Hi everyone. I'm a frequent flyer on this route and it never occured to me until now to post a trip report to maybe help those who don't spend half their lives in airports. I'll use my last trip as the example.

MAN-FRA 14:20 Mon 7th July (economy)

Manchester is one of the larger airports in the north of the UK and with 3 terminals and a second runway in recent years (very rare to have to stack these days). Terminal 3, (formerly domestic only) is now largely a BA dedicated terminal, having undergone refits over the years it's a well laid out terminal.

Recently upped to silver status I can once again enjoy the lounge at Manchester. This is one of my favourites as lounges go, with plently of space. If you are there between 12:00-14:00 as I was, there is a tasty sandwich selection available, otherwise it's the usual snacks and drinks. The middle of the lounge is circular overlooking the poor huddled masses below. Off to the side are a bank of windows with the recliners to lounge in as you watch the planes come and go. There are plenty of places to work with a laptop, with (payable) phone connections, or free local voice calls. It has two desktops connected to the web, but usually only one will work. As with most terrace lounges it has a smokers room which is enclosed rather than stuck in a corner for everyone to enjoy.

The flight
The usual plane for this route is an Embraer 145 regional jet. Whilst some travellers dislike the lack of space, it is my own short-haul favourite as it has a 1-2 configuration, meaning row A is both a window and aisle seat.
Also the plane appears very maneuverable, giving the feeling of being in a stunt plane rather than a passenger airliner.
Meal service is the standard deli fare. Always tasty enough for me though I believe club passengers get the better meal as on other european routes. It is worthy of note that no extra legroom/space is to be had in club as the seats cannot be adjusted, you do get a nice curtain seperating you from us plebs in the back though.

FRA-MAN 19:20 Thu 10th July (economy)

Terminal 2 at Frankfurt is about as bad as a terminal can be. So much space, yet so little to do. There is a sushi bar, a mock american bar selling highly priced food, and the standard gift shops all at very high prices.
My advice if you have an hour to spare is to get airside at T2 then take the skytrain back to T1 (the skytrain has two carriages, one is the public side and one for airside).
My favourite haunt is the kuffler & bucher restaurant which sells highly priced but fine food. Bag a seat next to the window and spend a quite hour having your food and watching the world go by. It never seems too busy, but the service can be slow at times. T1 is more like a 'normal' terminal and has the standard McDonalds if that is your thing, or even a casino. A 5 minute skytrain ride saw me back in T2 and through the second security sweep to try out the lounge. Now while I would never say it was as bad as CDG, it's not far off. Small and dingy, nothing like the light airy terraces seen elsewhere. Certainly not the kind of place to spend an hour before a flight.

Return flight was again on the embraer 145 (with a bus connection to a remote stand), and was as uneventful and smooth as any flight I've taken. Landing was without delay in Manchester and the baggage was there as soon as we were though immigration.

Rich.