Originally Posted by
alex67500
The difference with LBA is Leeds isn't that long a train ride from London. It will be even shorter come HS2 if they branch off to that line. NCL is much further so the time saved by flying is much bigger for now.
Places like SXB lost all their Paris flights when the TGV came along, and AF now codeshare with rail to get people to connect long-haul via CDG (I don't know if you collect XPs though). If and when HS2 starts, I'd be surprised if MAN still gets many flights. Of course it would be even easier if HS2 extended to LHR and LGW via Thameslink but that may yet happen.
Why would HS2 make any difference? There are currently 3 trains an hour from Manchester to Euston, and it takes around 2 hours. HS2 may knock 30 minutes off that, but you still end up at Euston.
MAN flights have been reducing over the last few years because of the non-BA options that are available from MAN. The direct US flights have been decimated over the last year, and it wouldn't surprise me if BA tried to pick up some of that once things start to normalise.