SOUTHEND 5

[Request Orbit]

Is the Air France callsign aircraft that's been flying in and out to LFPG the last few days a new route, or is it just a change of callsign on one of the usual suspects?

[Expressflight]

Request Orbit

Jota 146 G-SMLA has been operating for Air France in the last few days and operated out of CDG followed by a positioning flight back to SEN yesterday. Is that what you mean?

[Request Orbit]

Yeah, I've seen it in and out of Southend on consecutive days with an Air France callsign, guess that's the one

[Buster the Bear]

Air France cabin crew strike cover probably?

[Itchin McCrevis]

they will not hit the target of 2.5m pax by 2018. It will not happen. I fail to understand why they keep saying it will be achieved when it's clear that it will not be

I am sure they are trying hard to entice Wizz to put a toe in the water but it would take 10 Wizz rotations per day to achieve those passenger targets. Even if they got this it would come at a high price to the airport leaving little only commercial and car parking income. Making public statements about future growth targets just serves to weaken their negotiating position even further.

[vulcanised]

Moderately large jet has been doing lowish level circuits all afternoon.

Not been able to see any livery.

[tophat27dt]

British Airways Emb175/195 from LCY circuit bashing all afternoon

[mik3bravo]

Originally Posted by tophat27dt

British Airways Emb175/195 from LCY circuit bashing all afternoon

Curious why Cityflyer pounding the circuit recently?

As regards the Echo Easyjet article, that like many articles and snippets of late from other sources is just wishful speculation that it will dramatically boost SEN.

I've given up on SEN they've been at it far too long now and really struggling to see the place becoming a buzzing airfield of Easyjet, Cityjet, or Cityflyer. I think there's desire but perhaps the numbers and financial's don't make cba sense. The links to London are flaky too.

[cornishsimon]

What's to be curious about ?
Quiet airfield and a need to do circuits ?
NQY gets U2 and Jet2 all the time. Nothing curious at all


cs

[davidjohnson6]

Sea Air - AOC revoked

AOCs futsch bei Express Airways und Sea Air - Austrian Aviation Net

I know that many at Southend had lost faith, but looks like a regulator has a similiar opinion

[LTNman]

I had a look a Southend's departure and arrivals board and was surprised by the lack of Flybe flights seeing that this is peak season. Just 2 departures and 2 arrivals all day with the first departure at 10:50 and the last arrival at only 17:50 so they are not getting much use out of its based aircraft.

Flybe announces six new London Southend routes
In this press release dated 2014 they were promising 700,000 passengers by next year after announcing 6 new routes. I seem to remember that this was based on 3 aircraft but now just 1 part time aircraft carries the flag. It seems that things didn't go to plan but is this why as Flybe seemed to have focused on London City?

We’ve recently started our 8th route from London City Airport! Flybe flights to ‪#‎Rennes‬ are now operating up to 6 times per week, with fares starting at just £39.99 one way.

With Flybe also now operating to Rennes from London City will there be a Southend operation soon?

[Expressflight]

It might be "peak season" but it's still a Tuesday. CFR cannot support a flight every day and there isn't the demand for either a double-daily GRQ or RNS on a Tuesday, hence just the one GRQ and RNS today.

I cannot say very much about the situation in 2014 when the SEN routes were launched as I was too closely involved in matters then. Certainly things didn't go as planned over the past two years, that I can say.

Flybe's LCY route network could never have been flown from SEN so that was totally separate from the Stobart Air operation flown under Flybe franchise. The fact that Flybe has started an LCY-RNS service must tell us something about the Flybe/Stobart relationship I would suggest.

The future? Who can say as it looks like decisions on routes will be made by Cityjet if the takeover of Stobart Air is completed and I'm not going to try to guess the repercussions of that.

[Buster the Bear]

With the news last week of the expansion approval for London City, it is hard seeing any real growth from Southend over the coming few years.

[Expressflight]

Buster the Bear

If the stated completion date for the LCY expansion is 2019, as their CEO seems to have indicated, then I wouldn't necessarily agree with that opinion.

[mik3bravo]

@Expressflight - what did you mean by Cityjet having taken 'the' decision... sorry I'm paraphrasing here for speed. Are they not looking to SEN for their acquired EIR component?

[SEN Observer]

Expressflight hasn't actually said that "the" decision has been taken, rather that "it looks like decisions on routes will be made by Cityjet if the takeover of Stobart Air is completed". There's a big difference. We'll just have to wait and see.

[Expressflight]

LTNman

I see that SEN-RNS is now double-daily for the summer with the exception of Tuesday. I thought originally RNS was to be double-daily on Wednesday and Friday with GRQ double-daily on Tuesday and Thursday (now reduced to once daily). Perhaps this is a response to the Flybe LCY-RNS route.

[LTNman]

Yes it has indeed picked up today. Seems I picked a bad day to look at the departure board.

[Pain in the R's]

Probably the last word about Sea Air here so I will leave the final say to this customer in this report from July.

'Online booking for non-existent flight has left me £500 out of pocket' (From Echo)

[SEN Observer]

Pain in the R's

You must have been between your flower pots when I posted this article under post #2802!!