Has anyone else noticed how the taxiways are sinking about 3 inches around where the lights were put in. At least we know where when we are on the centreline from the noise from the nosewheel.

The whole area is a patchwork of broken concrete and mastic. It really is embarrassing to be British - I wonder what some of our European cousins think when they arrive here.
Oh well Welcome to Manchester leading airport of the 4th World.

Groundhog day?
 

I seem to remember this thread before - ah yes, here's what I wrote in March:

Nice thread. Yep, MAN is becoming a joke. I actually wrote in about that walk from the B pier and got send a nice reply here in Switzerland about it being a temporary arrangement to comply with post-Sep 11th requirements to separate arriving and departing passengers.. .. .But the problem in MAN now is you've got management in there lining their pockets and trying to run the place according to Bob Ayling theories ie. latest trendy book they've picked up at WH Smiths.. .. .Rant over.

And there I was thinking "they'll sort it all out in time for the Commonwealth games"

I'm born and bred in Manchester, and it really pains me to see this thread re-appearing. Get out of your ivory towers and sort this mess out.

PS. And better late than never - Thanks to the Swissair Express Flightline BAe146 skipper who gave me the jumpseat ZRH-MAN on 7th September 2001. I will always remember you, because that was my last jumpseat trip before the collapse of Swissair, my former employers. I hope things have worked out OK for you after the traumas of the past 10 months. Cheers.

I see that the major upgrade to the Woodford Taxiways, Apron and Runway is now well under way. Rumour has it that consultants have recommended that Woodford be the ''Business'' Terminal for Greater Manchester with the proletarian hordes stuck with the present crumbling edifice.There is no terminal at Woodford but I hear that there is ample space in Avro House which could be easily converted. There is lots of car parking and the site overall is secure. Anyone know more?

Perhaps this could be a good opportunity for the journalist readers of this forum to write some damming articles, highlighting the many failures that manchester (led by G.Muirehead) has, and the lack of improvements that have taken place. In doing so you may even win back some respect ! MAN management sit fat dumb and happy in their lavishly furnished suite offices thinking that they are infallible, and therfore untouchable. Well they are not. If shaming manchester into becomming the21st centuary airport that it portrays itself to be - then so be it! Im sure that a good newspapper article will at least cause sever embarassment to G.muirehead and will relax his feeling of being above critisism!
Listen up Geoff, let this be a wake up call to yer - Remember, you still have to elceted to remain in place! :o :eek: :o :eek: :o

Firstly Ive never been to EGCC so can not comment from first hand experience. However I have to say that everytime I see SITA address MANAPXH appear on the screen in front of me, it is usually Servisairs 'Flash Message' that the baggage system in T1 has failed! It is not uncommon to see this telex three to four times a week!

Recently operated some VIP charter work through EGCC. Guess what. Flight left on time, cabin crew did a great job, catering was perfect, everything turned up as it was supposed to around route. A well planned and executed bit of work. Until....
Pax turn up in Italy, bags still in MAN. At least a couple were. And it took three days for this one poor bloke to get his back. A lot of hard work by both crew and Ops staff wasted because that group of Pax will not remember all the good work our company did. All they will remember is their three days in Rome without clothes, shoes etc etc. VERY FRUSTRATING. :mad:

EGCC
 

BoeingBoy

Your speling izz teribull butt wot yoo sayy izz goood!!! :p

Also on this note - does anyone know why half of the station car park has been fenced off??? Is this purely to allow the builders somewhere to put their lunchboxes and newspapers, or is there something more constructive behind it?? (Pun intended)

;)

Ah, the old 'For your comfort and convenience, half the car park has been fenced off' routine.

Well said Boeing Boy, The airport is rotten from its very core; the Board and the Management are sinking into a mire of smug complacency and arrogance.

Whilst these fat cats enjoy privileged parking spaces for their 9 to 5 jobs, when I and my crew get back at 2 in the morning there is a 30 minute wait for a bus, at least at this time of the night there is space on it.

The reality is that the top fat cat management do not care about the minions, the people who are working throughout a 24-hour time scale to keep them in their undeserved luxury.

Apart from the disgraceful bus service, there are no trolleys in the staff car park, what about crews who come back from a long trip and have luggage, there is just no thought.

And as for airside, it reminds me of some of the African airports that I have flown into, the taxiways are a disgrace, the air bridges don’t work or aren’t manned and as for the pathetic mirrors through which you are supposed to see your nose wheel on a dark and wet night, at the same time as watching everything else that starts to move whilst the aircraft is still moving.

The trouble is the list is endless; nothing short of a complete clear out at the top will rectify the position.

Yep, without a doubt the 'World's worst Airport'. Thank goodness I don't work from there anymore.

Dissapointing
 

Everytime I am destined to operate a flight out of Manchester (Ringpiece), be it either an Ad Hoc or ACMI charter I am assured of one thing. I know that getting fuel can take anything up to four hours to arrive at the aircraft even though it had been prebooked over twelve hours previously, I know that the cleaners will hopefully arrive in my lifetime, though what they do on the aircraft is anybody's guess. Both main handling companies recruit from the same pool of individuals "The invisible persons recruiting agency" Many of them have not even sprouted pubic hair yet, so even when the are in attendance they are as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. Baggage/cargo loading might as well be done by the crew, it would be far more expedient than relying on the airport staff. Trying to get a supervisor or managers name from the dispatcher is harder than pulling teeth, as is an on time departure. Lamentable excuses as to why this that and the other cannot be completed seems to be the normal operating policy. All of this is from a crew point of view!

As far as using the terminal facilities, maybe someday all the handling staff will be given the correct access cards to the various security doors, Crews will be able to have their own check-in area, the walkways/escalators between the airport and the radisson might actually be serviceable... oh the impossible dream. As far as I am concerned happiness is V1 at Manchester hopefully never to return until things improve!

A PAX Writes......
 

As a frequent user of MAN (at least weekly) to UK & Europe I thought I’d let you have my point of view as SLF. I normally fly scheduled for business and pleasure, unless there is no reasonable alternative to a direct charter (some ski & sun holidays). I don’t normally have to wait around for long in the gate areas, as I have a number of airline lounge cards – not a boast, just a fact of life given the amount of travel I do, possibly giving me a better impression of the airport.

Given that it’s the SLF who choose the carriers and airport and (more importantly) buy the tickets that fund the whole operation, I would have thought that Passenger Satisfaction would be high on everyone’s agenda. One the whole, I find MAN quite a pleasant airport to travel through. I think the standard of décor and facilities are certainly higher than LHR, the walk to the gates easier than AMS and the whole operation more pleasant than CDG. Things are not perfect in all areas, and remember this is a PAX POV – but we are the ones that pay for the service. As for the terminals:

T1: Looking at lot smarter since the shopping area facelift, but spoiled by the out of action travelators and the weird arriving/departing split arrangements. By now, the authorities should have planned and built something a more “professional”. Baggage times vary from OK to appalling, though this varies by airline and time of day. Scheduled better than Charter. The new gates between T3 & T1 are smart, as is the refurbed charter pier – but I’ve not been down that way for a while.

T2: Still a smart, modern, terminal. Compare the standard of décor and maintenance to that of of LHR, and ask yourself which you prefer. If I’ve got to go on a bucket & spade, I’d rather do it from here than Gatwick. Again, bags time varies between carriers, but I’ve never been caught out by a long wait

T3: Can be a little crowded when busy (esp. security), but clean, smart & airy airside. My main gripe is that of the claustrophobic baggage halls. Also BA really needs to smarten up their check-in act – it simply takes too long, irrespective of class/destination. Ticketing is also a joke at peak times. More staff, better machines, or more people will walk round to BD.

I know that there are downsides for staff & airside ops, but I stress that the above is my subjective view as a punter. It looks as if the airlines are doing a good job of papering over the cracks for the benefit of the PAX. Maybe the scheduled airlines are doing a better job that the charters?

I find myself in agreement with Land After. Manchester isn't the best in the world but it is a very long way from being the worst. I no longer operate from there so I'm a little behind on the state of the concrete and the marshalling etc so please excuse me if I don't address those issues. From a pax point of view (I travel through weekly) it is better than most in the UK and many in Europe.

Sure there are problems like the ridiculous T1 security queue and the walk back along the piers post Sept 11, but taken as a whole I'd rather be there than a lot of other airports.

I think the term stuck in a time warp was used. I hardly think that can possibly apply. Look at the development (most very beneficial) over the last 10 years. How many new runways have been built in the UK lately? Come on it's not perfect but they are moving forward and when they do build they look after the place so the pax don't feel as though they are walking through a building site, unlike Luton.

As for the car parks and operating matters, the sentiment here may be well made but it's only part of the story.

usernothername/land after

Couldn't agree more. Manchester is far from the worst, although it does have its' problems. I suppose you have to take into account the enormous structural change the airport has 'suffered' over the past 5 or 10 years- Terminal Three, Runway 2, the southside taxiways, segregation in T1, the T1 airside makeover- the list is endless.

The other thing I forgot to mention is that T1 Piers A/B were never built originally to handle anywhere near the amount of traffic they do today. A Pier has faired better with the opening of T3, but B Pier has simply been adjusted and added to as time and passenger numbers have dictated. This is one of the reasons we see ourselves in the mudled situation we are in today, in my opinion.

Landing_24R

The reality is that no one from The Worlds Worst Airport Management Team has the guts to address the issues raised by staff who work for or fly from this dump. The reason, they are so smug and complacement and they truly do not care.

They are only interested in gathering vast unjustified salaries and awaiting their OBEs.

In fairness to the airport, their incompetence sickness has spread to the handling agents who have no concept as to how to turn an aircraft around on time.

Thank God for Liverpool which I always use when travelling as a passenger to a destination served by their ever expanding network.

Gosh aren't we all getting our knickers in a twist about nothing !

Manchester has problems like any other airport and has had to cope with the demands placed upon it by Government post 9/11. And let's be fair, as a rent paying tenant at EGCC, I have more cause to complain than anyone since my staff and customers all work here.

However, there are forums in which to channel your comments/complaints. Sounding off here just vents anger - if you are unhappy then discuss it with YOUR management and get THEM to do something about it. If YOUR management don't listen or do anything then that is not MAplc's fault. After all YOUR employers are tenants as well and should act in a responsible manner towards their employees.

My staff all have car parking in T1/2 MSCP - why ? Simply because we pay for it. Yes, it is an expensive cost, but I consider our staff to be worth it ! Do YOUR employers think the same when bussing you to Staff West ?

If your employers want something done, they should act - we work closely with all airlines, handling agents and MAplc - heck we even designed the new road layout at the Bus Station to ensure that the staff buses can get through the traffic jams there caused by "meeters and greeters" who would prefer to burn off fuel than pay to park their cars !

Yes there are lots of problems at EGCC but EVERY airport has them ! None of us live in an ideal world !

EGCC - home of Britain's lowest flying airline !!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTC

It is quite obvious from your post and profile that you have no concept of what goes on Airside, and as you and your staff do not use Staff West, no concept of the problems. It is naive to suggest that airlines should move their staff to the short term car park, what is needed is a proper provision of staff parking facilities. Car Parking is but one issue in a whole catelogue of problems resulting from the head in the clouds, arrogant management.

In the past I have participated in some of the forums suggested, nothing is achieved, they are talking shops full of hot air and booze.

The time has come for Manchester Airport PLC to move into the 21st Century and to be run by a team of Directors and Management who are competent and understand the needs of a modern airport.

So how is it that my case, clearly marked 'CREW' in large print regularly gets off loaded at EGCC? Luckily I don't have to go into the terminal ever, so I don't know about any other problems. But it does often take 45 minutes to turn a 34 seat aircraft around (and we are scheduled for a 30 min turn around). ATC is brilliant though.

BTC

The airlines are not really tenants. If my outfit were to upsticks and move ops to LPL then T1 would probably close! The AIRLINES are the CUSTOMERS who provide the passengers. A lesson in customer service is what is needed for the arrogant suits at MAN. By the way, yet more staff parking spaces fenced off at the railway this week!:mad: :mad:

did somebody actually design the new road system at t1, i thought it just appeared like the other nightmare things that keep happening

It's been reported that Manchester is the best UK airport in a survey.

What's been said on this thread doesn't seem to tally with that report!