SOUTHEND 5
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In PR terms it's kind of back-fired. The piece grabs your attention then ends in such a negative way towards the airport.
Given their recent record with Stobart / Flybe delays I think they have a way to go before they can claim to offer something superior.
Given their recent record with Stobart / Flybe delays I think they have a way to go before they can claim to offer something superior.
Last edited by DC3 Dave; 9th Aug 2017 at 12:17.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Maybe SEN need to invite Simon to do a comparison on travelling from Liverpool Street concourse to departure lounges at SEN and STN at same time on two consecutive week days. it may help give him a bit of breadth of awareness of the actuality of total time and aggravation involved in both. I have a strange feeling he may well be a little less dismissive in future.
Join Date: Jun 2013
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A fair article really. CEO pushes the line that Southend is the answer to capacity constraints in the London area and the Indy points out it came last in a survey of UK airports for public transport links. Public opinion not Simon Calders.
Most on here acknowledge that public transport is a problem, a public survey ranks it last. Isn’t it time that Stobart acknowledge this now? Buy some buses, operate a National Express franchise, pay a third party…. Something. Anything.
Most on here acknowledge that public transport is a problem, a public survey ranks it last. Isn’t it time that Stobart acknowledge this now? Buy some buses, operate a National Express franchise, pay a third party…. Something. Anything.
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Public transport from SEN is only a problem first thing in the morning and late at night and admittedly this needs a rather more proactive response from SEN management. The rail station is mere metres away and offers frequent electric services to Stratford and London and will easily connect to the Elizabeth Line/Crossrail from 2018/9. Constant articles that seem to infer "lovely little airport in the ar5e end of nowhere" need remedying. It's not perfect but it is a viable option for great swathes of people in East London and Essex and, as it slowly gathers momentum thanks to Stobart, a more generous attitude, particularly by those in the trade, would be welcomed. It's as lazy and uninformed as saying Heathrow and Gatwick are hellholes, avoid them, Luton is a permanent and cheap, shoddy building site at the end of a traffic jam and Stansted feels like it's going for Queue Length of the Year award.
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I think the article is poor journalism tbh.
It states Southend as being an expensive fare to london, but it's the cheapest mainline rail link
It only takes 5 mins longer than the stansted express.
It's probably not that much further out than Gatwick as the crow flies.
And if anyone actually did a time comparison from landing to arriving in central London then Southend would win. Indeed I'd say if they took into account time spent in the hold etc it would do very well!!
As for Simon Calder. I'm afraid his views are generally old fashioned and very out of touch these days I find. Again, he's just a default go to for lazy newspapers.
It states Southend as being an expensive fare to london, but it's the cheapest mainline rail link
It only takes 5 mins longer than the stansted express.
It's probably not that much further out than Gatwick as the crow flies.
And if anyone actually did a time comparison from landing to arriving in central London then Southend would win. Indeed I'd say if they took into account time spent in the hold etc it would do very well!!
As for Simon Calder. I'm afraid his views are generally old fashioned and very out of touch these days I find. Again, he's just a default go to for lazy newspapers.
Join Date: Apr 2016
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The free flight offer is nonsense isn't it. If you live within easy reach of Heathrow you wouldn't use SEN even if offered free transport and free flight. If the offer included delayed flights from STN and LCY it would be less gimmicky. But as flight mode rightly points out there are issues that need addressing if the airport wants to compete for a small slice of London Airports' pie.
Join Date: Aug 2017
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Cost & time
London southend airport to Liverpool Street 52-54min, Cost Peak single £16.40, returns £21.70.
Stansted to Liverpool Street, 47min, Cost Single £16.60, Return £28.00
Possibly very soon train service from Southend Victoria to Liverpool Street station could run from early morning til 1:00 am
Stansted to Liverpool Street, 47min, Cost Single £16.60, Return £28.00
Possibly very soon train service from Southend Victoria to Liverpool Street station could run from early morning til 1:00 am
Join Date: Jun 2013
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Public transport from SEN is only a problem first thing in the morning and late at night and admittedly this needs a rather more proactive response from SEN management. The rail station is mere metres away and offers frequent electric services to Stratford and London and will easily connect to the Elizabeth Line/Crossrail from 2018/9.
Methodology: we chose the leading form of transport from the airport to the city; usually the fastest (a train where one is available) but in the case of Heathrow, the Tube.
We also examined the average journey time and departure schedule during the middle of the day; in cases such as Manchester and Gatwick, where there are multiple options, we chose fast services. We obtained the standard daytime fare, off-peak where avaulable. Then we multiplied the time, in minutes, by the average gap between services, in minutes, and by the fare, in pounds
We also examined the average journey time and departure schedule during the middle of the day; in cases such as Manchester and Gatwick, where there are multiple options, we chose fast services. We obtained the standard daytime fare, off-peak where avaulable. Then we multiplied the time, in minutes, by the average gap between services, in minutes, and by the fare, in pounds
Join Date: Aug 2014
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The article and survey also ignores the stop at Stratford, which is 7 or 8 minutes closer than Liverpool St and a hell of a lot more useful for connecting or indeed terminating than Tottenham Hale (Stansted Express) or East Croydon (Gatwick). It's more or less a destination itself now.
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There's lies, damn lies and then there's statistics. You can make say them anything you like. This weird "number of trains per hour x speed divided by fare to the square of seat size" is just made up. You could equally come up with another formula that you could apply to all and give SEN the top spot. Or possibly Cardiff (ever tried getting anywhere from there on public transport?). All airports have their pro's and con's - they just need pointing out in a realistic way, based on ACTUAL and RECENT travel experience. For example, Heathrow Express whisks you to the central terminal area in around 15 minutes (for the princely sum of £22 walk up, single). It then takes a further 20 minutes at a brisk trot to rise up from the bowels of the Earth and navigate through lengthy subterranean passageways, go past the Underground station which is at least half a mile nearer, to get to the basement of Terminal 2 and then (usually) queue for a lift to get you up to the Departures level. Things aren't always as practical in real life as they seem on paper - but each to their own. Just report it factually based on a real journey.
Last edited by Steviec9; 9th Aug 2017 at 14:42.
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Public transport from SEN is only a problem first thing in the morning and late at night and admittedly this needs a rather more proactive response from SEN management.
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I plan on testing the water on that new Dublin service they're firing up again this October using the E195s.
Up to now I tend to use LCY a lot of the time for many different routes including regular business trips over / back to Dublin too.
I want to give Stobart / Flybe a chance on that new Dublin service but now slightly concerned by the above comment.
Can you elaborate on what problems you are alluding to and how frequently are these problems reoccurring? Is it enough to caution switching my usage of the Stobart / Flybe arranged marriage.
I can't be dealing with unreliable service. I'm used to turning up a LCY walking through security and straight to the gate to get onboard in short couple of minutes then airborne. Time is money so I don't want **** service but I'm getting a sense from the comment things are not running properly. Why is that?
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Fortunately I've been lucky to avoid the goldfish bowl days. My services from LCY work fine for the short hop on / off flights I use. If I'm going long haul then it's T5 on BA. I try avoid Gatwick cause the M25 south section is bloody cursed and Dartford crossing is a farce. Stansted means FR and I try to avoid them only as last resort. Leaving SEN to play with. So I hope I get a pleasant surprise and SEN turns out to be a good alternative for me.
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mik3bravo Go to page 252 post 5032 and read on. In fairness, things seem to be improving, but DUB/MAN/GLA are a nonsense if a reliable service cannot be provided. The standard with the existing ATR routes is excellent in my opinion.
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Most of the flights have had no delay at all, of course. Many of the delays that have occurred have been with the Jota 146s but the flyBE Embraers have had their fair share also. Once Stobart owns its own 195s the situation may be better (or may not).