were not sure which queue they are in and then started 'pushing in' to the part of the right queue that they thought they should be in - annoying other people in the process.
The queue trailed down the stairs from Level 5 to the ground floor then instead of going to the e-gates, snaked around the building actually in to the Jet2 Check-in hall before swinging all the way back the way we had come to get to the e-gates. At that point it was possible - 45 mins later - to actually start queuing for security, which was another 35 mins.
The direct result of this was successfully persuading Mrs FFMAN that our upcoming trip to Ireland would be by car ferry from Holyhead - for no other reason than to avoid the hideous ordeal that is now Manchester Airport.
Anyone reading this take note - either book your flights from an alternative airport or don't fly. Unless you're very lucky you will hate the whole rotten experience.

[FFHKG]

Some months back, I commented on my security experience in T3, and the usual MAN supporters tried to play down my comments. I am not going to repeat them but all I will say is the experience in T5 at LHR even at peak times, and also at LGW South Terminal is nowhere near as bad..... less than 5 minutes on average and without the usual shouting that seems the norm at MAN. I will not repeat my comments about the superior experience in Asian airports other than to say in the last 12 months, other than to say that I have only had one wait at security longer than 5 minutes.

I am through T3 on Friday morning so Manchester Security try and surprise me - clear me in less than 5 minutes.... but on the basis of recent comments, this could be wishful thinking.

[Ringwayman]

Its the same people having the sane problems Maybe ithey are the problem and not the airport?

[PapaEchoNovember]

Nope, I have problems with the airport almost every time I (unfortunately) have to use. Rude and obnoxious security staff, with huge queues is issue number one for me but I can relate to pretty much all of the complaints above

[MAN2SIN2BKK2FRA]

Security at MAN has always been a joke, I have spent many unpleasant hours stuck in the queues, one of the earliest that comes to mind was in 1990 queuing in Terminal 1 security for nearly an hour with a Cathay Pacific business class ticket at the 9.00am peak, no leisurely stroll to the end of Pier C...…… I really hope MAN have been learning its lessons and got it right with the redevelopment of Terminal 2, unfortunately I believe this is wishful thinking as there is a mentality in the UK that treats people who want a bit of extra service like pariahs.

In other countries you pay the cash and you expect fast track lanes, lounges and baggage off first - no queues.

Even in Terminal 1 at FRA, which is a real dive it is possible to go check in to gate in 15 minutes inclusive of security and passport control

[FFHKG]

Arrived Manchester some 40 minutes ago... two of the three travellators from T1 to the station were not working, nor were the two down escalators to the station plstforms working. Am I unlucky, I have yet to experience a journey from T1 to the station where everything is working?

[Mr A Tis]

FFHKG- presumably they are off whilst they install a coin slot to operate......

[Trav a la]

Either you work for the Manchester Airport PR department or.........................

To a certain degree I think I understand what he's getting at.

I dropped some family off at T3 early yesterday morning. When I spoke to them later I asked how they had got on, all they complained about was the wait for bags at the other end. They are not regular, or even irregular, users of airports such as Changi and have got used to Manchester being what it is. It's morphed into an unmanageable monster for the next few years at least.

I do feel for you and all other users of Staff East, however, special arrangements should have been made for crews with legally regulated working hours. The additional time and stress makes a mockery of regulated working hours when you regularly arrive to start your day feeling hot and bothered.

[FFMAN]

Its the same people having the sane problems Maybe ithey are the problem and not the airport?

By 'the same people' I assume you mean the frequent flyers who have to use the place on a regular basis and are sick to the back teeth of its ineptitude, lack of basic fitness for purpose and the unwillingness of anyone in the airport management to address the issues. We are also the people who are best placed to compare what is considered 'normal' in airports all over the world and compare it to the third world dump that Manchester has become. Your comment perfectly sums up the attitude of MAN management. Any business that starts to blame its problems on its customers, is headed only in one direction. Current evidence bears that out.

We don't do this because we get a nice week in the sun but because we have to go to work - in my case since all my company's business is export.- to bring money in to this country that wouldn't otherwise come in. We get treated like sh!t for our efforts.

[mickyman]

FFMAN
You are obviously a very important person to the airport and the country and I would hate to think that you felt
devalued as a consumer.Perhaps there should be a business lane for you at all airports so that you can
concentrate on your work and bring in more deals without being distracted or irritated?

[ZOOKER]

FFMAN,

Are you not able to do your 'business' online? I do loads of stuff without having to leave home these days. Think of the CO2 you would save.

With the internet, 'business travel' should become a thing of the past.

[AndrewH52]

FFMAN,

Are you not able to do your 'business' online? I do loads of stuff without having to leave home these days. Think of the CO2 you would save.

With the internet, 'business travel' should become a thing of the past.

Business doesn’t work like that especially if you are keen to grow through exporting - it often takes face to face negotiations or attendance at trade shows to seal a deal. Business travellers are critical to MAN’s long term success - if they start to take their business elsewhere it will take a long time to win them back and put some of the hard won new long haul routes at risk.

[ZOOKER]

Well I've imported quite a bit over the years Andrew, and the 'exporters' with whom I deal have never felt the need to come and see me, in over 25 years. Business travellers will be up Sh!t Creek without a paddle when the oil runs out....As it will do, sooner, rather than later. It will certainly put the kibosh on new long-haul routes........Hard-won or otherwise.

[Navpi]

Manchester has as many BUSINESS routes as Heathrow but hang on.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/british-airways-border-queues-at-heathrow-are-damaging-the-uks-reputation-a3866386.html

When queues form at Manchester its the airports fault ie Manchester.

....at Heathrow , inexplicably , it's Border Force !

[FFHKG]

Manchester, just like LHR, has its problems with border queues. What we are talking about here is the airport's incompetence to organise its security clearance and manage its queues. This is solely the airport's responsibility.

[Mister Geezer]

I used to commute through MAN on regular basis between six to ten years ago and sometimes it was as frequent as flying in and out once a week and it was an acceptable experience back then. I revisited the airport a couple of times last summer and I was appalled at what I saw in terms of how congested T3 was but what really stood out, was how staff interacted with passengers at security. I now try and steer clear if at all possible!

Perhaps one of the worst security experiences at any UK airport.

[sparkysam]

Mr A Tis Did not realise you had to be a frequent flyer to comment on this forum. Anyway flew return journey through terminal 1 which was very busy (6am). We had our boarding card and hand luggage only and from getting out of the car to having a cool pint took 40 minutes. Our return at (4pm) was quicker from chocks to getting in taxi 30 minutes. Maybe its because my travel these days is purely for pleasure and i am easy going , so smile take a chill pill enjoy Cheers Sam

[Mr A Tis]

Sparky Sam - streuth - a cool pint at 6am ? Lucky you We can't all travel without checked bags.
My last visit was 6am last Friday (T1),- using Fastrack 50 minutes - Non fast trackers 90-120 minutes - You joined the queue at Emirates & walked opposite direction to Etihad before snaking back to easyJet and then the security entrance- as per the Evening News reporting the same on Monday.

Arrival back at MAN - 1 hour to deliver about 40 bags.

Zooker, my other half spends about 10 hours a day on conference calls on line- however, he is required to travel world wide for conferences, workshops & of course trade fairs where promotion of the company in person is essential. Although based in Hong Kong he spends an awful lot of time in Europe. He works his schedule in the UK to avoid MAN as much as possible but sometimes it's unavoidable. If you are working a 14 hour day you don't want to start with a 2 hour wait stood in a pen.

I have supported MAN all my life & the great days of Gill T are gone and now we have managers interested in bonuses rather than passenger experience. Yes many people have good or indifferent experiences, but it is abundantly clear a substantial number are having abysmal experiences. That's not a subjective view but reality, to suggest otherwise is denial.

[Manchester Exile]

That's not a subjective view but reality, to suggest otherwise is denial.

Indeed it is denial. I don't know why so many people on this forum get so defensive about it. The passenger experience going through security at MAN is extremely poor compared to any other world airport that I've been through. And I go through around 25 departure terminals each year in Europe, Asia and the USA, and I speak from many years of experience.

I have a special fondness for Ringway due to it being my original home airport but the plain fact is that I've never been anywhere else where you regularly queue 45+ minutes to clear security. I don't know if the problem is due to limited terminal capacity, cost-cutting on staffing levels or something else, but it just does not happen elsewhere. I hope that queues can be reduced to a level that's on par with other airports when the TP is delivered. Having a pleasant customer experience will boost traffic as passengers will choose to fly again through Manchester rather than select another airport. I imagine that most readers of this forum want Manchester to have as wide a network as possible, and improving the outbound security delays will help to deliver that goal.

[Navpi]

I appreciate MANCHESTER doesn't exactly run like a well oiled machine but i am puzzled that when security issues re queues manifest at MANCHESTER its MAGs fault.

At Heathrow yesterday it was a shambles and IAG wasted no time in screaming blue murder that it was a Border Force problem. they got there point across via a headline in The Telegraph.

What is up with Manchester PR that they are so timid ?