Originally Posted by
WHBM
Disappointing, as from the east side of London it's far more straightforward and quicker to get to Stansted than Luton - that's over in Bedfordshire.
The downside of a W pattern is that you can't readily do early morning departures, and thus miss out on the business market for these. I can remember back in Go days the huge check-in queues for the early departures, many in suits. Has that market really all gone ?
Totally agree. From the east side of London, Luton is a total ball ache. Heathrow might as well be on the other side of the planet, and Gatwick you have to grapple with the Dartford crossing and the M25. London City is a great little airport if travelling by public transport, but it comes at a price that if you’re paying out of your own pocket often hurts.
Jet2 will be the real winners on the sun routes to Palma, Mahon, Ibiza, Malaga, Dubrovnik, Dalaman etc. In fact I think they won that war from day one when they appeared at Stansted. A lot of posters on here were certain they’d fail.
Domestics heading inbound from Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh with EZY will continue to work as they will always feature an early morning in the direction of Stansted.
When you compare the losses at Stansted, it’s still small in comparison to the losses seen at Gatwick for instance. One less loco might pave the way for something more ‘full service’ in the future.
Aviation will bounce back in the next few years.