Stobart believe in regional air services. Their work for Aer Lingus, the routes they operate at Southend and the stated interest in Flybe make this abundantly clear. Running routes out of SEN with loads of under 40% hasn't put them off, indeed they're increasing the frequency on some.
So if they only attract a dozen or so on each Southend bound aircraft, it may make little sense to most, but who knows what Stobart's expectations are.