It seems the expanded UK-China bilateral (+50 new weekly return flights) excludes London routes.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... es-444675/

I've seen rumours of Air China to Shanghai, Hainan to Guangzhou and Xiaman to Xiamen speculated elsewhere.

Tunisair returning to MAN starting 1st May with an evening arrival from Enfidha.

I must admit it is nice to see TCX adding more longhaul routes from Manchester, while some may not see them as their preferred carrier for longhaul it seems to be proving that these routes are sustainable and may entice some scheduled carriers into dipping their toes in.

Personally I like to fly a scheduled carrier for Longhaul though looking at what TCX offer isn't exactly far off the legacy carriers offerings going off what I've been told so may use them in future for some US trips given how we seem to be losing our number of choices of airlines to the US. I had been planning on taking the missus to New York this year (having had to postpone by 2 years) and found that Delta have handed the route over to VS and AA have dropped the route altogether leaving the options as MT, VS and CO. I was finally going to bite the bullet and fly with "Beardy Air" but since they are sending the A330s down to London for the ex-AB ones which don't have Premium Economy we may end up flying with EI via DUB instead. We'd have gone with AA via PHL but the connection time is only 2 hours and we barely made it to the gate on time last year despite being early and having a 3 hour connection (and that was AA734 MAN-PHL-LAS).

It will be a shame if AA do drop ORD as that along with PHL is our preferred entry point and also AA is our preferred carrier because of our FF cards, although it's not like we have mega miles on there so could switch to another alliance but as I said, DL have already gone and you don't get Skyteam points with VS.

Then again it's not about "me" it's about what works for the airlines, I just wanted to say my piece though out of interest does anyone know if VS are planning on joining Skyteam since KL/AF now own a good chunk of them alongside DL?

Are ASL Airlines France operating from Manchester again this year? I hadn't heard if Olympic Holidays changed carriers again.

Phil
FlyingColours

Annual figures out.. 27.79 million or up 8 5% http://www.bqlive.co.uk/transport-infra ... ear-29895/

I was finally going to bite the bullet and fly with "Beardy Air" but since they are sending the A330s down to London for the ex-AB ones which don't have Premium Economy we may end up flying with EI via DUB instead.

MAN-JFK will use the B747 this summer, rather than the A330,so you should still have access to Premium economy on this route.

David_itl wrote:

Annual figures out.. 27.79 million or up 8 5% http://www.bqlive.co.uk/transport-infra ... ear-29895/

Here is MAG's press release:

http://mediacentre.magairports.com/mags ... s-in-2017/

2017 total: 27,791,274
Dec 2017 total: 1,833,620
%age change from 2016: +8.5%

Manchester Airport grew 8.5% year-on-year to serve 27.8m passengers in 2017, more than have ever flown from Manchester before. The success of long haul routes to Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, San Francisco and Houston, combined with continued strong demand for summer holidays to Spain, Greece and the Canary Islands saw Manchester Airport play an ever more important role in connecting the North with global destinations. In December 2017, traffic was up 1.5% year on year to 1.8m.

The growth comes despite the airport’s 7th biggest airline, Monarch, entering administration in October. Strong airline demand has enabled the airport to make good progress in allocating the slots previously used by Monarch for Summer 2018 and flights with Jet2.com, TUI and Thomas Cook Airlines are already on sale.

Fantastic numbers - my brother was amazed when I told him what the passenger numbers were like when we were coming through T3 on Sunday.

Looking at the growth in passenger numbers over recent years, we have:

year...passengers..% inc.....in numbers
2013..20,751,581...n/a.........n/a
2014..21,989,682...5.97%...1,238,101
2015..23,136,047...5.21%...1,146,365
2016..25,637,054..10.81%..2,501,007
2017..27,791,274...8.40%...2,154,220

Now let's attempt to some 2018 projections. I'll only do this on 3 lots of increases: 1.5% (the pessimistic view), 4.5% (the figure we seem to have in mind) and hitting the magical 30 million passenger mark

year...passengers..% inc....in numbers
2017..27,791,274...n/a........n/a
2018..28,208,143...1.50%...416,869
2018..29,041,881...4.50%...1,250,607
2018..30,000,000...7.95%...2,208,726


So if the performance of the last 2 years is anything to go by, it is potentially this year for the 30 million mark. If it does happen then it will be on the back of the rumoured increase in easyJet based aircraft.

El Al getting ready for a March or April launch to Tel Aviv.

http://www.jewishtelegraph.com/man_news.html

User001 wrote:

I was finally going to bite the bullet and fly with "Beardy Air" but since they are sending the A330s down to London for the ex-AB ones which don't have Premium Economy we may end up flying with EI via DUB instead.

MAN-JFK will use the B747 this summer, rather than the A330,so you should still have access to Premium economy on this route.

That's great to hear

Also I've just been beaten to the punch regarding EL's possible start date.

Phil
FlyingColours

Good to see El Al (sounds like mainline now) looking like it's appearing.

With a fair wind, we may see a couple more European flag carriers appear in the coming months.

Hi, new here. I just wondered if easyJet close to an announcement re: MAN expansion.

In answer to my own question,,, it seems that a potential increase in based aircraft from 12 upto 16. If this comes to fruition along with an increase of 3 aircraft by Ryanair, this alone would account for the loss of monarch. Thanks to Scottie dog for info.

Turkish Airlines will use the A330 on the TK1995/1996 this summer 3 times a week (Mon/Wed/Fri) and the A321 on the other flights.

Wow. Quite an increase form Ryanair and easyJet. Quite how both terminals handle it, I don’t know!

On a side note, I forgot lay with Cathay later in the year and I’ve had a flight number change. Times remain the same. Does this point to a (potential) increase in frequency?

CX possibly going 11 weekly in Nov. Schedules accidentally released a few weeks ago show this but then quickly taken off sale again.

I believe the unusual current flight numbers have led to speculation CX had provisionally allocated numbers for a late afternoon/early evening arrival/departure.

I think this plan has been shelved, so don't expect anything before 2019.

EDIT - I'd go with what User001 thinks...

Just out of interest re. China flights. What is hainans frequency likely to be for this summer ?
Would it be safe to assume that most increases in Turkish capacity are also linked to eastbound traffic,,, namely students

Hainan will be 4 weekly barring July-October when it will be daily.

Dubai – Manchester 01MAY18 – 13JUN18 EK021/022 777-300ER replaces A380 (Overall 2 daily A380 and 1 daily 777)
As reported by Ian f.
Also reported by him on same forum,,,,
I understand the third flight may well return if only on a tempray basis in the Summer, possibly June to Sept.
So in the Summer all being well EK at BHX will be 2 x 388 and 1 x 77W which will be the same as MAN as there morning flight is a 77W.
Somehow , I think that is a distortion of the facts.

Ian F has a real axe to grind with MAN and likes to take any opportunity to wind people up and down talk MAN. Therefore, I’d take anything he writes with a very very large pich of salt.

charles022 wrote:

I just wonder when TCX will look seriously at CPT - another Condor destination which seems to be the template.

TCX are already flying CPT from LGW in the winter season. There are also full charter flights from MAN this winter also.

What dates are (have) these operating, think last week was the first flight on MAN-CPT?

Any indication on how these are performing, for the possibility that TCX might then introduce longer term scheduled flights on the route for the next season.

The first Thomas Cook Cape Town flight ran 10th Jan and then 2 weekly thereafter.

User001 wrote:

Hainan will be 4 weekly barring July-October when it will be daily.

Whilst 4x weekly is not to be sniffed at, this is a slightly odd one given the fanfare of how the route was performing better than expected a few weeks ago.

I don't know how it places MAN to get services to CAN and PVG, with both seemingly off the table for now.

The big winners seem to be CX, who many thought would be vulnerable to an influx of Chinese carriers. They seem to go from strength to strength.

Trying to think of the last time we had a sustained period of widebodied scheduled flights by a European (non-British) airline (as opposed to charter services and the ad-hoc ones like Icelandair). They've been few and far between.. Swissair started A310 ops in 1987, KLM had A310s on Monday mornings and Friday lunchtimes in the early 1980s (they were DC8 services!) and what I believe to be the last ones.. Aer Lingus with their winter 1994/1995 service with A330s to Shannon and New York (EI112/EI111)

Don’t forget Lufthansa used to schedule the A300 to MAN from FRA. Can’t remember when that ended however.

Provisionally the 18th busiest in Europe. About 420,000 passengers ahead of Oslo but 69,000 short of Palma with a further 1.2 million passengers to Copenhagen. Therefore, it's not unrealistic to say that we've hit the upper limit of where we can be in Europe's busiest airports.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_busiest_airports_in_Europe

Just been reported that Emirates signed a deal for 36 More A380 aircraft,,,, not sure what this means for their global aspirations. New countries, more regional airports or upgrades from B 777?
I really did think that the A350 or Dreamliner would have covered those markets though.

MancMAN wrote:

Just been reported that Emirates signed a deal for 36 More A380 aircraft,,,, not sure what this means for their global aspirations. New countries, more regional airports or upgrades from B 777?
I really did think that the A350 or Dreamliner would have covered those markets though.

They’ll have to replace the old A380s, like for like replacement makes sense.

Oh right,,,, and what will they buy to replace those when the time comes?
Still, I suppose it will make sense.

User001 wrote:

I was finally going to bite the bullet and fly with "Beardy Air" but since they are sending the A330s down to London for the ex-AB ones which don't have Premium Economy we may end up flying with EI via DUB instead.

MAN-JFK will use the B747 this summer, rather than the A330,so you should still have access to Premium economy on this route.

Don't rule TCX out either. Their JFK service looks to be going great and their premium economy cabin isn't ridiculously overpriced. What you get for your money looks to be a very good deal.

I've seen it on YouTube reviews and several say that the front cabin on refitted TCX is as good as any American Domestic First offering, and some years back would have happily passed as a business class full offering elsewhere. Better food, good IFE and those new seats. But what surprised me was the price which at the time was lower than a Y ticket on some transatlantic legacy flights.

I think my head would explode if I flew TCX twice in the same year, heck it's only been 5 years or so since I stopped calling them Flying Colours

Joking aside, I've actually flown TCX short haul once a year for the last 2 years (got one more trip to JSI coming up this May too) and they have a pretty decent product. Aircraft are tidy, legroom isn't so bad and the service is nice enough - though I won't pay for a meal as it's only a 3-4 hour flight and to be honest it doesn't seem an issue. The thing that wound me up is that you need to pay to select your seats now, last year I arrived at the airport mega early to check in and asked for a window seat and was told that I can't have one as she can't override the computer so ended up with 27B, when boarding finished 27A was empty so I just slid over but most of the A & F seats on the last 15 or so rows were empty. I had to bite the bullet this year and pay to choose as since I film the landing & takeoff I may as well save on the stress and get the seat I want... (Though just to be clear I know all charter's do the pre-bookable seats thing though I think it's shady that the airport staff in the UK can't allocate empty and unassigned seats at the airport - no problem in Greece though, just the usual smile and asking politely in Greek for a window seat works like a charm

I booked with Beardy Air for JFK as they have indeed switched over to the 747, the upgrade to the PE cabin was only around £400 more each (for the round trip) so I couldn't argue with that and put me & the missus in "the bubble" since neither of us have done that before. The total cost only came to around £3250 for the pair of us and that included the hotel and car transfers so it certainly worked out cheaper than using the OneWorld alternatives which were charging almost that much for the flights alone). Incidentally while I was trained on 747 classics back in 2005 I never flew on one as crew and only got my first flight on one in 2015 on the rather knackered G-BNLF (which had at that point been brought out of retirement twice).

Steering the topic back on to Manchester...

I've noticed that there are no American Airlines flights to Chicago past 04th September, is that the end or just that they've not put the next two months of flights in? (It wouldn't surprise me if it was indeed the end since I'm planning on Chicago for my Birthday - 29/09).

I believe the first two ex-Condor A321s are coming in to Manchester next week to join the UK TCX fleet with the first two ex-Monarch ones coming next month, would be nice to see Monarch at Manchester one last time, even if it is just for a repaint...

Phil
FlyingColours

FlyingColours wrote:

Steering the topic back on to Manchester...

I've noticed that there are no American Airlines flights to Chicago past 04th September, is that the end or just that they've not put the next two months of flights in? (It wouldn't surprise me if it was indeed the end since I'm planning on Chicago for my Birthday - 29/09).

I believe ORD is now a short summer seasonal from June to September (presumably 4 September as you have identified).

It would be a shame, but no great surprise, if this was the end for AA ORD-MAN. The route (and AA in general) has been slow to respond to changing dynamics, such as direct flights by VS and TCX. When placed into the context of operational issues at ORD for AA and others, it would be a surprise to see it return in 2019.

It would indeed be a shame, especially given how long AA have operated that route. It's also one less entry point into the US. I thought the biggest operational issue they have with that route is when it's held at ORD if the connection from MCO is running late (which it frequently did when there were the storms down in Florida). I suppose given how they are replacing the 767s with the 787 it would end up causing them a headache when doing a W-Pattern with the JFK flight which has also been dropped. Remember it was only something like 10 or so years ago AA flew from MAN to MIA, JFK, ORD, BOS and I think DCA? It looks like by the end of the year we will just have the US Airways flight to PHL instead.

It would be very interesting to see how VS respond to TCX's expansion up here, they could have a really good opportunity to jump in with a few new routes as there is surely demand for more US Entry points as well as people who are really put off by going via LHR due to the fact that they are either intimidated by the hassle of it or the extra cost to their ticket for the connecting leg. I will admit that one benefit of connecting at LHR is that you can then just relax all the way to the end destination rather than try and get through immigration and then get the connecting flight.

Phil
FlyingColours

From people 'in the know' i believe the new MT Seattle service is showing very encouraging forward bookings. Good news if true. I wonder if, a fairly big if, AA dropped ORD, would MT pick that up one day...

Id still like to see MT head East. They have a lower cost base to make even BKK work even if for a short summer season to tap into the travelling market.

Regarding El Al, ive also heard an April start date? Although nothing yet bookable.

The EL AL schedule was announced last week you guys need to keep upto date!

TLV to MAN flights by EL AL will commence on 01 May 2018 using mainline Boeing 738 three times weekly on Tue, Thu, Sun

MAN Arrival 09.10 Departure 10.25 Terminal 1

Link to previous thread:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1368903

FlyingColours wrote:

It would indeed be a shame, especially given how long AA have operated that route. It's also one less entry point into the US. I thought the biggest operational issue they have with that route is when it's held at ORD if the connection from MCO is running late (which it frequently did when there were the storms down in Florida). I suppose given how they are replacing the 767s with the 787 it would end up causing them a headache when doing a W-Pattern with the JFK flight which has also been dropped. Remember it was only something like 10 or so years ago AA flew from MAN to MIA, JFK, ORD, BOS and I think DCA? It looks like by the end of the year we will just have the US Airways flight to PHL instead.

It would be very interesting to see how VS respond to TCX's expansion up here, they could have a really good opportunity to jump in with a few new routes as there is surely demand for more US Entry points as well as people who are really put off by going via LHR due to the fact that they are either intimidated by the hassle of it or the extra cost to their ticket for the connecting leg. I will admit that one benefit of connecting at LHR is that you can then just relax all the way to the end destination rather than try and get through immigration and then get the connecting flight.

Phil
FlyingColours

ORD is being cut to seasonal as AA have an aircraft issue. The 767 is being drawn down, and the 757 is to be cut from the ORD base entirely. Seems they won't have a Transatlantic narrowbody at ORD for a while.

The situation regarding entry points is probably going to be impacted by the Alaskan takeover of VA and whether there is any ongoing connection facility left for VS. TCX were relatively smart doing their tie-in with JetBlue for the bit of connectivity they would need.

I do feel MT need to advertise their JetBlue codeshare a little more.

Most people (rightly) see MT as a point to point airline only. The B6 codeshare could open a whole host of great connection opportunities, and could easily counter a lot of the USB3 reductions.

The thing MT lacks is frequency to some of its points, which is fair enough. however, this could put people off using MT as a more serious player. While 3 weekly SFO is great, it’s no good to those who want to travel the other 4 days a week. Ideally destinations need to be a minimum of 4-5 weekly to enable a reasonably flexible schedule. People sometimes don’t mind having to change plan 1 day earlier/later, but not 2/3 days.

Channex757 wrote:

ORD is being cut to seasonal as AA have an aircraft issue. The 767 is being drawn down, and the 757 is to be cut from the ORD base entirely. Seems they won't have a Transatlantic narrowbody at ORD for a while.

The situation regarding entry points is probably going to be impacted by the Alaskan takeover of VA and whether there is any ongoing connection facility left for VS. TCX were relatively smart doing their tie-in with JetBlue for the bit of connectivity they would need.

I wasn't aware of the aircraft issue at ORD, but I don't think it is accurate to say the seasonality on this route can be attributed to this issue alone. Fundamentally, the route has been on the decline for a considerable period of time and is, most likely in my view, unsistainanle in its current form whatever aircraft is used. Where that takes this route in 2019 is anyone's guess.

The US legacies are in the middle of a wobble with regional England (Scotland has been okay so far) at the moment. In the last year or two AA have cut down at MAN, and pulled out of BHX. UA have cut down at MAN and pulled out of BHX and NCL. DL appear to be the same at MAN, but have in reality expanded through JV partner VS.

I haven't yet heard a good explanation of the cause of this trend repeating across the market (it is obviously financials but what are the combination of factors).

The good news for MAN is that in TCX and VS it has a pretty solid TATL offering of based carriers who clearly want to expand and feel they are making progress. You only need to look at the issues with Primera at STN and BHX to see the difference these two make.

User001 wrote:

I do feel MT need to advertise their JetBlue codeshare a little more.

Most people (rightly) see MT as a point to point airline only. The B6 codeshare could open a whole host of great connection opportunities, and could easily counter a lot of the USB3 reductions.

The thing MT lacks is frequency to some of its points, which is fair enough. however, this could put people off using MT as a more serious player. While 3 weekly SFO is great, it’s no good to those who want to travel the other 4 days a week. Ideally destinations need to be a minimum of 4-5 weekly to enable a reasonably flexible schedule. People sometimes don’t mind having to change plan 1 day earlier/later, but not 2/3 days.

Agreed MT should make a page like EK has: https://www.emirates.com/english/destin ... tblue.aspx

B6 simply lists MT as a partner airline on their page and links you to their site. It doesn't say anything such as "connect in JFK,SEA, SFO, LAX and BOS to reach MAN" https://www.jetblue.com/airline-partners/

On the flipside - as an American who likes to visit niche European summer destinations such as DBV, JTR, BOJ, I would like to be able to connect on those MT flights coming from MT BOS-MAN.

Meanwhile at BHX...

Meanwhile at BHX...


It certainly looks gloomy,,, I read elsewhere that primera doing tatl from bhx was “the last chance saloon”
It seems though, that this saloon has No beer.
IMHO, the venture that primera embarked upon had car crash written all over it. If indeed the delays in launching all of the advertised routes are the result of late aircraft delivery, This smacks of utter incompetence. If however, it’s the result of poor uptake by the Birmingham region, I am not surprised at all. When these flights were first announced along with fares, seats baggage and meals, bhx supporters agreed that meals at £60 were way too high and said that a meal deal from boots for 4 quid was a sufficient amount to pay for inflight catering on a long haul flight. Maybe that’s the main problem with bhx keeping hold of mainline long haul . No airline can make money from a region that just won’t or can’t afford the fares.

adamh8297 wrote:

Agreed MT should make a page like EK has: https://www.emirates.com/english/destin ... tblue.aspx

B6 simply lists MT as a partner airline on their page and links you to their site. It doesn't say anything such as "connect in JFK,SEA, SFO, LAX and BOS to reach MAN" https://www.jetblue.com/airline-partners/

On the flipside - as an American who likes to visit niche European summer destinations such as DBV, JTR, BOJ, I would like to be able to connect on those MT flights coming from MT BOS-MAN.

Here goes. I'm going to get my XXXL size kaftan on and peer into my crystal balls......

I reckon MT is going to flip soon and become Condor UK. There were signs this year, with the shorthaul fleet using DE branded aircraft with UK registrations. Same is down to happen in 2018.

Once that happens then MT will start to offer better connectivity. Unlike the German customers who went to pitchforks and torches when the Condor name was dropped, a combination of Condor and Kestrel would work well in the bigger UK and Scandinavian markets. One brand, right across the airline side. Condor is the oldest airline brand so it makes sense that way too.

Unlike those imbeciles at TUI who have trashed so many respected brands it's unbelievable.

MancMAN wrote:

Meanwhile at BHX...


It certainly looks gloomy,,, I read elsewhere that primera doing tatl from bhx was “the last chance saloon”
It seems though, that this saloon has No beer.
IMHO, the venture that primera embarked upon had car crash written all over it. If indeed the delays in launching all of the advertised routes are the result of late aircraft delivery, This smacks of utter incompetence. If however, it’s the result of poor uptake by the Birmingham region, I am not surprised at all. When these flights were first announced along with fares, seats baggage and meals, bhx supporters agreed that meals at £60 were way too high and said that a meal deal from boots for 4 quid was a sufficient amount to pay for inflight catering on a long haul flight. Maybe that’s the main problem with bhx keeping hold of mainline long haul . No airline can make money from a region that just won’t or can’t afford the fares.

BHX is sound. Jet2 moved into any space available and it still caters to the catchment it has. The problem with westbound is LHR is down the road, and there are plenty of empty seats flown every day that need filling at any fare.

BHX does have its immigrant VFR trade with Indians and Pakistanis going east. Hence Emirates and Air India. If it doesn't look good going west, concentrate on the eastbound and shorthaul. BHX won't struggle to pay its bills.

Channel 757


I have just re read my post,,, and I can’t seem to find any mention of flights going east, or short haul, or jet 2 for that matter, even though they aren’t even offering xmas flights to ny this year. As for Emirates I think you might find that a high proportion of the a380 are 2 class ie cattle class. Have a good day sir.

I think he was referring to BHX looking East for long haul expansion rather than looking West with reference to any possible failure by PRIMERA, obviously looking West hasn't been very successful for BHX as history shows.

BHX is obviously more successful going East with the likes of Air India, Emirates, Qatar, Pakistan and that's where the airport should be concentrating it's efforts on.

It had nothing to do with Jet2, I think you bit before you fully read the comments.

I could be wrong but that's how I read it.

Channex757 wrote:

adamh8297 wrote:

Agreed MT should make a page like EK has: https://www.emirates.com/english/destin ... tblue.aspx

B6 simply lists MT as a partner airline on their page and links you to their site. It doesn't say anything such as "connect in JFK,SEA, SFO, LAX and BOS to reach MAN" https://www.jetblue.com/airline-partners/

On the flipside - as an American who likes to visit niche European summer destinations such as DBV, JTR, BOJ, I would like to be able to connect on those MT flights coming from MT BOS-MAN.

Here goes. I'm going to get my XXXL size kaftan on and peer into my crystal balls......

I reckon MT is going to flip soon and become Condor UK. There were signs this year, with the shorthaul fleet using DE branded aircraft with UK registrations. Same is down to happen in 2018.

Once that happens then MT will start to offer better connectivity. Unlike the German customers who went to pitchforks and torches when the Condor name was dropped, a combination of Condor and Kestrel would work well in the bigger UK and Scandinavian markets. One brand, right across the airline side. Condor is the oldest airline brand so it makes sense that way too.

Unlike those imbeciles at TUI who have trashed so many respected brands it's unbelievable.

You're assuming that the Condor brand has a lot of recognition outside of Germany. I'm not sure if Condor is that well known in the UK. Given that the Thomas Cook Group went through a major re-branding exercise just under 5 years ago, that would have been the best opportunity to re-name if they so wanted, but how much money will that cost and for what gain?

I suspect the use of Condor aircraft for Thomas Cook UK ops is more to do with the group moving its assets round to make the best use of them given that demands across the group change by season. It also reduces the need to hire in aircraft from elsewhere. Also, why re-brand aircraft for a short period unless contractually stipulated to do so? Thomas Cook have done the same in the past by sending 767's to Condor in the winter months and the annual loan of OY-VKF from the Scandinavian division, and last year signed an agreement with Air Transat to loan each other A321's and A330's depending on the season. TUI have done something similar for years by moving some of the UK-based aircraft to other divisions based on seasonal or fleet requirements and they loan a few 737's every winter to Sunwing.

As for TUI, it's sad to see the Thomson brand go...and Britannia before that, but that's another topic.

I'm offering my mystic predictions based on doing some good old cold reading. Lots of little clues, really.....

The aircraft branding is one. Testing out the name in certain markets. Second is the way in which Condor is so prominent on the longhaul services, right through the passenger experience. Equal prominence at check-in to the two names on signage. That sort of thing.

Finally the name itself. Thomas Cook Airlines is a bit of a mouthful and Condor is a neater title. I could waffle on about them wanting to get away from the bucket and spade image of TCX and AIH but that's more of a marketing thing. It would also be interesting to watch Thomas Cook create their own Britannia just as TUI destroy the last remnants of the original.....

I'm disappointed to see no mention at all of any of the U.S. expansion, talk that we've seen for the last couple of years, especially involving new cities such as SAN, TPA, etc.

MT ended up last year announcing only SEA which apparently is doing quite well. Is that going to do it for MT and U.S. expansion (read: new cities) for the foreseeable future?

Perhaps SAN has dropped off the MT-list of good possibilities due to the 'failure' here of Condor in 2017 (for whatever actual reason.) But with our new FIS facilities opening in just about 6 months, SAN is expecting to see continued intercontinental expansion over the next couple of years. I would expect to see some air service growth between Great Britain (from cities such as LGW and/or MAN) to our fair city as part of that. I just wonder if MT is still even interested?

And congrats to MAN on the terrific pax growth being experienced! I always enjoy reading about other success stories at airports around the world.

bb

MT need more longhaulers. The 763s are gone and can't join in the party any more.

I can detect in my waters an order for the A330NEO coming soon, together with AirTanker. The TOW fleet needs a top-up of civil aircraft capable of being used as surge fleet to move troops. Condor(DE) are also well and truly due a fleet makeover. Perhaps soon....?