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Manchester Airport is opening a private terminal which will ‘drive you to your plane’

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Manchester Airport has an excellent route network, but even its biggest supporters have to admit that the passenger experience is dire at best.  Even the lounges are a mess.

Things are changing.  A new pier is under construction, which will include a swanky new Virgin Atlantic lounge amongst other facilities, but this will take time to complete.

In the meantime, Manchester Airport has had another idea.  It is building a totally separate VIP terminal to open this Summer which anyone can use. 

Called PremiAir, it is currently under construction near the Runway Visitor Park.  It looks like this:

Premiair terminal manchester airport

and

PremiAir terminal Manchester airport

If you decide to pay up – and reports say that it will cost ‘from £50’ which is a bargain compared to the cost of paying for lounge entry in the main terminal – this is what you will get:

Flights from Manchester

  • Free food and drink in the lounge
  • A dedicated baggage desk to check your bags immediately with no queueing and no hassle
  • Passengers and their party will be called forward from the lounge when their car is ready and taken through security to be driven to their aircraft. They will be the only ones passing through security at that time.
  • A chauffeur-driven ride to the steps of the plane

Flights to Manchester

  • A chauffeur-driven ride to the terminal from the aircraft
  • Fast-track immigration with dedicated Border Force staff (it isn’t clear what happens to your baggage)

For clarity, the terminal will be open to anyone irrespective of their airline or class of travel.

At any airport this would be a welcomed innovation.  At Manchester it will be like Christmas for regular premium passengers who are fed up with the existing facilities.  I get a feeling that some of the long haul airlines may even want to pay for this as part of their regular offering.

In a press release, Andrew Harrison, CEO for Airport Services at Manchester Airports Group, said:

“It is something a large number of customers have been telling us for some time they would be interested in and we hope the services it will offer will appeal to a wide range of passengers, whether they are travelling for business, want to mark a special occasion or just want to add something different to their experience.”

The even better news is that Manchester Airports Group is already looking at building similar facilities at East Midlands and London Stansted, both of which it also owns.

Ross Powell, director of operations for terminal designer Jacobs said:

“We have worked hard with the Airport to create a simple yet elegant design, utilising natural materials, full height glass and visual connection to the airfield to offer the guest a warm, relaxing and personalised environment.”

Obviously this is something which Head for Points will need to try out, so look out for a report later in the year.

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Category

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Comments (73)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • PGW says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:14

    It certainly looks promising although pricing will certainly be the critical issue for family groups.

    • Oh Matron! says:
      24 Jan24 January 10:25

      **** family groups. This obviously isn’t aimed at them and I find the behaviour of most family groups abhorrent in lounges. It’s almost impossible to work in shared lounges where parents and there little darlings run riot.

      I’d like to back up my argument with the Terminal 5 BA south lounge: The ‘business’ area is next to the children’s play area.

      • Oh Matron! says:
        24 Jan24 January 10:25

        sorry for the rant…. But those who do need to work whilst in transit will probably understand…

        • Alan says:
          24 Jan24 January 12:11

          Everyone is entilted to a rant but i would be willing to pay £50 each for my family to use the facility. Hopefully you won’t be too offended by our prescence.

        • Jon says:
          24 Jan24 January 13:13

          Rant probably better directed at lounge designers and your choice of seating location. Children being noisy in …………. A CHILDREN’S PLAY AREA is hardly “abhorrent” behaviour.

        • Fraggle says:
          24 Jan24 January 20:46

          Oh dear… another entitled “big deal” who feels that that lounges are simply a space for their “high powered” wheeler dealer, big important business stuff…
          Newsflash, they’re not.

        • Lady London says:
          26 Jan26 January 13:34

          Yup @fraggle and those people want to get away from you.

      • Jamie says:
        24 Jan24 January 16:01

        Whilst I find children quite frustrating in general at the best of times, so called ‘business travellers’ mouthing off on their mobile phones, usually including these words : ‘I’m in the lounge’ irk me much more. Give me a fat toddler any day. At least you can kick it away like a football.

  • Neil says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:15

    Speaking as one of those long term fed up premium passengers at Manchester, I think this is the best idea they’ve ever come up with.

    I just hope it’s managed well. The premium experience is something that Manchester Airport is spectacularly poor at (and has been for the last ten years I’ve been using that airport).

    Looking forward to trying it myself.

  • Riku says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:18

    Doesn’t London City have a similar thing (first class lounge at the private jet centre) and you are driven to your car, but BA will not allow passengers to be driven to the aircraft like this, so that part doesn’t apply to BA passengers.
    Won’t the same thing happen at MAN?

  • Andrew says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:20

    Typical Manchester airport behaviour – extract further revenue from premium passengers to provide the basic services you would expect as standard.

    • Nick says:
      24 Jan24 January 06:29

      +1
      Yes, at least get your ‘basic’ product right before trying to do something else!

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      24 Jan24 January 11:33

      Just to be clear, you expect to be chauffeur driven to your plane as a standard service?

  • John says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:23

    Why can’t this lounge be post-security. MAN seems to have unspoken rules not applied at any other UK or European airport.

    Unless the private security channel here confirms that they will not ask you to take out anything other than laptops, large tablets and liquids. Because every time my bag gets pulled aside. I might as well unpack the entire bag but will probably get yelled at for doing that too…

    As for “the only ones passing through security at that time”, what happens if 15 people on a flight pay up, it’s still going to be slow. Much better if you could go through security on arrival at the lounge.

    • Neil says:
      24 Jan24 January 06:32

      I got barked at the other day for using a “non approved toiletry see through bag” – that’d be the one Heathrow gave me two days before.

      MAN security staff, as well as being rude, do just make up the rules as they go along.

      • Katy says:
        24 Jan24 January 07:03

        I agree! Always a terrible experience in MAN security. I think at least 50% of bags are pulled for search in security. I was told off for keeping a mirror next to a packet of face wipes in my make up bag. I mean, what?!

        • TripRep says:
          24 Jan24 January 09:05

          Agreed, the security seemed to need more training in using the scanners and in good manners.

        • S says:
          24 Jan24 January 12:22

          The airport security is a PITA and it’s useless, but if you think that UK airports are bad, you should fly from the US more.

          I’m getting groped roughly 1/3 of the times when going thru TSA.

        • John says:
          24 Jan24 January 21:21

          Most UK airports are ok. MAN is bad.

      • Mr Dee says:
        24 Jan24 January 07:32

        Yes the mentality of the people at this airport is ridiculous, they think they are cattle herders at times

      • Trickster says:
        24 Jan24 January 07:37

        In the interest of balance, I have never found the security staff to be rude. I am by no means a regular traveler though. As an aside though I have seen some terrible behaviour on many occasions from uppity passengers towards the staff.

      • Vistaro says:
        24 Jan24 January 08:15

        Go through the place many times a year and it’s a very poor experience, fast track often mean nothing with the standard queue using the same scanners, the staff telling you your plastic bag must be ziplocked even when there’s barely anything in it, bags often pulled aside for a manual search which just makes a mess of the bag – but must be said the arrival experience at LHR T5 from an international flight is just as bad, no fast track for immigration, fast track security painful – nothing good to say about UK airports

      • Anonymus says:
        24 Jan24 January 10:05

        they always do.tempted to make a video and post but illegal so abstain. theres even a guy who handles oversized baggage and they don’t know how to speak respectfully

      • Vasco says:
        24 Jan24 January 14:02

        They definitely do. I had one tell me off for being on my phone while queuing. Not taking pictures or videos, I think I was either messaging someone or reading something online.

  • Paul says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:30

    What a great idea! Make thevexperience so awful that people will be prepared to pay money to avoid it. Would it not be better if Manchester spent the time money and energy on improving the rest of the facilities!

    • Kip says:
      24 Jan24 January 07:09

      What do you think the whole multi-billion airport upgrade is about?
      MAN has its problems but so do all other airports. I mean, where’s the ‘premium experience’ in being shoved on a bus to get from T5 to T3?
      Lets see how it goes at MAN – at least they’re making an effort.

  • TripRep says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:34

    Definitely welcomed, especially if Virgin use this for Upper Class while their other lounge gets built.

    Still doesn’t ease transfers changing terminals from FlyBe to VS, that I suspect will remain a PITA. Unless of course they collect you from your domestic connection, then we’re talking…

  • Anna says:
    24 Jan24 January 06:37

    It will be nice if PP holders can actually get in the Escape Lounge in T3 as a result of this! Not sure I would class MAN’s route network as “excellent”, there’s a very long list of destinations you can’t get to directly from there (including Gatwick!)

    • Anna says:
      24 Jan24 January 15:10

      It would be a major step in that direction! But 205 airports, the vast majority of which are in Europe, still doesn’t impress. The USA and Caribbean are woefully badly served (even more so because of the lack of access to Gatwick). And before anyone mentions Jamaica and the DR, there are many more islands than these!

      • Mr(s) Entitled says:
        24 Jan24 January 16:05

        But the airport is in Europe. Reminds me of Basil Faulty asking a guest what exactly he expected to see through the window of their Torquay hotel?

    • Anna says:
      24 Jan24 January 16:48

      Actually if you check, a lot of these aren’t direct flights at all, I don’t really understand how they can claim this!

    • Anna says:
      24 Jan24 January 16:51

      Not 205 direct destinations, check your source again. This is total destinations!

      • Anna says:
        24 Jan24 January 20:49

        It does not say these are direct routes, which is what you seem to be claiming.

      • Charlieface says:
        25 Jan25 January 00:04

        Have a look at the Wikipedia page which lists direct flights only and is usually very up to date. I get something over 200 distinct destinations. I grant you that includes the seasonals which the data won’t be fully accurate but you get the picture.
        It’s been known that MAN has a mass of leisure flights and last year they had 27m pax but they don’t cater well to biz travel. T1 in particular is horrific, security lines can be actually out the front door, half the gates are tarmac walk or bus. It’s shame because it could be a terrific network hub for an airline like Virgin.

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