MAG have a cash cow, and they want to milk it.
Manchester Airport loves to empty your wallet whenever it can. It’s perhaps unsurprising that they’ve increased the pricing for Aether, although the speed at which they’ve done this is a little shocking.
What is Aether?
Aether is Manchester Airport’s private terminal. For a fee you can avoid the main airport and experience quite a luxurious lounge. I’ve written extensively about the terminal, and you can read my full review of Aether. For once, MAN didn’t fumble it; the terminal was stunning, and the whole experience was amazing. It wasn’t cheap, but it was worth it. Note; was worth it.
What’s changing?
Without any fanfare, Aether has increased its pricing. From the 4th of February, a mere three months after launch, their prices have shot up.
The cheapest express option, which is for cabin bags only and does not include any food or drink, has shifted from “from £90” per person to “from £110”. The biggest change is in the full-service package, which includes food, drink and the ability to bring a suitcase with you. That’s now from £250 rather than £190, or for a couple, an increase of £120 on the outbound leg only. Inbound has increased from £170 to £250, a jump of £70 per person.
A family of four with checked baggage and who want to eat in the lounge will now have to shell out £2,000 for an outbound and inbound trip. Previously, this would have been £1,440.
Is Aether still worth it?
My review back in November was framed around whether Aether is worth it. With the big jumps in prices, that question is worth asking again.
If money is no object, Aether is worth it. If you’re travelling as a family, then it will be a far better experience. Even if you’re not, why would you want to brave the main terminal when you can ease into your holiday via a private terminal? Aether is undeniably luxurious and relaxing. It was a wholly different way to wait for a flight.
If time is essential to you, and you’re travelling with cabin bags then the terminal is worth it. You’ll save time at the point of check-in and find it much faster to dump your car at Aether rather than parking up at the main terminal. Of course the parking service at Aether is more expensive than the main terminal.
For the rest of us, Aether is something you roll out when it’s a special occasion. With BA moving to T2 at some point in 2025 that should make flying to London a nicer experience. The need to use Aether diminishes.
If it makes you feel any better, the recently relaunched Windsor Lounge at Heathrow is a staggering £3,800 for up to three people. What’s even more surprising is that 50,000 people go through that terminal each year. Despite £3m being spent on the refurb, their prices only increased by £200 per room, or £66 per person.
1 comment
Tom
MAN has absolutely no interest in customer service or value for money. It’s simply a money-grabbing conveyer belt, gobbling passengers up at one end and spitting them out at the other. It doesn’t surprise me in the least that the Aether prices have increased. We’ll be trying it out in May, having booked at the ‘introductory’ price of £150 each. We’ll see if it’s worth the new price of £230 each (a 53.33% increase) once we’ve been. We travel through MAN between 6 and 10 times per year. I wonder if they’ll offer a multi-trip discount ticket?