Southend-2
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Flybe/Stobart split
Originally Posted by Expressflight
A new route for Summer 2018 will be ANR operated 4 x weekly by Stobart Air. There will be 15 Stobart Air/Flybe routes in total from SEN next Summer according to a SEN post on their f/bk page. "Up to 230 flights a week - a huge 80% increase from this year" it says. Details will presumably appear tomorrow when the Flybe timetable is released.
Join Date: Aug 2009
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I think this a battle Stobart could win. VLM aren't even selling flights on their website yet for flights beginning at the end of the month. Plus perhaps people will no longer trust VLM given they went bust last time.
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Altho not related to the SEN news....All over the business & travel press this AM that shares in BEE dropped up to a fifth this morning on a profits warning blaming higher mx costs on the Dash...
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Is it possible to determine which of those destinations will be Stobart flights operated under the Flybe franchise agreement and which are pure Flybe flights?
I don't see anything particularly significant in this new announcement. The increase in the SEN fleet by one ATR72 and one E195 is already known. 230 flights presumably means 115 rotations per week, which is about right for 2xATR and 3xE195 in peak season. 15 destinations would suggest that three of last summers seasonal routes will not return, and the additional aircraft may thicken up the schedules on the remaining routes.
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Antwerp may have disappeared from the Facebook page but it's still showing on Twitter. Anyway, why are they doing Antwerp? Haven't they already been there, done that and withdrawn? Wasn't that where they based an ATR overnight for an early flight in? Or am I confusing it with somewhere else?
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Originally Posted by SEN Observer
Antwerp may have disappeared from the Facebook page but it's still showing on Twitter. Anyway, why are they doing Antwerp? Haven't they already been there, done that and withdrawn? Wasn't that where they based an ATR overnight for an early flight in? Or am I confusing it with somewhere else?
of anything, let alone facts.
Join Date: Jun 2011
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It's probably a better time to launch a SEN-ANR route than before considering that CityJet have pulled out and VLM are going through a restart process. Perhaps passengers will see BE/STOB as a more reliable/certain and cheaper airline to fly with?
Join Date: Apr 2016
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Originally Posted by Planespeaking
It's also just been announced in an article on the Southend Echo website....not that an Echo story is a guarantee
of anything, let alone facts.
of anything, let alone facts.
Even though Reus, Venice and Perpignan have gone, personally I think that overall the introduction of the new routes this year can now be considered a success. What do others think?
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Higher frequencies on the remaining routes is certainly a good idea. I know some people who would have flown from SEN had there been a more convenient flight time and day. Think generally the numbers have been quite good on the remaining new routes - perhaps someone has more details on performance to prove/disprove this?
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My experience of Antwerp is that it's a great city and if you live in Essex the SEN service made for a very easy journey.
Unfortunately my flights had loads of 15, 12, 12 and 9. I'm not really sure what is so different now, if you need a train from SEN to London you might as well have just got one to Brussels and made your way from there at greater frequency.
Unfortunately my flights had loads of 15, 12, 12 and 9. I'm not really sure what is so different now, if you need a train from SEN to London you might as well have just got one to Brussels and made your way from there at greater frequency.
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Originally Posted by mikkie4
Is this the news everyone was talking about last week or is there still more in the pipeline?
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Antwerp. I was a bit surprised by this announcement. Was it all set up before VLM announced their 4x daily from LCY? But if marketed well as a summer short break city (both ways) perhaps the 4 flights a week could attract profitable loads. The old town in Antwerp is great for 3 or 4 nights, and Belgian beer is very good.
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Just looked at a tweet from the airport, and read the report in the Echo again. Maybe I'm wrong, but it's the first time I can recall ever seeing (in the context of announcing a new route) Stobart Air featuring rather than just Flybe.
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Originally Posted by DC3 Dave
Even though Reus, Venice and Perpignan have gone, personally I think that overall the introduction of the new routes this year can now be considered a success. What do others think?
Phase two (particular in the case of Manchester...) seems far more risky, so it'll be interesting to see how those go. When they announced the big expansion I said it was an interesting test that would demonstrate the capabilities of the airport. I think they've done that and that they've demonstrated what kind of routes can (and can't) work. I think the demonstration may have turned out well for them; it looks like there are lots of types of route that can work, and I suspect they might find airlines interested in (and able to) operate some of them.
Obviously the limits on the airport are unfortunate (I feel from what we have seen that it is likely Air Baltic could in commerical terms operate a C-series to Riga; would that work practically?), but I think that makes the demonstration they've provided all the more important and useful!
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Wonder if there is a link between Stobart investing £2million in the new AirPortr luggage delivery service and BA, since at the moment BA seems to be the only airline signed up? Why would Stobart invest in a luggage system that isn't used by any airlines at SEN? Maybe just a company with potential and a mere coincidence.
