Localiser Green "runway permitting"
From what Embraer currently put out on their website, the SOU runway will permit SOU to GLA/EDI with full load, but not a lot more.
Being concerned for my continued employment, I, together with a number of others have asked Embraer what performance improvements they are going to come up with. This has resulted in a "no comment" citing the fact that the ERJ 195 is not yet certified and they will not release any performance figures until it is.
With a combination of the up-rated engines and some software changes to provide an intermediate take-off flap setting, as they did with the ERJ 145 (to make it work at SOU) the southern Spain destinations (AGP/ALC/MJV) could be workable from SOU, but anything more appears at the moment to be speculation. Hopefully Flybe have been guaranteed more, time will tell.
If BAA wants to keep Flybe at SOU, and remain a viable business, they hopefully are now pursuing land purchases to the north of the airport to remove the large railway sheds (apparently now empty and redundant) and thereby remove a 02 take-off obstacle, and secondly the rail sidings adjoining the northern boundary fence, to permit the runway to be displaced northwards to enable compliance with the CAA recommended 240 metre Runway End Safety Area at the south end, and avoid dumping another aircraft on the M27 while improving the 20 take-off obstacle environment, to permit increased take-off weights.
Maybe its time to start a new thread, "Can SOU survive the ERJ 195"?