Manchester: New Route Development & Rumours

[Jerry]

I know Delta would normally be out of the picture seeing they have Virgin but are Delta, American and United really telling is that the all these "random" places that they pick for summer seasonal European services all have greater travel demand for the US tourist that adding than just a 4 weekly service from any of their hubs?

Well I suppose it depends on how much money they feel they can make. Whether they get incentives to fly to these destinations or whether these destinations are promoting themselves well and convinced the airlines.

 

[Curious Pax]

Thought Eurowings were increasing Hamburg flights, but now seem to be reducing in the summer as the Monday flight has gone

 

[mullion]

Lots of services over summer are not as busy due school holidays in each country

 

[robsh34]

Don't be surprised if there is big increase in flights to the Carribean next autumn/ winter. Aer Lingus probably will end up kicking themselves for pulling out of tge Barbados route .
Think it will be 3-4 years after this war in the Middle East ends before we see a return to numbers wanting to travel to or through the Middle East.

 

[mullion]

Great to have Etihad this morning actually looked a bit like normal, hurry back Qatar and Kuwait you are missed

 

[Jerry]

Don't be surprised if there is big increase in flights to the Carribean next autumn/ winter. Aer Lingus probably will end up kicking themselves for pulling out of tge Barbados route .
Think it will be 3-4 years after this war in the Middle East ends before we see a return to numbers wanting to travel to or through the Middle East.

I wouldn't rule out capacity increases in Asian routes either. People will still want to travel East but might look to avoid the Middle East.

 

[Aviador]

I wouldn't rule out capacity increases in Asian routes either. People will still want to travel East but might look to avoid the Middle East.

Possibly potential for more growth at Istanbul and the European hubs.

 

[Jerry]

Possibly potential for more growth at Istanbul and the European hubs.

Yep going East has potentially less options for people now. I'd expect that Manchester would be looking to get all it's hub airlines to expand their capacity but obviously will be up against big competition.

 

[CCGE29]

EY are back 1x daily from tomorrow.

EK are ops 2x daily until full service is restored on the 1/04 at this point.

GF canx until 20th.

KU as above.

QR - now running rescue flights from the far east > MAN.

CCGE29

 

[mullion]

Qatar should be an A380 tomorrow moring A7-APE and 777 A7-BOE

 

[Jerry]

New airline for Manchester

https://twitter.com/x/status/2036370489854087440

 

[Scottie Dog]

......More like an old airline returning, but on a new route.

 

[Scottie Dog]

RYANAIR ADDS 19TH AIRCRAFT AT MANCHESTER FOR SUMMER 2026​

US$1.9BN INVESTMENT, 9% GROWTH, 2 NEW ROUTES​

Ryanair, the UK’s No.1 low-fares airline, today (Fri, 27 Mar) announced that it has added a 19th based aircraft at Manchester Airport for Summer 2026, representing a US$1.9bn investment in the North West and supporting over 7,300 local jobs. This additional aircraft will deliver +540,000 additional seats (+9% growth) and 2 exciting new routes to Castellon and Rimini. Ryanair has also increased frequencies on another 37 routes, including popular holiday hotspots like Faro, Porto and Rhodes, as well as top city break destinations like Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Milan, offering Ryanair’s customers in the North West even more low-fare choice and regular connections this Summer.
Ryanair’s Manchester Summer 2026 schedule will deliver:

• 82 routes, incl. 2 new routes to Castellon and Rimini
• 19 based aircraft (+1 vs. S25 – US$1.9bn investment in Manchester)
• Increased freq. on 37 routes
• 6.6m seats (+9%)
• Manchester traffic grows to over 9m passengers p.a.

 

[LS@MAN]

Thanks for the info @Scottie Dog
Stands 16, 17 & 47 look set to reopen before the peak summer period so just in time for the additional aircraft.
This should mean that now all Ryanair aircraft will be parked at T3 stands instead of using some remote stands next to the hangers.

 

[BLB777]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046180162438385909

 

[Aviador]

So according to the Oldham Times Over a dozen brand-new Mediterranean routes are launching from MAN this month. It seems like an absolute free-for-all. Ryanair is launching Rimini and Castellon, easyJet is starting Bari and Preveza, and Jet2 has just thrown down destinations like Jerez, La Palma, Samos, and Palermo.

Do you think the airlines are collectively over-saturating the Mediterranean market out of MAN? With so many overlapping niche Italian and Greek options launching simultaneously, is there actually enough passenger demand in the North West to sustain them all, or are we going to see massive price dumping. Thoughts?

#MAN #ManchesterAirport #MediterraneanFlights

 

[gulftraveller]

If they fill their aircraft, then the strategy is right. If not, they will pull the routes. In current circumstances, the Mediterranean looks like a haven of peace and tranquility.

 

[Jerry]

So according to the Oldham Times Over a dozen brand-new Mediterranean routes are launching from MAN this month. It seems like an absolute free-for-all. Ryanair is launching Rimini and Castellon, easyJet is starting Bari and Preveza, and Jet2 has just thrown down destinations like Jerez, La Palma, Samos, and Palermo.

Do you think the airlines are collectively over-saturating the Mediterranean market out of MAN? With so many overlapping niche Italian and Greek options launching simultaneously, is there actually enough passenger demand in the North West to sustain them all, or are we going to see massive price dumping. Thoughts?

#MAN #ManchesterAirport #MediterraneanFlights

The Med is popular and the bigger Manchester gets the more able it is to sustain such destinations and with the Middle East conflict people may well want something more closer to home.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

Folks still want their holidays, but several destinations are currently out of the reckoning due to conflicts and high costs arising from them. For this reason, attractive EuMed destinations are in high demand, whilst highly-priced options such as the US and conflict zone options such as Dubai lose appeal.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Courtesy of #laviation on Pprune

Malaysia Airlines hold slots for 2x daily MAN-KUL with A359 according to ACL slot reports