LUTON - 6
Join Date: May 2008
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Surely the O/B flight cannot have the same flight no as the I/B?
Also I hear that Wizz were slightly delayed yesterday due to handling delays... was it yesterday that they changed handling agents?
Also I hear that Wizz were slightly delayed yesterday due to handling delays... was it yesterday that they changed handling agents?
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Well most of us thought it wouldn't work at Southend and it looks after only two months we have been proved right. Some very expensive eggs on some people's faces.
Your thoughts Expressflight please.
Your thoughts Expressflight please.
Always happy to oblige c3b.
WAT-SEN and GWY-SEN was never going to be a satisfactory substitute for WAT-LTN and GWY-LTN and I don't believe I ever suggested otherwise (see my post 1214 on the Aer Arann thread).
The transfer of those routes was for wider commercial reasons connected to the Stobart/Aer Arann/Investment situation because Stobart seem to have insisted on there being some tangible result from their substantial investment in SEN (and to a lesser extent in Aer Arann) at the earliest opportunity. The fact that SEN at this time does not fit its description as being a better arrival/departure point for London than is LTN was just ignored and these timetable adjustments are the result.
The sensible commercial decision would surely have been to await the opening of the new SEN terminal in October when aircraft to station platform times of 10 minutes would have been feasible and attractive to the customer. At present they have the same situation as at LTN with a 10 minute coach transfer to Rochford station, resulting in a total transfer time closer to 30 minutes. So no advantage there and the extra 10 minutes flight time makes it an unattractive alternative. Other negative factors are the lack of any retail outlets at SEN (except an excellent café), just one temporary Hertz desk for car hire and no coach service to London as a travel alternative.
Once the new terminal and the train station is open it will be a totally different offering and if Aer Arann go ahead with their plans to base a couple of aircraft at SEN in the autumn serving destinations, particularly those in the Benelux countries, which are naturals for SEN's geographical situation that will be the time to judge its success or otherwise.
After that, assuming the runway extension overcomes the final legal challenges, far greater opportunities will open up at SEN with the likes of Easyjet and others.
WAT-SEN and GWY-SEN was never going to be a satisfactory substitute for WAT-LTN and GWY-LTN and I don't believe I ever suggested otherwise (see my post 1214 on the Aer Arann thread).
The transfer of those routes was for wider commercial reasons connected to the Stobart/Aer Arann/Investment situation because Stobart seem to have insisted on there being some tangible result from their substantial investment in SEN (and to a lesser extent in Aer Arann) at the earliest opportunity. The fact that SEN at this time does not fit its description as being a better arrival/departure point for London than is LTN was just ignored and these timetable adjustments are the result.
The sensible commercial decision would surely have been to await the opening of the new SEN terminal in October when aircraft to station platform times of 10 minutes would have been feasible and attractive to the customer. At present they have the same situation as at LTN with a 10 minute coach transfer to Rochford station, resulting in a total transfer time closer to 30 minutes. So no advantage there and the extra 10 minutes flight time makes it an unattractive alternative. Other negative factors are the lack of any retail outlets at SEN (except an excellent café), just one temporary Hertz desk for car hire and no coach service to London as a travel alternative.
Once the new terminal and the train station is open it will be a totally different offering and if Aer Arann go ahead with their plans to base a couple of aircraft at SEN in the autumn serving destinations, particularly those in the Benelux countries, which are naturals for SEN's geographical situation that will be the time to judge its success or otherwise.
After that, assuming the runway extension overcomes the final legal challenges, far greater opportunities will open up at SEN with the likes of Easyjet and others.
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Many thanks Expressflight for your comments also. Me thinks the people at Stobart did not do there homework very well or probably the people who decided on the Irish routes have no aviation background.
Regarding the new terminal, station etc. I believe that practically all the passengers on the Waterford and Galway services are VFR (visiting friends and relatives) for various reasons (i.e. weddings, funerals, holidays, etc) and are picked up and dropped off by relatives or friends so the railway equation does not really come into it because it really is a non-starter from Southend by train to North London and Bedfordshire where there is a very large Irish community. That is the problem in my opinion they are serving the wrong area with services to Southend and are already paying the consequences.
If the passenger numbers increase during the summer at Luton surely the powers at be at Stobart/Aer Arrean are not going transfer some services back to Southend in the autumn or maybe they will!
Not convinced by LoCos though too much competition well established close by.
Regarding the new terminal, station etc. I believe that practically all the passengers on the Waterford and Galway services are VFR (visiting friends and relatives) for various reasons (i.e. weddings, funerals, holidays, etc) and are picked up and dropped off by relatives or friends so the railway equation does not really come into it because it really is a non-starter from Southend by train to North London and Bedfordshire where there is a very large Irish community. That is the problem in my opinion they are serving the wrong area with services to Southend and are already paying the consequences.
If the passenger numbers increase during the summer at Luton surely the powers at be at Stobart/Aer Arrean are not going transfer some services back to Southend in the autumn or maybe they will!
Not convinced by LoCos though too much competition well established close by.
Join Date: May 2008
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Word is that there was an incident involving an overweight aircraft (not a fat one... 
) trying to land at LTN today involving all emergency services being deployed?
Anyone with any more information? Chinese Whispers has most probably done it's job well.
) trying to land at LTN today involving all emergency services being deployed? Anyone with any more information? Chinese Whispers has most probably done it's job well.
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Join Date: Nov 2001
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Not all seats are up for re-election.
ACDL will only commit to 'heavy' investment if the concession agreement is extended in order to get their money (and profit) back.
If the airport was to be sold off, ACDL might not be the successful bidder.
No wonder then the hiatus.
ACDL in theory could bid for Satansted if they feel there is no profit to be made in the remaining concession years.
As for Arann, until the terminal/parkway is opened, who wants to queue in a wooden hut when you can use the tinminal?
ACDL will only commit to 'heavy' investment if the concession agreement is extended in order to get their money (and profit) back.
If the airport was to be sold off, ACDL might not be the successful bidder.
No wonder then the hiatus.
ACDL in theory could bid for Satansted if they feel there is no profit to be made in the remaining concession years.
As for Arann, until the terminal/parkway is opened, who wants to queue in a wooden hut when you can use the tinminal?
Join Date: Jul 2002
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I can't see anything suggesting any change from the 4 per week to/from Luton and 14 Southend.
Where did this info originate?
Where did this info originate?
I see that priority parking by the taxi rank has been closed down. There is a note stuck on the portacabin door telling passengers to use the short term car park.
I'm not sure c3b is correct about the vast majority of SEN inbound pax not needing to travel onwards by train. That certainly wasn't my experience a couple of weeks ago when I arrived from WAT on a midweek evening flight. As I walked to the car park the two shuttle buses were taking on pax outside the terminal and there were a fair number of the 40-odd pax boarding.
On the point about LoCos not being interested in SEN "... through too much competition well established close by.", I feel that is the very reason one of them IS very interested, so as to offer an alternative that Ryanair cannot.
On the point about LoCos not being interested in SEN "... through too much competition well established close by.", I feel that is the very reason one of them IS very interested, so as to offer an alternative that Ryanair cannot.
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Town Hall now firmly in the hands of Labour. It was this party that decided to concession out the operation of the airport. Could we now see an extension of the concession and see large investment being made into Luton airport?