BA and MAN

Every so often I have a period in which I don’t log onto this site…and I miss great threads like this, so many opportunities and comments…seems a bit late now!

Interesting thread im useing LHR, and AMS as a transit point in the next year so it will be interesting to see which will be the better. Having worked with Passengers who use both airports as a transit from NCL both airports appear to be just as popular for transits.

BA would never go long haul from any of the locals as it just pulls Revenue away from London. Thats why they have the LHR and LGW Shuttles to get passengers into the Main Hubs and onto Long Hual connections.

^^Beacause as mentioned more and more poeple like to go thorugh A continental Hub rather then out Hell hole of LHR. I mean like Mark said a lot of frequent business travellers do tend to like going through LHR beacuse it is a easier termainal system to them anyway. But for instance take the
Mum and Dad Jones(Example) They want to go to SYD for a Long Break. They say that they want to avoid LHR and would rather transit somewhere else. Also they want to go via a Good Easier terminal rather then leaving one terminal to get the the next terminal.
SQ or EK are 2 good options for them. I mean EK have One terminal and it is eaiser to Transfer for the Arrivals Floor to the Dep Floor. Or how about SIN. That is easier aswell one terminal for both MAN and SYD flights(Unless your on the A380 of Course).

£100 invested in the FTSE 100 5 years ago= £150 today. Had you put the money in Easyjet, it would be now worth £160. Had you put in BA, it would be worth £205. I just do not understand the why anyone could ever believe that BA have deliberately turned profitable routes into unprofitable ones when their stock has outperformed the market by a factor of 2.

The reason i say go via a Europhean base is simple.Beacuse we find that the airports we connect throught and not only well designed but there easier to navagte then LHR. AMS for instance is just one huge terminal which is great. I mean lets take a good friend of the famliy for instance. He is flew to KIX last year on business and he said to me which airline do i fly with. He said that BA dont fly there so i said AF LH or JL from a Continental Airport. He chose AF and he said that the terminals are well designed in paris and it is easier to connect through CDG then it is LHR.

This doesn’t stack up with the opinion of most of the frequent travellers I know. CDG is just as much of a dog to connect through than LHR because of its staggerred terminal system.

BA is soon going to be loosing out on connecting passengers beacuse AF KL LH LX and other carriers are moving into our local airports making it easier to connect through there on terminal airports to the rest of the world. Also dont forget middle eastern carriers such as EK moving into local airports.One recent one is the one in september EK and NCL brilliant for NCL aswell as the local region and it gives us northerners wishing to go to Asisa/the Oceianic Region a chance to escape the hussle and bussle of LHR and go to a well designed one temrminaled airport such as DXB.

These carriers have been in the regions providing flights to their hubs for generations, it isn’t a new phenomenon.

Just a pitty that BA couldnt predict the future oh we might of well seen such routes to DXB KIX NRT LAX SFO from Airports across the County (NCL MAN GLA and BFS

Or how about following the exact same business model as all these other airports and investing in their hub airport to improve the transit experience?

Well carl has choosen a good option to go via Zurich is a very wise move.
It is wise beacuse LH LX and SQ are all Star Aliance Partners.

If carl misses his ZRH connection swiss which is liable should hopefully either check the SQ flights from ZRH or GVA and if they are full it will leave FRA with either LH or SQ.

The reason i say go via a Europhean base is simple.Beacuse we find that the airports we connect throught and not only well designed but there easier to navagte then LHR. AMS for instance is just one huge terminal which is great. I mean lets take a good friend of the famliy for instance. He is flew to KIX last year on business and he said to me which airline do i fly with. He said that BA dont fly there so i said AF LH or JL from a Continental Airport. He chose AF and he said that the terminals are well designed in paris and it is easier to connect through CDG then it is LHR.

BA is soon going to be loosing out on connecting passengers beacuse AF KL LH LX and other carriers are moving into our local airports making it easier to connect through there on terminal airports to the rest of the world. Also dont forget middle eastern carriers such as EK moving into local airports.One recent one is the one in september EK and NCL brilliant for NCL aswell as the local region and it gives us northerners wishing to go to Asisa/the Oceianic Region a chance to escape the hussle and bussle of LHR and go to a well designed one temrminaled airport such as DXB.

Just a pitty that BA couldnt predict the future oh we might of well seen such routes to DXB KIX NRT LAX SFO from Airports across the County (NCL MAN GLA and BFS)

well we shall see !!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure your trip will be absolutely fine.

But in this day and age contingency planning has to form a big part of planning a trip, especially if you’re a frequent flyer. One day things will go wrong and you end up getting bitten in the **** otherwise!

My point is that that is exactly the same in LHR or ZRH. If you misconnect in either, the airline involved will reroute you. The only difference is you have far more options for getting where you want to at LHR than ZRH if things go wrong (which they do frequently).

well we shall see !!

So should we tell SQ to forget about their daily non-stop service? Beggars belief that we create and agitate for foreign airlines to begin regional long-haul services only to find some passengers maintaining the status quo except changing transfer airport away from LHR.

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Nordjet’s post would be okay but for the idea that BA converted profitable franchised airlines into loss-making subsidiaries. Nor does BA help themselves by proudly boasting that they’d base a 777 at MAN for Islamabad services offering increased capacity but pull the route within a couple of years, with the 777 still not having found its way here. If they know they can’t deliver what they promise, they should not go to the media and promote themselves. I hardly think the route went from profitable one year to unprofitable the next? AS for the JFK link, we know that they are embarrassed by it still operating but it steadfastly refuses to make a loss but they believe they’ve now done the right thing by now using the 767s in the wrong configuration: it can’t be the right configuration as for years they’ve denied the idea that regional airports are capable of sustaining three-class aircraft!

The Swiss service offered me the best price in Business Class and availability when I am travelling, which was why I booked it.

Next year I am flying to Singapore from Manchester…………via Zurich with Swiss, one hour connection and avoiding a more stressful alternative at LHR changing terminals etc.

So should we tell SQ to forget about their daily non-stop service? Beggars belief that we create and agitate for foreign airlines to begin regional long-haul services only to find some passengers maintaining the status quo except changing transfer airport away from LHR.

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Nordjet’s post would be okay but for the idea that BA converted profitable franchised airlines into loss-making subsidiaries. Nor does BA help themselves by proudly boasting that they’d base a 777 at MAN for Islamabad services offering increased capacity but pull the route within a couple of years, with the 777 still not having found its way here. If they know they can’t deliver what they promise, they should not go to the media and promote themselves. I hardly think the route went from profitable one year to unprofitable the next? AS for the JFK link, we know that they are embarrassed by it still operating but it steadfastly refuses to make a loss but they believe they’ve now done the right thing by now using the 767s in the wrong configuration: it can’t be the right configuration as for years they’ve denied the idea that regional airports are capable of sustaining three-class aircraft!

I still prefer mainland european options over LHR I have never found the MAN-LHR link particularly on-time, as I experienced last Friday evening, with BD (my flight) late and BA having cancelled and delayed services. Two ladies sat behind me transfering onwards to Sydney were concerned about their connection they were on BA. (terminal 5, may improve matters), if i miss the flight in Zurich its down to Swiss.

My point is that that is exactly the same in LHR or ZRH. If you misconnect in either, the airline involved will reroute you. The only difference is you have far more options for getting where you want to at LHR than ZRH if things go wrong (which they do frequently).

Unless your inbound from MAN is running slightly late. The MAN flight is a Fokker which uses a bus gate, adding significant time getting into the main terminal. Couple that with the fact that the MAN flight is habitually 15 minutes late and Swiss close their gates 15 minutes-ish before departure and you’ve got an extremely tight connection with limited options for rebooking.

Once you’ve missed a connection in a smaller airport like ZRH you won’t bemoan LHR quite as much as you did before. I speak from painful experience! :p

I still prefer mainland european options over LHR I have never found the MAN-LHR link particularly on-time, as I experienced last Friday evening, with BD (my flight) late and BA having cancelled and delayed services. Two ladies sat behind me transfering onwards to Sydney were concerned about their connection they were on BA. (terminal 5, may improve matters), if i miss the flight in Zurich its down to Swiss.

Next year I am flying to Singapore from Manchester…………via Zurich with Swiss, one hour connection and avoiding a more stressful alternative at LHR changing terminals etc.

Unless your inbound from MAN is running slightly late. The MAN flight is a Fokker which uses a bus gate, adding significant time getting into the main terminal. Couple that with the fact that the MAN flight is habitually 15 minutes late and Swiss close their gates 15 minutes-ish before departure and you’ve got an extremely tight connection with limited options for rebooking.

Once you’ve missed a connection in a smaller airport like ZRH you won’t bemoan LHR quite as much as you did before. I speak from painful experience! :p

As a N.W England resident using MAN, LPL and occasionally BLK. I avoid flying via LHR as a hub as I find it pretty awful. It must also be said that many regional airports have over the years lost their LHR link not just by BA, NWI,HUY,LPL,PLH,INV,BHX,EMA,NQY..there may be more. I understand LBA and MME have question marks also.

Many of these airports have good links to Amsterdam for example and KLM and others seem to value feeder services to their hub at Schipol as opposed to Heathrow. Then again AMS and CDG have more runway capacity than LHR.
In addition the rail link at Heathrow is very limited with a service to London Paddington only. If this was expanded to cover major UK cities, it would draw in more regional passengers which are being lost to Paris, Brussels,Copenhagen and Amsterdam etc.

Next year I am flying to Singapore from Manchester…………via Zurich with Swiss, one hour connection and avoiding a more stressful alternative at LHR changing terminals etc.

I think it is about time that BA dropped the MAN-JFK regardless of whether it is doing well etc. Either sell it on or just simply drop it. I could see VS BD or DL starting a JFK link soon (Excuse me if DL already have it). VS could really give BA a run for IT’S money and then London Airways can get back to london

:confused:

That completely contradicts your first post!

And yes, DL already fly to JFK, alongside CO to EWR…

I think it is about time that BA dropped the MAN-JFK regardless of whether it is doing well etc. Either sell it on or just simply drop it. I could see VS BD or DL starting a JFK link soon (Excuse me if DL already have it). VS could really give BA a run for IT’S money and then London Airways can get back to london

Re B.A

Why are we constantly B.A. bashing ??

Some posting on here are seem to wish we were back in the late 70s and early 80s
I remember LBA in the late 70s, B.A operated Viscounts to LHR, DUB, AMS,
JER, BEL, then BMA took over only the Heathrow route, but look at LBA now, B.A have long gone from there, but Jet2 is now the dominant airline, BMA have expanded, so my point is, in most cases, where B.A. withdraw from regional airports, other airlines take the routes over, base aircraft there and increase destinations.

As I mentioned on a previous post, B.A. could simply not keep services out of regional airports like LBA, Inverness, Jersey, they simply would not be profitable anymore. If cuts had not been made, where would B.A. be today.

In this day and age, cuts have to be made, Concorde is a prime example.

Regards
Nordjet415

What he avoids saying,however,is that BA is near unique in abruptly pulling the plug on EUROPEAN and DOMESTIC routes from regional airports.The deal with Flybe with no committment to continue at least most routes and bases left places like BHX and BRS in the s..t.
All this is why I keep wondering why some of us enthusiasts see BA as somehow the one to have at our “local” and have such negative views about those airlines without which BRS/EDI/LPL/LBA/NCL/CWL…..yes even GLA would be shadows of their former selves.
I also detect a hint of irritation from the BA defenders (who I suspect work for them)……….could EZY/FR etc be rattling them?
Barry

Now, if we’re going to start talking about regional European ops then that is another issue entirely, again one that has also been discussed rather a lot recently.

As for the EZY/FR issue I think you are being very perceptive there also. The recent takeover of GB Airways by EZY, whilst in business terms being actualy quite unexceptional, has definitly rattled a lot of people in BA as to what the state of the UK industry is going to be in 5 or 10 years time. There are a lot of people within the business questioning BA’s management decisions, which you’d expect.

They key issue at the moment is that BA is one of the world’s most profitable airlines. That said, EZY/FR aren’t exactly doing badly either.

FWIW I don’t work for BA (not yet anyway!), I just fly with them out of Manchester rather a lot… 🙂

Must stick my oar in again!Mark L is telling it exactly like it is…..BA is a privately owned airline with a responsibilty to shareholders in an increasingly tough market and there is little market for long hauls from regional airports apart from for those airlines with massive hubs abroad to feed like Emirates,and some American carriers.His comparison with AF is also reasonable…..LH are about the only one operating long hauls from regional bases.
What he avoids saying,however,is that BA is near unique in abruptly pulling the plug on EUROPEAN and DOMESTIC routes from regional airports.The deal with Flybe with no committment to continue at least most routes and bases left places like BHX and BRS in the s..t.
All this is why I keep wondering why some of us enthusiasts see BA as somehow the one to have at our “local” and have such negative views about those airlines without which BRS/EDI/LPL/LBA/NCL/CWL…..yes even GLA would be shadows of their former selves.
I also detect a hint of irritation from the BA defenders (who I suspect work for them)……….could EZY/FR etc be rattling them?
Barry

Why do so many BA establishment types start accentuating what’s posted and plonk aircraft and routes which those in the regions have not a cat in hell’s chance of starting?

Well the four routes that I mentioned are some of the most high profile and high yielding routes that BA fly from London, so would be prime candidates for MAN links if any route ever was.

A lot of people seem to think that they are the ones with access to all of BA’s finances and also an extensive market research and strategy department. They are not. BA are and they use this.

BA have no commitment to the regions. They also have no commitment to NOT serve the regions. They have a commitment to their shareholders to maximise the use of the resources made available to them, to raise shareholder value and shareholder earnings.

Anything else is just superfluous.