Originally Posted by
AirportPlanner1
If LTN (or STN) was the answer it would have been shifted back
I agree with most of what you say but would respectfully take issue with this assertion. Stobart acquired Aer Arann as a vehicle to develop Southend Airport. WAT-LTN was therefore switched to SEN for ideological reasons. Moving it away from SEN again would have been tantamount to admitting that other London airports were more attractive to passengers (which would have been anathema to Stobart). At the time, Aer Arann/Stobart Air management privately conceded that it was their actions that had been responsible for the route's downfall. (In fairness, the move to SEN had been the final straw, but there had been schedule changes and reliability problems before that which had already damaged the route.)