Bits: BA Manchester changes?, bonus Avios from Avis, 20% off Friends & Family Railcards

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• Nick says:

  12 Feb12 February 07:57

  Re the Avis offer. Does anyone know how you can tell if you are one of the first 100 for the extra avios?

  • Johnny_c-l says:

    12 Feb12 February 08:17

    The promo has been running since 1st Feb, the first 100 went some time ago.

• Tim says:

  12 Feb12 February 08:39

  Even if true, I am not sure a move to Terminal 1 would be an improvement. There are ridiculous implementations of the new security guidelines whereby passengers have to go down two flights of stairs, walk under the ‘arriving’ corridor, back up two flights to reach the gate and, if there is no airbridge, back down the same distance. My disabled friend tells me that disabled passengers are taken on another route , “parked in cold sheds” and left without any information other than from their mobiles.

  Terminal 1 also has the rudest, most inhuman security experience of any airport I have experienced. It is so unpleasant that i often recount my experiences of it to make friends laugh. Then there is the enforced shopping trail. There is now only one route to the gates and it is through the main duty free ‘department store’ with obstacles aranged so that there is no simple walking route through and no signposted way-out. While in transit through it, there is endless high-pressure salemanship.

  I remember Terminal 1 from the 70’s when it was the only terminal. Check-in, enter the vast two-level departures hall with the ‘Lancaster Lounge’ cafe overlooking an old Lancaster bomber and the airfield. When your flight was called it was a simple walk through security, 5 minutes at THE duty free shop which resembled an austere Eastern European supermarket on the way to the gate.

  ‘Security’ has been abused to drive up airport profits at the detriment of passengers without genuine, thought-through security benefits.

  Thank heavens T1 is due to be demolished within 10 years. The current T3 will become the main terminal at Manchester, expanding over the current footprint of T1.

  http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/manchester-airport-expansion-plan-security-9370929

  • Anna says:

    12 Feb12 February 09:55

    This article also mentions plans for US immigration clearing at Manchester, which would be hugely attractive and may partly explain the rumours of BA operating trans-Atlantic flights from Man in the future.

    • John says:

      12 Feb12 February 10:07

      You mean hugely unattractive.

      • Anna says:

        12 Feb12 February 11:12

        Can’t be as unattractive as doing it at JFK or Atlanta!

      • Will says:

        12 Feb12 February 13:29

        Have you ever pre clearedUS immigration in Ireland?
        It’s an absolute breeze and you walk off in the USA as a domestic.

        Much preferable to know your time of arrival than have an unknown wait once you arrive in the US.

        • Anna says:

          12 Feb12 February 16:15

          It’s on my bucket list!

  • MAN Airport Employee says:

    12 Feb12 February 14:34

    T1 isn’t being demolished anymore (only stands 22-28) the rest of T1 (to be refurbished) and T3 will be linked the the expanded T2 to create a super terminal. I’ve seen the plans…

• Anon says:

  12 Feb12 February 09:47

  Agree with the comments on rude and obnoxious security at MAN, Ive never felt more like cattle being herded around.

  Has anyone esle here had the pain of connecting at Manchester?

  Try landing exhausted on an overnight VS flight, deal with long immigrations & customs queues, and then walking a bizarre route over 20mins from T1 –> T3 + security to catch a FlyBE connection, such a b4ll ache!

  • Kip says:

    12 Feb12 February 16:47

    Immigration can be terrible particularly at T1. I’ve personally never experienced rudeness at security though; I find it fairly seamless with staff actually using initiative and calling pax forwards for specific flights when it gets tight.

    The walk from T1-T3 is daft but that will be rectified with the new developments.

• Stu N says:

  12 Feb12 February 09:52

  OT – following on from posts earlier in the week my Amex Travel “spend £200, get £50” credited to my account today. That was a split transaction so it is indeed cumulative.

  • Roger says:

    12 Feb12 February 10:41

    Good shout.
    Already used on one card but that was a single transaction of more than £200.

    Now looking to use second card. Might just go for this split transaction way.

    • Sergeant Major says:

      12 Feb12 February 22:26

      My split payment didn’t trigger the credit. Trying to sort it out with Amex at the moment.

      • Alan says:

        19 Feb19 February 16:20

        Interesting – I wonder if there’s an issue in Amex IT with multiple charges on the same day vs payments on different days counting towards cumulative spend?

• James A says:

  12 Feb12 February 10:29

  Let’s hope BA do not return to long haul for Manchester, force Thomas Cook or Virgin off routes and then retreat to Heathrow again. Manchester has lots of North American services now, it doesn’t need BA, let’s face it.

  • Kip says:

    12 Feb12 February 17:02

    I suspect BA will see how the new VS long-haul will fare before committing anything significant.

• roger says:

  12 Feb12 February 10:54

  OT- http://www.club1hotels.com/

  Has anyone used them? I am on free beta expiring later this year.
  Some of their rates are quite unbelievable. For example, Langham Auckland is around £50 where as other sites are way more than £100 nightly rate.
  Of course on hotel chains you probably do not get benefit of any perks, but at such low rates you cannot complaint.

  • Rob says:

    12 Feb12 February 11:51

    We were offered a SUBSTANTIAL sum of money to promote them last year and turned it down on quality grounds, but in fairness I have seen no complaints over non delivery.

• ADS says:

  12 Feb12 February 11:07

  my vouchers from Tesco just arrived … with a reminder that you can use £15 of vouchers and get a railcard … sadly the Network (southeast) Railcard isn’t offered. The Disabled Persons Railcard requires just £10 of vouchers.

• Nick says:

  12 Feb12 February 11:23

  Interesting speculation… remember that T3 was actually built as the ‘BA terminal’ (and still actually says that in a few old lifts at MAN), so any move would be abandoning their ‘home’. Totally agree it’s not the nicest experience now though.
  It’ll be a huge shame if the result is just to kill off other airlines. Hopefully it’ll be more than that though (and that AA comes back if that does ever happen!)

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