Telecasterman

yep and don’t forget the daily 767 to
JFK and AA service….I’ve posted previously this really is the pits by BA…such a poor experience ! That pathetic excuse of a lounge - what on earth are BA thinking about under their BA better BA

Telecasterman

you are spot on -so when when I fly to oz to see my son I book the emirates QF code share ….i get picked up from home in a nice car, sped through security and into a rather nice dedicated lounge plus earn tier points and avios….

Lynyrd

It is very much a shame that IAG are expanding at MAN with Aer Lingus UK rather than a BA Euroflyer service. I appreciate the introduction of a new type is a massive deal.

PJSMITH0

I’ve submitted a golden ticket

masmadrid

Edit: changed my mind. Actually yes I can lol

Manchester is bad but I can’t ever imagine spending 2-3 extra hours travelling to London to avoid it unless necessary. I admire your resolve!

LancashireFlyer

First trip through MAN with BA in 18 months.

Only MAN can make something simple incredibly frustrating.

The fast track queue headed traight towards the security screening belt, and splits into 3 places, all at the very start of the belt. Regular security goes off around tensa barriers and feeds in next to the fast track places.

However those in the fast track queue have to wait ages to put their trays onto the conveyor, because of the endless stream of trays coming from further back. So it slows up the fast track process.

BJ787

And don't whatever you do try to take advantage of any gaps in that flow of trays! last time we were there the person in front pushed theirs forward whilst the flow had stopped - the staff member was rearranging a tray at the end so there was literally nothing in front of the first first 2 positions and he was called back and told off, told to wait his turn, and that when that time came the tray would be pulled on for him.

Modo

Point of Correction LOL

1.5 hours max. AND if connecting at LHR to BA it is quicker to go via London by train. And more reliable!

HBO it is a no brainer.

Inbound we can be home in Kendal using the train before the connecting flight to MAN has "hopefully" landed at MAN.

Also if you are requiring a hotel for an early morning flight then LHR hotels are better and cheaper (Compare IHG CP LHR T4 V IHG HI MAN T2. (With MY IHG status I get room UG and Lounge Access) . It more than covers the "ridiculously small" train fare price difference.

BA is in reality S/SW London Airways. (as a Kingstonian now living in The Lakes I probably see it more clearly than most.)

Where is Andy Burnham when we actually need him.....

Arctic Troll

I don't use BA very often at Manchester but do use Loganair relatively frequently.

Check-in staff are Menzies and are generally excellent, although there are never enough of them and progress is usually slow. One of them in particular really knows her stuff, although one of them in particular sadly does not. My Isle of Man driving licence made his poor head explode.

But that's where the fun stops.

I've never experienced anything quite like Manchester T3. The only place that has ever come close is Berlin Brandenburg. And I'm relatively well-travelled, I've been to places like Colombo and they're infinitely better than Manchester.

Last time through the queue backed up so they switched the BP/biometric gates off, just as I scanned my BP. Cue being barked at for not doing it properly, although I got off lightly compared to the Orthodox Jewish family behind me whose flight was 45 minutes away. Apparently you have to be at Manchester three hours before departure and it's not their problem if you're not.

Anyway, a 30 minute wait in the Covid incubator room to get to the security scanners, longer to get through the body scanners (I have a shoulder injury- it doesn't bend that way lads) and then my bag went off for secondary. After a 10 minute wait turns out they forgot to scan my tray. So off it goes to come around again, secondary again, another wait, 15 minutes this time, looking for liquids. I thought I might have forgotten something but no, no liquids, DOES NOT COMPUTE so off it goes for another scan. Secondary for the third time, at least they jumped mine up the queue this time, security pixie looks at my 1kg bar of Milka chocolate on the top of the bag, "do you have any food in the bag?" Apparently I should have taken the food out and put it in a separate tray. From arriving at the check-in line to getting through security took a smudge under 90 minutes. This was on a Monday afternoon in October. The flight time for my regular journey is only 30 minutes!

Yet I've used T2 for the first time in years last month, and the experience was like I was at a different airport. Go figure.

strowger

We have very different experiences/luck with trains. I'm using MAN *more* at the moment because the trains North are so bad and unreliable.

I'm able to use the Euston/Manchester or KGX/Leeds trains more-or-less interchangeably (although the Pic-Vic schlep is extremely wearing after a long-haul, as is the walk from gate via baggage collection to Euston or Kings Cross). Often there has been neither.

Multiple "arrive at LHR, look at traintimes.org.uk and find there are simply no trains" experiences, and a highly unpleasant "sitting on bags in vestibule surrounded by utter chaos" one.

The really upsetting thing for us provincials is that with the degrowth/carbon cultists firmly in charge in NL, AMS is being made to shrink and we're going to gradually lose our (formerly excellent) connections to AMS.

Simon Schus

Hi all,

I've seen a few people ask but I can't find an answer. Can we drop bags with BA several hours earlier in the day at MAN, like you can do at LHR? I'll be getting a 5pm-ish MAN-LHR in a couple of weeks, but was hoping to drop my bag at 10am when in get into Manchester as I'll be going for lunch near the airport.

bhbloke

Slightly O/T but I read an article about the steady decline of Manchester United.

They have hired a few senior people from MAG.

Now I'm not saying there's a link, but as they say over the pond, you do the math!

BA or bust

IIRC MAN has a ‘twilight bag drop’ service but I don’t think BA are part of it. Whether you can queue for an earlier flight and ask them to hold it I, don’t know. In any case, given MAN’s reputation I think there is a high risk of your bags going AWOL.

Best to use the luggage store (in T1 and T2).

peter3102

I travelled MAN to LHR last week and the check in staff were continually announcing that check in opened 2 hours before the flight and that anyone in the queue for later flights should remove themselves. Doesn't leave long to negotiate security!

KARFA

I am in an unusual position of defending MAN, but even if check in took you an hour you would still have plenty of time to go through security before boarding started.