SOUTHEND - 3 The new beginning
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Luton and Manchester too, as Aer Arann suspends all its services from Waterford:
05/11/2012 - 11:14:29
Aer Arann, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, is to suspend its services at Waterford Airport with effect from next January.
The routes affected will be Aer Lingus Regional services from Waterford Airport to London Southend, London Luton and Manchester.
Passengers with bookings for flights after January 6, 2013 will be contacted directly by the airline in the coming days. All passengers will be re-booked on alternative Aer Lingus Regional flights from other airports or given a full refund.
All Aer Arann employees at Waterford Airport will be redeployed in the company.
Sean Brogan, Interim Chief Executive at Aer Arann said: “We are in the process of finalising a new business plan that will put the airline on a path for growth.
“We have worked hard to overcome recent challenges, built a successful new partnership with Aer Lingus and grown our passenger numbers. If we are to protect and nurture these gains, we have got to concentrate resources on services that offer sustainable returns.
“Over recent months, the airline has conducted a network wide evaluation of all routes. It was clear from this evaluation that our Waterford routes have not performed to a sustainable level.
“As a result, we have taken the decision to suspend all services from Waterford from 6 January next. This decision is regrettable, not least because of the professionalism and support we have received from everyone at Waterford Airport.
“We sincerely regret the impact that this decision has on our customers.
“We do not rule out returning to Waterford at some point in the future if the business case can be justified.”
05/11/2012 - 11:14:29
Aer Arann, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, is to suspend its services at Waterford Airport with effect from next January.
The routes affected will be Aer Lingus Regional services from Waterford Airport to London Southend, London Luton and Manchester.
Passengers with bookings for flights after January 6, 2013 will be contacted directly by the airline in the coming days. All passengers will be re-booked on alternative Aer Lingus Regional flights from other airports or given a full refund.
All Aer Arann employees at Waterford Airport will be redeployed in the company.
Sean Brogan, Interim Chief Executive at Aer Arann said: “We are in the process of finalising a new business plan that will put the airline on a path for growth.
“We have worked hard to overcome recent challenges, built a successful new partnership with Aer Lingus and grown our passenger numbers. If we are to protect and nurture these gains, we have got to concentrate resources on services that offer sustainable returns.
“Over recent months, the airline has conducted a network wide evaluation of all routes. It was clear from this evaluation that our Waterford routes have not performed to a sustainable level.
“As a result, we have taken the decision to suspend all services from Waterford from 6 January next. This decision is regrettable, not least because of the professionalism and support we have received from everyone at Waterford Airport.
“We sincerely regret the impact that this decision has on our customers.
“We do not rule out returning to Waterford at some point in the future if the business case can be justified.”
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RE Waterford
I note from Waterford Airport press release that RE have sold the plane RE based there , presumably part of the RE plan to move to newer more reliable ATR's , ?
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Did splitting its London destination (SEN/LTN) create any additional traffic or did it merely dilute a fairly successful route ?
Year
09/2009 LTN: 6631 SEN: 0 TOTAL: 6631
09/2010 LTN: 5137 SEN: 0 TOTAL: 5137
09/2011 LTN: 1551 SEN: 2477 TOTAL: 4028
09/2012 LTN: 2081 SEN: 2595 TOTAL: 4676
So numbers dropped by 23% between 2009 and 2010, without SEN being involved at all, then by 22% between 2010 and 2011 when SEN was introduced, with a 16% growth between 2011 and 2012.
So, as I said at the beginning, it's hard to tell whether the move to SEN had a major effect; would the downward trend at LTN seen between 2009 and 2010 have continued into 2011? All you can say is that traffic from both airports to Waterford was increasing this year.......
Last edited by Barling Magna; 5th Nov 2012 at 15:37.
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Waterford base changed form a ATR72 to 42 during winter 09/10. When SEN started FR increased there LTN-DUB traffic a lot which was a direct result of RE moving to SEN. Anyway its not just numbers revenue per passengers is much higher at LTN than SEN and thats what counts.
Also due to low numbers travling from GWY they sent many flights via WAT so that furhter reduced capacity from WAT in 2009/10.
Also due to low numbers travling from GWY they sent many flights via WAT so that furhter reduced capacity from WAT in 2009/10.
Last edited by Jamie2k9; 5th Nov 2012 at 15:39.
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From
http://www.waterfordairport.ie/index...243&Itemid=200
Waterford Airport disappointed at Aer Lingus Regional cessation of London and Manchester routes
November 2012
Waterford Airport has expressed disappointment at the decision of Aer Lingus Regional to discontinue their London Luton, Southend and Manchester services from early January 2013 and withdraw their base from Waterford at that time. The flights are operated by Aer Arann who began flying from Waterford in 2003.
Acknowledging that Aer Arann’s business problems have been well documented, Graham Doyle, CEO, Waterford Airport said: “We have been aware of Aer Arann’s difficulties since before their examinership in 2010 and continued to work with them through these challenges. Regrettably, however, the airline has limited its capacity on the Waterford routes. This has been due to issues elsewhere in their business rather than the market in the Southeast region with a population of almost 500,000.
“This has seen services reduced on the consistently high-performing London Luton route in favour of Southend Airport, whose owners are now also Aer Arann’s largest shareholder. The Southend route performed poorly by comparison so that even a major marketing push by Waterford Airport and our partners could not fully mitigate this switch.
“It is clearly a blow to have key UK routes withdrawn in these particular circumstances and is especially disappointing given that the Aer Lingus Regional brand was only introduced at Waterford as recently as late March of this year – just over seven months ago. We were delighted to be working with the Aer Lingus brand but our understanding is that the decision arises from the sale of an aircraft by Aer Arann that necessitates them further cutting their route network.
“As well as the potential impacts for airline and airport staff, we are very aware of the effect this development will have on business and leisure passengers in to and out of the Southeast,” he continued.
From an airport perspective, Mr Doyle said no effort is being spared to replace these routes for 2013 and beyond. “While it’s very early days, we are guardedly optimistic that the business case for operating between Waterford and these important destinations will be attractive to another airline, as proved to be the case when Flybe took up the Birmingham route after it was dropped by Aer Arann. We will also now liaise will all stakeholders including the Dept of Transport, Tourism & Sport as well as the State agencies concerned with inward investment and tourism - all of whom continue to work closely in support of the airport.
“The level of investment that there has been in tourism infrastructure in Waterford as well as the planned ‘Medieval Mile’ project in Kilkenny make it even more vital that we maintain and build on regular passenger services from our nearest neighbour and biggest trading partner.”
Flybe continues to operate from Waterford to Birmingham. A wide range of European destinations are also offered on single transaction booking from Waterford via Birmingham. Waterford Airport is the location for a busy Irish Coast Guard base operating from a purpose built facility while the airport also has an active general aviation business.
Further information about services at Waterford Airport is available at www.flywaterford.com
http://www.waterfordairport.ie/index...243&Itemid=200
Waterford Airport disappointed at Aer Lingus Regional cessation of London and Manchester routes
November 2012
Waterford Airport has expressed disappointment at the decision of Aer Lingus Regional to discontinue their London Luton, Southend and Manchester services from early January 2013 and withdraw their base from Waterford at that time. The flights are operated by Aer Arann who began flying from Waterford in 2003.
Acknowledging that Aer Arann’s business problems have been well documented, Graham Doyle, CEO, Waterford Airport said: “We have been aware of Aer Arann’s difficulties since before their examinership in 2010 and continued to work with them through these challenges. Regrettably, however, the airline has limited its capacity on the Waterford routes. This has been due to issues elsewhere in their business rather than the market in the Southeast region with a population of almost 500,000.
“This has seen services reduced on the consistently high-performing London Luton route in favour of Southend Airport, whose owners are now also Aer Arann’s largest shareholder. The Southend route performed poorly by comparison so that even a major marketing push by Waterford Airport and our partners could not fully mitigate this switch.
“It is clearly a blow to have key UK routes withdrawn in these particular circumstances and is especially disappointing given that the Aer Lingus Regional brand was only introduced at Waterford as recently as late March of this year – just over seven months ago. We were delighted to be working with the Aer Lingus brand but our understanding is that the decision arises from the sale of an aircraft by Aer Arann that necessitates them further cutting their route network.
“As well as the potential impacts for airline and airport staff, we are very aware of the effect this development will have on business and leisure passengers in to and out of the Southeast,” he continued.
From an airport perspective, Mr Doyle said no effort is being spared to replace these routes for 2013 and beyond. “While it’s very early days, we are guardedly optimistic that the business case for operating between Waterford and these important destinations will be attractive to another airline, as proved to be the case when Flybe took up the Birmingham route after it was dropped by Aer Arann. We will also now liaise will all stakeholders including the Dept of Transport, Tourism & Sport as well as the State agencies concerned with inward investment and tourism - all of whom continue to work closely in support of the airport.
“The level of investment that there has been in tourism infrastructure in Waterford as well as the planned ‘Medieval Mile’ project in Kilkenny make it even more vital that we maintain and build on regular passenger services from our nearest neighbour and biggest trading partner.”
Flybe continues to operate from Waterford to Birmingham. A wide range of European destinations are also offered on single transaction booking from Waterford via Birmingham. Waterford Airport is the location for a busy Irish Coast Guard base operating from a purpose built facility while the airport also has an active general aviation business.
Further information about services at Waterford Airport is available at www.flywaterford.com
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A thriving LTN-WAT service was killed off by Stobart by their decision to put pressure on Aer Arran to move services from Luton to Southend, which has backfired spectacularly and has now ended the London route.
It was inevitable that the Southend route was doomed to failure and Aer Arran’s attempt to rescue the London service by splitting it between 2 airports instead of ending the Southend service was ridicules.
It was inevitable that the Southend route was doomed to failure and Aer Arran’s attempt to rescue the London service by splitting it between 2 airports instead of ending the Southend service was ridicules.
Last edited by LTNman; 5th Nov 2012 at 19:49.
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Hello LTNman. I'm not surprised at the closure of the Waterford route to SEN; it always seemed a bit ambitious. But I can't say that the Luton-Waterford service was thriving; pax numbers were declining during 2010 and into 2011.
Aer Arann has served its purpose for SEN and thanks to them for that.
Aer Arann has served its purpose for SEN and thanks to them for that.
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Seems that Easyjet aircraft are spending a lot of time on the tarmac at Southend these days. Today’s 10:15 arrival does not depart again until 15:30 while the 14:15 does not leave until 18:30. Would have thought another route or two could have been squeezed in by rejigging the timetable.
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Lorraine Chaise
Being on a hill
Snow when it is raining everywhere else
Overcrowded with passengers
Overcrowded with biz jets
Delays at Security
The list is endless but I am happy to talk about them on the Luton thread and where you won't get slagged off if you do.
What is Southend famous for? Well it is not its airport but its pier.
Being on a hill
Snow when it is raining everywhere else
Overcrowded with passengers
Overcrowded with biz jets
Delays at Security
The list is endless but I am happy to talk about them on the Luton thread and where you won't get slagged off if you do.
What is Southend famous for? Well it is not its airport but its pier.
Last edited by LTNman; 6th Nov 2012 at 12:57.
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LTN MAN...
change the record.
If you have never got anything good to say about SEN, then dont say anything at all.
there's a good lad.
change the record.
If you have never got anything good to say about SEN, then dont say anything at all.
there's a good lad.
Sorry does this mean that I should not have mentioned it or should I have put some spin on it. OK I will try and gloss up the news.
Seems that Easyjet aircraft are spending a lot of time on the tarmac at Southend these days. This is great news as the aircraft are not wearing out as quickly and if there is a delay on the first flight of the day there is plenty of time to catch up before the second and only remaining departure leaves.
Passengers at Gatwick and other airports often face delays as easyjet often tries to get 4 return flights a day out of their aircraft so passengers using Southend should benefit from the airlines generous tarmac time.
OK happy now?
Last edited by LTNman; 6th Nov 2012 at 13:04.
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Please do try to spell "slagged off" correctly ...
Funny that the bus reads "Luton Airport" with no mention being made of "London"!
Funny that the bus reads "Luton Airport" with no mention being made of "London"!
Last edited by Phileas Fogg; 6th Nov 2012 at 13:07.