To be fair to LTNMan, this is what he said on 7th February 2011:
"From little acorns grow might oaks come to mind. Ok Southend is hemmed in a bit and the terminal will be small but an airline like easyjet could move 3 or 4 aircraft out of say Luton to set up a base at Southend which would have a big impact on Luton’s passenger figures.
Coventry has been mentioned why Southend could struggle but then look at how Belfast Harbour has taken business away from Belfast’s main airport. OK this might be a bad comparison as Harbour is a city airport but with its own railway station Southend could well provide a few surprises."
Which seems pretty percipient to me. Just to amuse everyone, here is what is being stated on another forum today:
"....rumours among The Aviation Industry,are circulating, by stating that Easy Jet, are to base 6 Airbus 319s - at London Southend Airport for Summer 2013, and will be operating New Services, and Destinations !!!! "
Pure speculation, I suspect....