Originally Posted by
gilesdavies
With Ryanair opening a new base at Southend, I wonder what this could mean for Luton?
The LTN base has been stagnent for around 5-6+ years with no new capacity and routes occasionally chopped and changed.
Could they eventually move Luton ops to Southend and extend that base further?
Only thing I can see preventing that is Michael O'Leary not wanting to hand peak morning runway slots and aircraft parking spots which are finite, to the likes of easyJet or Wizzair at Luton to easily expand! But in all seriousness with an airport like Southend having plenty of capacity, they could easily absorb Luton's Ryanair ops in addition to the routes and three aircraft just announced there.
Maybe just offering Luton a smattering of routes from other bases like Dublin and the popular Spanish routes.
I wonder when Ryanair's current agreement ends and if this could be a warning shot?
I would have thought there is still capacity at STN for growth, but LTN is beginning to show real problems in all kinds of areas, it has severe congestion problems, both in the air and on the ground, which could seriously impact on future development. SEN has space, but as far as FR is concerned perhaps it is just an opportunity to exert economic pressure elsewhere . Time will tell.