Lack of capabilities at these airports is part of the reason. They all have short runways and no (or few) jetties.

There is also loads of space at Manchester, so why divide your market?

Also, for short hauls you can rely on point to point traffic. For long hauls, you need connecting traffic as well. LHR is very good for that and to a lesser extent so is MAN. The other airports don’t even begin to be competitive. Look at MAN’s long haul flight; only a few are point to point. Most offer connections, which is why they can be viable. Emirates, Singapore, US Airways…

This constitution scares the hell out of me.

It inserts political objectives into the constitution:

Ever closer union
Social justice
Narrowing the gap between rich and poor
And many, many more

I have never, ever heard of a constitution which does this. It also creates Federacy, by stating that all powers shall be vested in the individual member states; unless the EU decides it wants those particular powers.

Most people here know I am very anti-EU. However, even if you are a good European, doesn’t the tone and wording of this cause you difficulties?

Don’t be so pessimistic. A lot of the “budget” airlines have colourful schemes. You only have to look at Buzz or Easyjet.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows.

Berlusconi is a vile man and an embarrassment for Italy. And you Americans think Jacques Chirac is disreputable…

pls ignore

You win some and you loose some. The seat pitch is nice from the sound of it, but no TV ?!

Taking a 180 degree view, I find BA good in all areas, with the exception of acute lack of personal space.

My only concern with EK is the comfort. They have 10 abreast on the 777 😮

9 abreast was quite bad enough for me last week! I wasn’t able to eat my meal properly because of the lack of elbow room.