Web check

Web check

www.manchester.airport.co.uk

Home Page: takes a long time to download because of the moving graphics, but it is bright and cheerful and, most importantly, the information is set out clearly.

Information available: includes details on transport to and from the airport, flight arrivals and departures, airport dining, shopping and car parking facilities, information on Manchester and the local area, and job vacancies. There is also a flight and holidays booking service, and a facility to buy duty and tax-free goods.

Ease of use: it does take some time to download information from this site because there is so much available, but it is easy to work your way from A to B. Users who want to book travel on the site need to go through a fairly lengthy pre-registration, which does take time, but you only need to log your details once.

On-line booking facility: there are links from the site to Manchester Airport’s retail partners telme.com and Travelcare, which provide information on flights and holidays, including last-minute deals and exclusive web offers.Users can search by departure date, destination and price. Booking requests are made by e-mail. Duty-free andtax-free goods can be purchased on-line and collectedat the airport. Access to the airport’s executivedeparture lounge can also be pre-booked on the site.Car parking and currency will be bookable on-line in thenear future.

Special features for agents: none, but agents might find it useful to print out the sections on transport to and from the airport plus shopping and dining facilities for clients flying from Manchester.

Overall Impression: this is an easy site to use with lotsof information available. It’s greatest appeal to the passenger is likely to be its facility for buying duty andtax-free goods, especially as this will expand in the futureto include more of the airport’s retail outlets.