I watch a lot of TV and am into my technology big time. These are the things I will be reviewing mos...
I watch a lot of TV and am into my technology big time. These are the things I will be reviewing most.
Member since:16.02.2004
Reviews:10
Background ==========
Manchester Airport was built in the 1930's on a small plot of land in the Ringway area of Manchester. Ringway was chosen because it was flat, located well and above all cheap. Man T1 was th pride and joy of the aerospace industry for many years, with it fantastically extravagant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Since it was built the airport has provided a fantastic amount of jobs to Wythenshawe and other surrounding areas and continues to do so.
Service ======
When you visit MAN you will get an excellent quality of service. The staff are very friendly and quite willing to help. If you're stuck, all you need do is grab someone wearing an airport pass and they will be able to help you or point you in the direction of someone that can. There are information desks located in the Arrivals Hall of each terminal - next to the post office in T1 and next to WHS in T3 - and there are also visitor information desks for people who want to purchase maps, find out about local events or just want a friendly chat.
The check-in staff are quite helpful and, without loosing quality
of service, perform their job quickly and efficiently. They are all very friendly and if you need help they are seemingly willing to offer it.
The security staff can be a bit toffee-nosed but thats just one aspect of the whole airport experience. Queues to proceed to airside can often be long and strech right back to level 5 (MAN T1) especially in the summer or busier periods such as half-term. Airport staff have priority when going through the security posts, which can soemtimes be frustrating, but they need to get to their workplace. If your flight is called whilst you're in a queue for security, you will be taken to the front of the queue so that you can proceed onto your flight quickly.
Shopping, Eating and Services =========================
All three terminals have some sort of shopping facilities. In landside there is a WHS and a Boots Chemist in each terminal. In T1 there is also; Monsoon AllSports Salisbury's Accessorize Claire's LaSenza Cotton Trades Impulse Dry Cleaning Hut Travel Care and Thorntons.
In T2 there is also; Voyager Leisure Games (Arcade) Impulse Claire's Salisbury's
Prices are higher than high street branches of these shops but that is due to aiport tax which retailers have to pay.
After the security points there is much more shopping to be enjoyed with a Dixons Tax-Free, WHS, Tie Rack and an Alpha Airport Shopping (Duty Free) in each terminal. T1 has the added bonus of several more shops, T2 has minimally more and T3 has no more shops in airside.
Each terminal has cafe's on landside, and they all have a cafe and bars in airside. T1 has 3 more bars which include the famous SportsBar brand. In Terminal 1 Airside you can also find a Starbucks Cafe as opposed to a Costa Coffee in the other two terminals.
All three terminals have healthy exchange facilities with reasonable rates. And most f the shops, bars and cafe's accept Euro notes and 1 & 2 coins as well as Dollar notes.
New Developments ================
In the summer of 2003 Man T1 underwent a major renovation. the new-look concourse, minus chandeliers, is fresh and bright. There is new, comfortable, seating to replace the bus stop style grey seats that had graced T1 since the early 80's. There are now lamp-posts down each side of the concourse to make it look and feel like a shopping boulevard.
MA Plc have now installed information machines all around the airport. They act like an information desk and even have a virtual MA Plc employee who will guide you through the process. From the machines you can get info on shops, flights and local information. You can plan a route through Manchester and print out the details. You can also print out vouchers for offers in various shops, which can save you £££'s.
Ther's also an option to receive flight info by SMS Text Message.
Ground Transport Interchange ========================
Manchester Airport's new GTI intergrates Rail, Bus, Taxi and Metrolink (in 2005) services in one building.
From the GTI you can hop on train to Manchester, Sheffield, Barrow-in-Furnace and more within minutes. A single ticket to Manchester Piccadilly is just £2.90 which compares with £2 bus fare.
There is a wide variety of destinations catered for from the bus station at the GTI, including Manchester, Stockport and Altrincham. Bus fares range from 40p to £2.50. On Stagecoach Manchester buses you can get a DaySaver which allows you a full days travel on any Satgecoach bus in Manchester. That costs £1.20 for under 16's, £2.80 for over 16's and there is also a family version available for 2 adults and two children or 1 adult and three children. You can also get a 7 day version for £7.80.
When Manchester's award winning Metrolink system reachers MAN in 2005, that service will be added to the GTI.
Warnings ========
There is only one place where you will be able to put the Lottery on - the Post Office in T1 Arrivals - Be warned.
There is only one cash machine on each of the airside concourses. Make sure you get all the cash you need before passport control. If the airside cash machine is broke you'll be in a mess. Most of the shops, bars and cafe's take: Visa Visa Delta Switch Switch Solo MasterCard Visa Electron. But be warned you CAN NOT get cashback in any of the retail outlets, so don't use that as a backup plan.
Enjoy MAN AIRPORT and Happy Holidays
Mike
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The prices at the airport are very high, especially the harry ramsdens in the eating area of T1.
Lancashire_Angel 18.02.2004 20:03
Shopping at Manchester Airport always marks the start of a holiday for me. When I come back, I'm too broke to do any! Sharron xxx
alexpreston 18.02.2004 16:56
Flew out of there in December. Everything seemed to be great, except the lifts. Trying to get from the drop off area to the check in desks none of the lifts were working so we had to haul heavy luggage up several narrow flights of stairs!
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Feb 18th, 2004
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