Not heard of Man-Fran? You soon will

Manchester could be on the cusp of a dramatic shift in work and lifestyle patterns, as well as culture, according to commentators, with the advent of direct flights to San Francisco predicted to boost the local tech economy and lead to ‘super-commuting’ between the two cities.

In the same way that more frequent links between New York and London gave rise to the notion of ‘NY-Lon’ – which spawned a TV series and sees thousands of workers regularly commuting between New York and London – ‘Man-Fran’ is expected to have a significant impact on the region.

With the first direct flights between Manchester and San Francisco offered by Virgin Atlantic to take to the air three times a week later this month, experts predict that regular business travel between the two cities will become more common.

The new route will be a big timesaver when compared to the current 14-hour journey from Heathrow, cutting it to less than 11.5 hours.

Professor Sir Cary L Cooper, od Alliance Manchester Business School, said: “The idea of Ny-Lon, or a ‘single city separated by an ocean’, has been around for a while.

“There are more direct flights daily between London and New York than trains from Kings Cross to Edinburgh. With Manchester’s tech and creative industries booming, I fully expect direct flights between the city and San Francisco to catalyse something similar: a shared business outlook, a common personality and ever closer connections. Man-Fran will become a real trend over the next few years.”

And, according to Virgin Atlantic’s research, Man-Fran will build on a shared pschye between these two northern cities, both famous for their wet weather, trams, music, LBGT and street art scenes; one built on a heritage of silicon and the other rebuilding itself as a British tech hub.

Craig Kreeger, Virgin Atlantic chief executive, said: “Manchester is the San Francisco of Britain. Digital, entrepreneurial, creative, cosmopolitan and dynamic: it’s got every ingredient to be a world class 21st century city.  Our job is to connect like-minded customers together and this new route does just that.”

Ken O’Toole, Manchester Airport chief executive, said:  “As well as stimulating tourism in both directions, it [the route] will open up major opportunities for businesses across the North to access both funding and knowledge from the world’s leading hub for the technology sector.

“This demonstrates the powerful role Manchester Airport plays in driving growth within the high value sectors that will deliver jobs and wealth across the Northern Powerhouse in the years to come.”