VS's Future at MAN

[mitchja]

While not related to VS growth at MAN, PremiAir (MAN private terminal) announced today that they're now accepting bookings for VS passengers.
https://twitter.com/MANPremiAir/status/1192439520559538178

I was looking at this as it sounds interesting. Maybe the departure service would be slightly less worth it though once the Clubhouse opens next year.

From what I can gather though one cravat could be the fact they state you must complete online check-in and generate a boarding pass:

6.8. You must use your airline’s online check-in facility to check-in for your departing flight and generate a boarding card. Facilities are available at PremiAir to print boarding cards generated via online check-in. If the guest is unable to complete the online check-in process, or if the relevant airline does not offer online check-in, the guest must contact PremiAir prior to travel. Please call 0808 168 6333.

....so what happens if you get selected for SSSS when you come to check in online as that would prevent you from printing a boarding pass? I guess as per the information you would need to ring them?

It’s just been confirmed that easyJet has bought Thomas Cook’s slots at Gatwick, presumably denting any aspirations VS had of expanding there.

(Although IAG will be more annoyed as their main competitor there will become even more dominant.)

It’s just been confirmed that easyJet has bought Thomas Cook’s slots at Gatwick, presumably denting any aspirations VS had of expanding there.

(Although IAG will be more annoyed as their main competitor there will become even more dominant.)

I think LGW isn't on VS' priority list for growth at the moment - the focus seems to be MAN and anywhere new, plus there's the small issue of not having the aircraft to move quickly eough - though I saw potential for Flybe/Virgin Connect.

Agree about IAG likely to be annoyed out of the usual suspects who would be after LGW slots, though I'm sure they acquired a good chunk of Monarch slots a couple of years ago anyway.

Thomas Cook’s MAN slots have all been bought by Jet2, according to BBC News.

Interesting - I wonder If the timescale is a little tight for VS to deliver in S20 at MAN. I suspect they aren’t short of slots with Virgin Connect, but I wonder quite what change they think is deliverable one the short and mid term...

Small growth continued at all destinations- This will be easier once the neos arrive and are positioned north. Wouldn’t surprise me to see some 789s head north as well at some point as LHR becomes 350 dominant given its larger J capacity. MAN crew sign the 789 (or are in the process of signing it) if I’m not mistaken?

Small growth continued at all destinations- This will be easier once the neos arrive and are positioned north. Wouldn’t surprise me to see some 789s head north as well at some point as LHR becomes 350 dominant given its larger J capacity. MAN crew sign the 789 (or are in the process of signing it) if I’m not mistaken?

That’s news to me (MAN crew/B789). In 3/4 years I’d expect the MAN base to be a mix of A339/333 and A35K. (I’m assuming the A333s stay a little longer than currently planned as a bridge / to test in advance of any options or top up orders for A339 or A35K).

I think the A339 are capable of all the likely longest hypothetical routes from MAN (eg LAX, BOM, HKG, JNB).

Do MAN slots have much value. I assumed that there was reasonable capacity at the airport for slots given the significant terminal expansion and growth plans. I assume that the fact the TC slots have been taken by Jet2 Will not constrain the VS plans.

Also, am I alone in finding this weeks announcement a bit underwhelming after some of the recent comments about Manchester being Virgin’s second home? A couple of extra MCO, LAS flights is not game changing.

I think the slots first thing will have value - it’s later in the day where there will be more freedom.

If VS genuinely wants to make MAN a “second hub” it will likely want to expand its operations over the rest of the day (currently they end in the early afternoon).

I think it was a little underwhelming, but expectations were sky high. There is a reality of minimal spare aircraft, crews etc and lead in times to deliver all of this (alongside virgin connect). I think there will be a major change and VS’s network at MAN will be a level above what it is now, but it will take a few years to get there.

Wonder if we might hear any announcements at Dubai this week re Virgin Connect ?

The announcement of an additional daily rotation from LHR-DEL was disappointing as I had anticipated that spare aircraft would make it up to MAN - perhaps to open DEL or BOM.

As it happens, VS have applied for further slots at MAN for S20 to unspecified locations - so there may yet be further movement.

Upon further investigation, Virgin Atlantic applied for (and got) 4x daily slot pairs at MAN which are held under the alias ZZF (ZZF is the anonymous alias for the “other end” of the route).

This implies a plan to base an additional 4 (possibly more if long sector lengths are planned) aircraft at MAN was not followed through.

I would not expect this to necessarily lead to an announcement at any stage shortly, but this underpins that there is quite a lot of things bubbling away under the surface which might come to pass quite quickly.

https://airportrumours.blogspot.com/201 ... round.html

I don't know how credible it is, but it looks like MAN-LAX and MAN-LAS could be going year round with LAS 1x weekly and LAX 2x weekly through the winter months. Does anybody know more?

Once a week to LAS is, IMHO, pointless. It’s the type of place people go for a long weekend or maybe five days, not a full week.

And I’m not convinced twice a week to LAX will work either, if VS has any aspiration at all to attract business travellers who need flexibility and frequency.

Either commit or don’t. But don’t pay half-hearted lip service.

I believe it relates to the schedules being loaded into OAG - whether this means anything, or if it is the start of a fuller schedule I don’t know.

https://airportrumours.blogspot.com/2019/12/virgin-to-operate-laxlas-year-round.html

I don't know how credible it is, but it looks like MAN-LAX and MAN-LAS could be going year round with LAS 1x weekly and LAX 2x weekly through the winter months. Does anybody know more?

Details are still light and not yet confirmed by VS (all from the OAG schedules) but it does appear some shaping of the schedules from Winter 2020 is underway for MAN - LAX & LAS look to be going year-round and twice weekly each, JFK going to 12 weekly (so double daily on Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat)

ATL is looking like to be 6x weekly . Interesting to watch for sure.

Jon

Cheers Jon

Must be the first time (it certainly is from my memory) that VS appears to be maintaining and in some instances expanding its programme over a winter period compared to summer.

IIRC, 2021 is when the A339 start arriving and that might give the fleet flexibility to do this and continue to expand in S21, W22 etc.

Virgin considering adding a MAN to India flight

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 681_1.html

David

Apologies if this is slightly off topic, but as a 'victim' of the Thomas Cook collapse
(had MAN-LAS flights booked for October 2020, thankfully now refunded) I have
been following this thread with interest as I have been trying to book replacement
flights with VS.

But far from expanding their offering next year to hoover up the TC business, the direct
MAN-LAS flights seem if anything to be finishing at least ten days earlier than this year
(mid October rather than October 26th).

As we are visiting Palm Springs, I checked out returning from LAX as an alternative,
and it initially looked promising, with the schedule lookup facility on the VS website
showing VS182 operating on Tuesday 27/10/20, which would be ideal for us.

But upon trying to book MAN-LAS/LAX-MAN last night, VS182 was not showing
as an option on 27/10 and it has also disappeared from the schedule lookup result!

Does anyone know what is going on with these schedules (insufficent aircraft available
perhaps?) and are the 'missing' LAS/LAX-MAN direct lights during the last week of October
likely to reappear in the booking engine anytime soon?



MARK

Upon further investigation, Virgin Atlantic applied for (and got) 4x daily slot pairs at MAN which are held under the alias ZZF (ZZF is the anonymous alias for the “other end” of the route).

This implies a plan to base an additional 4 (possibly more if long sector lengths are planned) aircraft at MAN was not followed through.

I would not expect this to necessarily lead to an announcement at any stage shortly, but this underpins that there is quite a lot of things bubbling away under the surface which might come to pass quite quickly.

Further to this, the slots held were for two further based aircraft, slots held as ZZF as stated above.

These have been cancelled for S20, we await to see what W20 and S21 have in store as Virgin Connect is launched and new aircraft continue to arrive.

Perhaps Virgin Atlantic need to progress plans at a slightly higher tempo in order to head off a possible spoilt operation by BA...

https://www.godsavethepoints.com/rumour ... l-flights/

[mitchja]

Perhaps Virgin Atlantic need to progress plans at a slightly higher tempo in order to head off a possible spoilt operation by BA...

https://www.godsavethepoints.com/rumour ... l-flights/

Hmmmm BA long-haul flights from MAN T3 - good luck with that one!

Have to agree, James, it certainly isn't the best at MAN, but isn't it scheduled for demolition as part of the new works there? I have flown BA from T3 (only to LHR) - isn't T3 the terminal at MAN from which their flights currently depart?

Have to agree, James, it certainly isn't the best at MAN, but isn't it scheduled for demolition as part of the new works there? I have flown BA from T3 (only to LHR) - isn't T3 the terminal at MAN from which their flights currently depart?

Given that American Airlines (BA's OneWorld partner) operate from T3, then I strongly suspect BA do as well. Certainly 10yrs or so ago I had a BA connection to MAN after arriving into LHR & we arrived into T3.

The one advantage was AA / BA cocked the baggage up at LHR & we never saw our baggage there (i.e. no clearing Customs) - the bags all arrived on the domestic arrivals belt at MAN T3. Straight out & no Customs.

BA 787s at Manchester? Not a chance.

If it was to launch this summer it would have been announced by now and I doubt plans for 2021 have been finalised yet.

BA does not have the spare aircraft and even if did it’s still probably not worth it.

IAG is cutting back on its growth ambitions and I suspect AA and BA are far more focused on what JetBlue has planned for London than what’s happening at MAN.