SOUTHEND - 3 The new beginning
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Quote: "The figures and yields will get a nice boost in May from the Heineken Cup Final. It should probably guarantee 4 full Belfast flights each way. Although, realistically, Southend is about as handy for Twickenham as Southampton is"
It's much easier to get to Twickenham from SOU than SEN: there's a railway station on the the airport with a frequent service, with just one change at Clapham Junction, (there's no need to faff around on the underground). By road it's straight up the M3.
However, SEN is easier than LTN and STN.
LHR is on the doorstep, so easiest of all.
It's much easier to get to Twickenham from SOU than SEN: there's a railway station on the the airport with a frequent service, with just one change at Clapham Junction, (there's no need to faff around on the underground). By road it's straight up the M3.
However, SEN is easier than LTN and STN.
LHR is on the doorstep, so easiest of all.
Join Date: Jul 2002
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2011 annual passenger figures for both Belfast airports.
717,970 Heathrow
589,651 Gatwick
429,646 Stansted
225,063 Luton
1,962,913 Total
5393 per day
Maybe this is why Easyjet started a Southend service and perhaps why carrying only 14 passengers on a weekday service might be a cause of concern.
Yes this is very early days but then unlike many new routes by other airlines Easyjet have spent a lot of time, effort and money promoting Southend.
Would have thought though with nearlly 2,000,000 passengers flying between London and Belfast it can only get alot better for Southend on this route.
717,970 Heathrow
589,651 Gatwick
429,646 Stansted
225,063 Luton
1,962,913 Total
5393 per day
Maybe this is why Easyjet started a Southend service and perhaps why carrying only 14 passengers on a weekday service might be a cause of concern.
Yes this is very early days but then unlike many new routes by other airlines Easyjet have spent a lot of time, effort and money promoting Southend.
Would have thought though with nearlly 2,000,000 passengers flying between London and Belfast it can only get alot better for Southend on this route.
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It's much easier to get to Twickenham from SOU than SEN: there's a railway station on the the airport with a frequent service, with just one change at Clapham Junction, (there's no need to faff around on the underground). By road it's straight up the M3.
However, SEN is easier than LTN and STN.
LHR is on the doorstep, so easiest of all.
However, SEN is easier than LTN and STN.
LHR is on the doorstep, so easiest of all.
Heathrow 45 minutes
Gatwick 58 minutes
Luton 1 hour 36 minutes
Southampton 1 hour 45 minutes
Stansted 1 hour 53 minutes
Southend 2 hours 2 minutes
It's pretty obvious that you wouldn't select SEN as your arrival airport if your final destination is Twickenham - reference to any map shows that.
LTNman's figures for the BFS-LON route are interesting and would suggest that SEN could support a double daily service. Perhaps it's more a matter of changing old habits as a large part of those pax numbers represent business travellers. As far as the figures for the route in its first month of operation are concerned, let's wait until the CAA provisional stats come out in 10 days or so before making a judgement. It would be as easy to quote the days when the load factor was over 90% as it is to quote a figure of 14 pax on another particular day, but that wouldn't give you an accurate indication either.
LTNman's figures for the BFS-LON route are interesting and would suggest that SEN could support a double daily service. Perhaps it's more a matter of changing old habits as a large part of those pax numbers represent business travellers. As far as the figures for the route in its first month of operation are concerned, let's wait until the CAA provisional stats come out in 10 days or so before making a judgement. It would be as easy to quote the days when the load factor was over 90% as it is to quote a figure of 14 pax on another particular day, but that wouldn't give you an accurate indication either.
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Perhaps it's more a matter of changing old habits as a large part of those pax numbers represent business travellers.
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There are four departures between 6:30 and 7:30 tomorrow morning. I predict that not one passenger will arrive by train or any form of public transport, which is a big shame as these four departures represent almost one third of the whole days departures.
I also predict that unless these aircraft are almost empty the departure lounge will be severely overcrowded seeing that it can’t cope with 2 aircraft.
When will the expanded terminal be open? Is Southend growing too quickly and should Easyjet have waited until the expanded terminal had opened?
I also predict that unless these aircraft are almost empty the departure lounge will be severely overcrowded seeing that it can’t cope with 2 aircraft.
When will the expanded terminal be open? Is Southend growing too quickly and should Easyjet have waited until the expanded terminal had opened?
Join Date: Aug 2003
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LTNMan, what is your problem with SEN? Every post is negative. Worried its taking biz away from your place. Maybe you should look at your own airports problems,- horrendous road access, the ridiculous charge for dropping-off pax, the lack of a rail station... Why dont you look at the positives at SEN and congratulate the huge investment that Stobart has made in terms of Runway, ATC, Terminal, rail station etc etc. Maybe when the terminal extansion is open (next year) then more flights might be tempted away from LTN?
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To be fair he has a good point there, it will be very crowded in there but the airlines would have known this so there is nothing anybody can do until the extension is complete unless they cancel flights which clearly isn't going to happen, it won't be the end of the airport though one busy morning.
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LTNMan, what is your problem with SEN? Every post is negative
No they are not. Please read back on my posts and you will see very positive comments about Southend. The people here who don’t like my comments always go on the attack and have a pop at Luton. Well smallpilot I agree with everything you say about Luton. I agree with what most people say here about Luton so does it upset me? Well no actually.
The truth is Stobart has invested millions into the new Southend Airport so for a new airport the experience should be good for every passenger. Looking at some of the links here clearly it isn’t which should worry the keenest supporters.
Southend is here to stay so growth should be measured and not rushed. If you want to see how to cram in too many passengers into an airport then come to Luton. For much of the day it is a fine place to use but come at the wrong time and it is a place to avoid. The same goes with Southend.
I don’t see Southend as a threat and want it to succeed. If any airport is a threat to Luton it is Gatwick in my eyes. I want to see Southend get the most out of its investment and that is the truth. I want to see passengers have a good experience of Southend from day one and not one day next year. I also think there is more than enough demand to keep all of London’s airports busy.
Last edited by LTNman; 7th May 2012 at 22:08.
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Aer Arran moved to Southend from Luton but have been quietly increasing flights from Luton again in recent months due to demand. But that's my point. How many of those passengers tried Southend before the new terminal and station opened. They tried it and didn't like it so won't be coming back to use the new terminal. The same could happen with the new terminal. If someone has a bad experience they don’t always come back. Surely Southend would have been better with just two based aircraft for the first year with Easyjet operating W patens into Southend to spread the passengers more evenly throughout the day.
Key points that need to be fixed fast.
Why does the terminal close at night? There must be security in the terminal who are being paid so leave the doors open.
Bully the rail company into operating early trains out of London and late trains back into London. Not only would Southend benefit but every station along the route.
Walk before you run. Stobart wants the income from passengers now so let them pile into the terminal. The risk is some of those passengers might not come back. It’s not Stobart’s fault but easyjet should see the existing capacity of the terminal as a challenge and spread the flights out more evenly until next year.
Key points that need to be fixed fast.
Why does the terminal close at night? There must be security in the terminal who are being paid so leave the doors open.
Bully the rail company into operating early trains out of London and late trains back into London. Not only would Southend benefit but every station along the route.
Walk before you run. Stobart wants the income from passengers now so let them pile into the terminal. The risk is some of those passengers might not come back. It’s not Stobart’s fault but easyjet should see the existing capacity of the terminal as a challenge and spread the flights out more evenly until next year.
Last edited by LTNman; 8th May 2012 at 06:20.
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Quote: "Average times now by train or Underground
Heathrow 45 minutes
Gatwick 58 minutes
Luton 1 hour 36 minutes
Southampton 1 hour 45 minutes
Stansted 1 hour 53 minutes
Southend 2 hours 2 minutes"
There's no train/underground between Heathrow and Twickenham, LTNman, it's one or two buses, depending on terminal. If driving, 15-20 minutes.
Heathrow 45 minutes
Gatwick 58 minutes
Luton 1 hour 36 minutes
Southampton 1 hour 45 minutes
Stansted 1 hour 53 minutes
Southend 2 hours 2 minutes"
There's no train/underground between Heathrow and Twickenham, LTNman, it's one or two buses, depending on terminal. If driving, 15-20 minutes.
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I allowed for bus travel to be included in the Heathrow time as per the Transport for London journey planner. In fact I should have said 50 minutes not 45 minutes but it is still the quickest way.
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As I see it LTNman has been at least neutral and often positive in his SEN posts over the past few months. However, I feel he was quite negative last year before the plans came to fruition. He's right in his recent posts. The terminal at SEN is crowded for short periods, but which airports aren't? Fortunately the throughflow of passengers is very rapid, as Stobart had promised. There isn't a lot to do in the terminal, but that shouldn't be a problem if you can at least get a cup of coffee and a newspaper. The real problem is when the Germania Ford charter flights and the early EZY schedules coincide - there are four or five A319s on the apron and their passengers in the terminal. At least the Ford pax don't dawdle at all.
The trains really do need sorting out. Perhaps the Olympic Games may prove to be the catalyst that wakes up the train company to possible profit? Or perhaps SEN should use that nice fleet of Mercedes mini-buses to ferry passengers outside the train operating times......?
Nobody expected SEN to be an instant 100% success, and it will take time to become accepted as a London airport. But all the ingredients are there, it just needs some tweaking of the recipe......
The trains really do need sorting out. Perhaps the Olympic Games may prove to be the catalyst that wakes up the train company to possible profit? Or perhaps SEN should use that nice fleet of Mercedes mini-buses to ferry passengers outside the train operating times......?
Nobody expected SEN to be an instant 100% success, and it will take time to become accepted as a London airport. But all the ingredients are there, it just needs some tweaking of the recipe......