Comment: Time to take stock ater Ryanair takes flight

WHILE consumers looking for a cheap flight may lament Ryanair’s latest hissy fit, which will see it axe all but one of its flights from Manchester Airport, few tears will be shed in the North West business community.

Clearly the loss of jobs is not good news for those involved, but the willingness of Manchester Airport chiefs not to be bullied by Michael O’Leary and his band of PR-savvy cohorts has to be admired.

But even before the fall-out with Ryanair there was genuine concern that Manchester had gone too far down the low cost avenue, to the detriment of the business traveller.

As an asset with a major role to play in the economic success of this region – it remains the first port of call for would be international investors – now must be a great opportunity to take stock of where the airport is, and what it wants to be.

Surely a fundamental part of the plan has to be focusing on developing strong, long-term commercially viable routes to key business locations.

As evidenced by the recent summit at the new Concorde Conference Centre,  airport chiefs know there are opportunities in India, China the Middle East and the US.

But this will undoubtedly take time, and given the state of the global economy and the woes of the aviation sector, may take years to bear fruit.

But in the short term, there is a clear need for high class conference and meeting facilities within the airport complex itself and for investment in better business lounges.

Yes, Manchester has been affected by the huge changes in the sector –  British Airways’ termination of everything but its London services over the last three years has wounded the airport’s international credentials –  but now is a time to focus on quality, not quantity, and in creating the world class facility Manchester and the North West needs.