Review: we try aether, the new private terminal at Manchester Airport

This is our review of aether, the ‘pay to use’ VIP terminal at Manchester Airport.

In November 2019 Rob reviewed the brand new PremiAir VIP terminal at Manchester and was very impressed. Little did we know that covid was around the corner, causing the terminal to shut before it could get established.

After a closure of almost five years, the terminal re-opened its doors in November 2024 under a new name – aether. I went to try it out to check if it still deserves our seal of approval.

The key thing to know is that ANYONE can use aether if they are flying on a participating airline.  It isn’t just for the super-rich with fees starting at just £110 pp. Many people will find this an acceptable price to pay to escape the main terminal complex at Manchester.

(EDIT: We have updated this article to reflect the new fees from 4th February.)

aether allowed us to use the terminal for free for review purposes. We paid for our own travel to and from Manchester and for our overnight hotel stay.

The aether website is here.

Where is aether?

I arrived at Manchester Airport by train and spent a night at Accor’s new TRIBE hotel (see my review here). Next morning I woke to a windy (via Storm Éowyn) Manchester Airport but, on the bright side, the sun was out.

My transfer to aether was by taxi and took 10 minutes. aether is nowhere near the main terminal and you cannot walk between them.  It was built next to the Runway Visitor Park, on a land which was originally given over to plane spotters.  It is close to a massive Amazon fulfillment centre if you have ever driven past that on your way in or out of Manchester.

aether is located on the edge of the airfield facing the runway. It is astonishing how close you are to passing aircraft. I couldn’t get a picture from the rear, since it would mean standing on the runway, but here is an old sketch from before it opened:

It is clear from the second you arrive that this is an exclusive experience. There are no shops, no takeaways and no long walks through busy crowds. You literally have your own private security and immigration channel, plus your own driver to take you to your aircraft.

We’ll come to pricing later but being able to get all this for as little as £110 – if you don’t plan to eat – is astonishing.

I was welcomed at reception by name and after showing my boarding pass and passport at the desk pictured below I could move on to the lounge. I had no luggage to check in so there was no need to have that transferred across.

Two check-in terminals are available if you have not done so already:

The lounge is beautiful. Knowing that it is literally on the edge of an active taxiway, so you have aircraft passing within 100 feet of the windows every couple of minutes, the architects sensibly let the view dominate.

I wasn’t the only guest during my visit but I (deliberately) stayed the longest. After all, if you want to eat the six course lunch menu you are going to need some time!

There are multiple seating options to choose from depending on what you want to do – observe, eat or work.

I started my meal at one of the tables below but moved to an armchair where I had a better view of the runway.

At one end of the lounge is a meeting area with screens if required. Whilst it isn’t obvious when you look at the space, there are concealed dividers so that the lounge can be partitioned for privacy or security reasons.

There is even a back route to allow guests to access the far end of the lounge, when divided off, without walking through the main area.

If you are planning to work then don’t sit by the window as you will just end up staring outside as I did!

The wooden beams gave aether a bit of a chalet atmosphere and the soft modern furniture and carpeting help with acoustics. Despite the proximity of moving aircraft the lounge is sound proof.

Occasionally a private jet passed by.

Food and drink at aether

There is a good selection of drinks to choose from. There is no self service but the staff are very efficient, as you would expect with only a handful of guests at any time. Note that this is very much ‘stealth wealth’ territory – if you are looking for Cristal on tap then you are in the wrong place. 

aether has teamed up with Manchester chef Adam Reid to create its menus. All food is served a la carte and is cooked to order, and everything is included in your entry fee.

I was there over lunch (I arrived at noon for a 3pm flight – a three hour visit is the maximum allowed) which is based around a ‘small plates’ model.

I started off with a coffee and vegetable crisps in a split pea dip:

The next two courses were malt loaf and beef butter plus a plate of ham, hot smoked salmon and pickle.

For my main I went for something original and chose mincemeat gravy on toasted malt loaf, fresh watercress & grated horseradish. This isn’t your typical airport lounge food ….

For dessert I had crumble with seasonal stewed fruit, cream and panacotta.

At this point I wasn’t hungry any longer, having had a full breakfast at TRIBE for review purposes four hours earlier. I skipped the cheese course and got a takeaway container for this delicious sugar-coated Madeleine:

The transfer to my plane

I was booked on a British Airways flight to Heathrow.

This is the cool bit. Approximately one hour before departure you will be chauffeur driven to your gate. You are given a reminder 15 minutes in advance so you can wind up your eating and drinking!

Security is seamless with a modern scanner (liquids can stay in your bag) and with no other passengers it took a minute at most. My passport was also checked again. Pictures were not allowed in this area.

Outside my private chauffeur with one of aether’s fleet of BMWs was waiting to take me to my gate:

It was a longer drive to Terminal 3 than I expected but in many ways this is good as you get a full tour of the airfield.

You can’t escape the main terminal entirely, because your airline still needs to scan your boarding pass as you board. This means that you park up at the most convenient gate and are walked through various floors and gangways via mysterious doors until you arrive in the departure hall. You will then board with the rest of the passengers.

Some flights at Manchester use remote stands. When Rob was at aether for a preview in May, he was told that these passengers would be walked back down to their car – after getting their boarding pass scanned – and then driven to the aircraft. You won’t need to join the bus with your fellow passengers.

If you want to visit duty free, you can arrange to leave aether early and have your driver drop you at the main terminal rather than at your gate.

If you have access to an airport lounge, you can arrive early at aether, pay the ‘Express’ fee (see below) and be immediately driven to the main terminal and escorted to your lounge.

The practicalities

What does aether cost?

For departing passengers, there are three options:

• Express – for hand baggage only passengers who do not want to eat, you can pay £110 per person.  You will clear immigration and security in aether and be immediately driven across the airport to your departure gate.  You need to arrive at aether 60-75 minutes before departure.

• Inclusive with cabin baggage (what I did) – for hand baggage only passengers. You pay £230 and can arrive from three hours before departure. You have full access to the facilities including food and drink. You will clear immigration and security in aether and be driven across the airport to your gate 60 minutes before departure. 

• Inclusive with checked baggage – as above, but your luggage is taken from you when you arrive and transferred separately to the main terminal. The cost is £250.

You can also use aether in reverse, as an Arrivals lounge, for the same price. The Express option is restricted to domestic arrivals as no immigration or security services are required.

Note that pre-booking is required because all passengers need to have their passport information screened in advance.

There is a supplement if you want part of the lounge partitioned off for the exclusive use of your group.

It is possible for a non-travelling guest to accompany a ticketed passenger into aether for a fee. This makes it attractive for people who want to ensure a friend or relative gets to their aircraft safely.

Can I park at aether?

If you need parking, the site says:

aether guests can pre-book parking for an additional cost. With our Meet & Greet service, you pull up outside aether, hand over your keys and one of our fully insured drivers will move your vehicle to our secure storage site for the duration of your trip. Your vehicle will be ready and waiting for you on your return.

If you depart using aether but arrive into one of the main terminals and would like to travel in your own car, our parking service can move your vehicle from one terminal to the other.

Which airlines can use aether?

As long as your airline allows online check-in and you do not need to collect a boarding pass, you can use aether with any airline if you are only travelling with hand baggage.

The following airlines have signed up to the checked baggage service: British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Hainan Airlines, SAS, Turkish Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Check the current list on the aether website before booking.

It is worth noting that Ryanair, Tui, Jet2 and easyJet offer ‘twilight check-in’ at Manchester. This would allow you to drop your checked luggage the night before your flight and then head to aether in the morning with just cabin baggage.

When does aether open?

aether opens at 4am. As you need to arrive at least 60 minutes before your flight, the earliest departure time that aether can handle is 5am.

Conclusion

For me, with 20+ years of airport lounge experiences, the aether lounge is a game changer. I was very impressed by its unique location on the edge of the airfield, its exclusive views and most of all the outstandingly friendly and efficient service from the staff. There is nothing like it in the UK now that London City Airport has closed its lounges in the Jet Centre to the public.

I’ve never used the main terminal at Manchester but I have heard the stories. I would be seriously considering using aether if I had to fly from the airport on my own on a regular basis.

At £110-£250 per person, it clearly isn’t aimed primarily at the family market – although there are plenty of people in the catchment area who will be happy to pay, and children are welcome. Of course, if you’ve bought a business class ticket on Cathay Pacific, Emirates or Virgin Atlantic then this is only a modest extra on top.

The main market is going to be corporate travellers, for whom £230 is a decent deal if they can get more work done than they could in the terminal, and potentially the airlines, although none have yet signed up for their premium passengers.

If you value your time or quality of life, I recommend you give aether a go on your next flight out of Manchester.  I doubt you will return to the main terminal once you’ve tried it.

Thank you to Suzanne and her team for setting up my visit.

You can find out more, and book, on the aether website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.