The comments on the Dublin route sound logical in terms of where it is going etc. However, while Stobart Air will offer a service on the route albeit in the different guises of Aer Lingus and Flybe, from the perspective of the travelling public who would be booking this route, one airline is ending it and another taking it up. Hence, many who want to fly return will not do so with EIR as they may have no flights back.
The numbers have been quite positive on the route, though few of us on here will be able to comment on the commerciality as we cannot see the revenues, but the passenger numbers as an isolated indicator look promising. Dublin will be a good test in the Flybe guise and I suspect its success with Flybe will be the barometer that they measure the the domestics by. The interlining with EI for the T/A flights will give it another bonus. I contend that if SEN DUB works satisfactorily we will see BE on SEN EDI, potentially GLA and even potentially BHD.
It is early days to judge the success of the airport, factors potentially greater than SEN has control over are at play in the easyJet rate of growth. However, on the plus side it would appear that the easyJet routes are well subscribed. The other airlines who would be happy to get into a easyJet base alongside easyJet like Wizz, Norwegian or even Ryanair are well and truly sewn up at other London airports. Wizz won't test anything other than LTN as moving any routes would immediately see FR jump into their existing LTN route. However, nothing to stop any of them trying though FR and DY precluded from using SEN largely due to the ac type.
SEN's scope of operator is limited given the ability to handle greater than airbus 319/20. Reduces the pool to choose from or be chosen by.
Flybe is the vehicle/brand that can bring about significant growth/ change at the airport on a sustainable, I think we will see good growth on the Dublin route in the form of BE, and then we should see the other domestics being considered....