Expressflight,
You seem to be 'protecting' SEN insinuating that I am singling SEN out for critism when I am not, indeed over my career I have often recommended SEN as a London alternate and indeed I recommended a friend his start an operation utilising SEN because of it's aids, H24 and very good weather record, just don't try and put a wide body in there though, 'we' had to get a CAA dispensation to put an A300 in there one day due to the runway width, not the length!
So, rather than direct flights from NCL to AMS or LHR or CDG or wherever CAX's alternative is to offer flights CAX-SEN-AMS, that wouldn't be able to compete on the price of direct flights, the travelling public simply wouldn't understand any logic in travelling south, and then north again, to reach their destination and why fly for more hours than is necessary, the travelling public want direct, as is possible, flights.
It simply wouldn't be a financially viable alternative and it's nothing against SEN, I'd be saying the same were it Bishops Stortford International, Vauxhall Motors airstrip on the hill, not so RAF Manston or anywhere of a similar scenario.
CAX would need direct flights to a major hub international airport.