Southend-2
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Potential strike action over Christmas -
Southend Airport responds to claims strike will ground flights over Christmas - Essex Live
Southend Airport responds to claims strike will ground flights over Christmas - Essex Live
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However the airport has accused the union of agitating for strike action and say operations will not be affected by the decision.
The airport will be closed without fire cover.
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Stobart cutting corners yet again. See it, say it, sort it.
Was on Dub to Sen on Sun night. Delayed due to earlier Flybe 'issues'. Long story short, arrived SEN with made up time following atc dog leg routing clearances to make up lost time.
Landed at SEN ad parked on stand only to experience 20 minute delay of pax because SEN procedures mean international pax on parked a/c on our right had international border control screening, whilst our Dub was CTA border clearance.
Such amateur solution to flights arriving from CTA and non-CTA originating airports.
Pax on the Flybe became seriously pissed off. Captain howled out of cockpit slide window to ground handling 'why are my pax still not allowed disemarrked?'
Ground handler (Stobart) personnel thought it was comical!
Pax got more pissed off!
It's this type of experience which f!cks up the SEN experience.
Gotta say - won't use SEN again. Rather pay extra £50 for Cityjet from LCY - it just works as expected.
I used SEN in the days of EI Regional and last weekend was first time to use the new Flybe service.
Never again!
Waited 40 minutes for checked bags to come onto the belt. They ended up serving checked luggage onto overy sized roller wheel's area.
Putting this into perspective - we were the ONLY and final flight last Sunday evening.
Bloody disgraceful lazy
the pax attitude.
I said I'd give SEN benefit of the doubt.
Boy was I so wrong.
Avoid SEN - it's disorganised and anateurish in their overall approach to customer centricity.
Annoying and stressfull pax experience.
Booked on flights at time of alleged fire services strike action.
I am seriously hacked off by all of this and amateur management attitude.
Will use LCY from now on.
Was on Dub to Sen on Sun night. Delayed due to earlier Flybe 'issues'. Long story short, arrived SEN with made up time following atc dog leg routing clearances to make up lost time.
Landed at SEN ad parked on stand only to experience 20 minute delay of pax because SEN procedures mean international pax on parked a/c on our right had international border control screening, whilst our Dub was CTA border clearance.
Such amateur solution to flights arriving from CTA and non-CTA originating airports.
Pax on the Flybe became seriously pissed off. Captain howled out of cockpit slide window to ground handling 'why are my pax still not allowed disemarrked?'
Ground handler (Stobart) personnel thought it was comical!
Pax got more pissed off!
It's this type of experience which f!cks up the SEN experience.
Gotta say - won't use SEN again. Rather pay extra £50 for Cityjet from LCY - it just works as expected.
I used SEN in the days of EI Regional and last weekend was first time to use the new Flybe service.
Never again!
Waited 40 minutes for checked bags to come onto the belt. They ended up serving checked luggage onto overy sized roller wheel's area.
Putting this into perspective - we were the ONLY and final flight last Sunday evening.
Bloody disgraceful lazy
the pax attitude.I said I'd give SEN benefit of the doubt.
Boy was I so wrong.
Avoid SEN - it's disorganised and anateurish in their overall approach to customer centricity.
Annoying and stressfull pax experience.
Booked on flights at time of alleged fire services strike action.
I am seriously hacked off by all of this
and amateur management attitude. Will use LCY from now on.
Last edited by mik3bravo; 5th Dec 2017 at 19:17.
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So, would it be too much to ask that you complain directly to SEN management? I take your comments seriously.
Quote: Pax on the Flybe became seriously pissed off. Captain howled out of cockpit slide window to ground handling 'why are my pax still not allowed disemarrked?' Ground handler (Stobart) personnel thought it was comical!
A fair question. How do you know this? Were you that Captain or FO?
Quote: Pax on the Flybe became seriously pissed off. Captain howled out of cockpit slide window to ground handling 'why are my pax still not allowed disemarrked?' Ground handler (Stobart) personnel thought it was comical!
A fair question. How do you know this? Were you that Captain or FO?
Last edited by DC3 Dave; 5th Dec 2017 at 21:16.
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I was standing up front at the opened cabin door listening to entire conversation as was about 5 other pax as all of us stood just inside a/c when cabin manager was standing at bottom of stairs.
Skipper was terribly apologetic after he made up considerable delay enroute only to put with this level of BS on stand.
Next question?
Skipper was terribly apologetic after he made up considerable delay enroute only to put with this level of BS on stand.
Next question?
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Mik3bravo You clearly didn't enjoy the SEN experience. The management need to address these issues or they will lose others like you.
I can only hope that if you choose LCY next time you don't end up getting diverted to SEN. I dread to think what you may end up posting!
I can only hope that if you choose LCY next time you don't end up getting diverted to SEN. I dread to think what you may end up posting!
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NO AIRPORT IS PERFECT, This sort of thing must happen else were ,you were just unlucky.... If it means that much to you take your business to LCY. Plenty of other pax will be waiting to take your place
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LCY is a better overall experience however SEN caters perfectly for the SEN catchment which is those people living in the 20 miles to the West and North of Southend.
Two things will dictate how well Southend does; flight schedules and flight prices.
People soon forget queues, bad customer service or lack of facilities if the destination they need to get to is served by aircraft leaving and returning at convenient times and at a price they like.
Which surveys about customer satisfaction mean nothing - just compare Luton and the customer experience there to the passenger numbers they attract. The management at SEN need to attract airlines that pay their way and not rely upon their own airline to fill stands without profit.
Two things will dictate how well Southend does; flight schedules and flight prices.
People soon forget queues, bad customer service or lack of facilities if the destination they need to get to is served by aircraft leaving and returning at convenient times and at a price they like.
Which surveys about customer satisfaction mean nothing - just compare Luton and the customer experience there to the passenger numbers they attract. The management at SEN need to attract airlines that pay their way and not rely upon their own airline to fill stands without profit.
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I'm a long time lurker but never felt the need to join and post. However, after reading your post mik3bravo I decided to so I could clear a few things up.
I live in Southend and use the airport wherever possible. My experiences have been almost universally positive. I would like to stress that I don't know you, nothing I say is personal and I won't be posting back and forth as it will turn into an argument, which nobody is interested in. I just wanted to offer my point of view on something which inevitably won't be appreciated as there are some direct opposites to your own. That's nothing against you, it's just nature and precisely how I am likely to interpret your responses to me, hence why I won't be replying back and forth.
I was also on the flight from Dublin to Southend on Sunday 3rd, 20:25 - 21:40. The flight was indeed delayed but it was not down to Flybe issues earlier in the day as you say. The captain spoke to the cabin in Dublin to say that we were delayed due to an unexpected piece of hold luggage that they were awaiting some last minute paperwork for. We were also refuelling and were told not to put our seatbelts on whilst boarding. I do not blame SEN or Flybe for this.
The delay in Southend is very close to what you said. The captain said he had been informed that we were not allowed to disembark yet as some European regulation (I forget which he said) prevented two planes side by side from disembarking at the same time. If that is indeed true, as the captain said, then I again do not blame SEN or Flybe as they are just following rules. I am happy to be proved wrong if that is incorrect.
If you were at the front of the plane then I was only a few rows behind you. The mood in the cabin did not seem strained at all. In fact, quite the opposite. Everyone remotely near me was in great spirits, mostly because of the cabin crew gentleman whose comment after the slightly heavy landing was inadvertently hilarious and whose follow up comment was equally funny.
I can't comment on whether the captain and ground personnel engaged in conversation, nor on the checked luggage as I didn't have any, but my experience on the same flight was completely different to your one and the only corners I experienced being cut were time made up in the air.
I live in Southend and use the airport wherever possible. My experiences have been almost universally positive. I would like to stress that I don't know you, nothing I say is personal and I won't be posting back and forth as it will turn into an argument, which nobody is interested in. I just wanted to offer my point of view on something which inevitably won't be appreciated as there are some direct opposites to your own. That's nothing against you, it's just nature and precisely how I am likely to interpret your responses to me, hence why I won't be replying back and forth.
I was also on the flight from Dublin to Southend on Sunday 3rd, 20:25 - 21:40. The flight was indeed delayed but it was not down to Flybe issues earlier in the day as you say. The captain spoke to the cabin in Dublin to say that we were delayed due to an unexpected piece of hold luggage that they were awaiting some last minute paperwork for. We were also refuelling and were told not to put our seatbelts on whilst boarding. I do not blame SEN or Flybe for this.
The delay in Southend is very close to what you said. The captain said he had been informed that we were not allowed to disembark yet as some European regulation (I forget which he said) prevented two planes side by side from disembarking at the same time. If that is indeed true, as the captain said, then I again do not blame SEN or Flybe as they are just following rules. I am happy to be proved wrong if that is incorrect.
If you were at the front of the plane then I was only a few rows behind you. The mood in the cabin did not seem strained at all. In fact, quite the opposite. Everyone remotely near me was in great spirits, mostly because of the cabin crew gentleman whose comment after the slightly heavy landing was inadvertently hilarious and whose follow up comment was equally funny.
I can't comment on whether the captain and ground personnel engaged in conversation, nor on the checked luggage as I didn't have any, but my experience on the same flight was completely different to your one and the only corners I experienced being cut were time made up in the air.
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Terminal Extension
Rochford Council's website re proposed terminal extension, to be discussed December 14th.
https://rochford.cmis.uk.com/rochfor...s/Default.aspx
https://rochford.cmis.uk.com/rochfor...s/Default.aspx
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5.24
The 2010 runway extension planning consent allowed for up to 2 million passengers per annum (mppa) and the impact that this increase in passengers and their consequent traffic movements would have on the highway network was considered in the determination of the runway extension application. Subject to a number of planning conditions and clauses in the legal agreement requiring, amongst other things, works to the highway network and targets for public transport usage, the impact of a 2 mppa airport on the highway network was considered acceptable. The proposed development will not increase passenger numbers or flights above the limits already in place
The 2010 runway extension planning consent allowed for up to 2 million passengers per annum (mppa) and the impact that this increase in passengers and their consequent traffic movements would have on the highway network was considered in the determination of the runway extension application. Subject to a number of planning conditions and clauses in the legal agreement requiring, amongst other things, works to the highway network and targets for public transport usage, the impact of a 2 mppa airport on the highway network was considered acceptable. The proposed development will not increase passenger numbers or flights above the limits already in place
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Mik3bravo You clearly didn't enjoy the SEN experience. The management need to address these issues or they will lose others like you.
I can only hope that if you choose LCY next time you don't end up getting diverted to SEN. I dread to think what you may end up posting!
I can only hope that if you choose LCY next time you don't end up getting diverted to SEN. I dread to think what you may end up posting!
Outbound was good. Inbound was as I've shared - a frigging disaster. So I've learned a lesson, and won't repeat it again. My only concern now is I'm booked on services over Xmas to New Year and this latest stunt the fire services are pulling has just added to my pax concerns. I can do without the hassle tbh. I spend most of my time on flights all over the world so I'm used to sh!t happens from time to time. Howvever this is SEN we're talking about, it's not exactly Heathrow or Stansted in terms of hecticness - it's positively sleepy at best.
So I fail to grasp how they simply can't get the basic's in order. No excuses for that at all. I feel Stobart are out of their depth. They talk a good game but they are hopelessly out of their depth in my personal opinion.
The stupidity and lack of customer centric experience on the Flybe arrival on stand last Sunday night was a bloody disgrace and I expect better for my money.
I will tackle the flights I prefer booked over Chrimbo but can tell you after that I wot use SEN again. I'd rather drive up M11 to Stansted or shoot over Dartford to Gatwick if need be but I won't put up with that level of incompetence again.
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Now it's a long time since I've heard of someone actually advocating taking on the M11 to Stansted or
'shooting over Dartford' to Gatwick rather than use SEN because of one unhappy experience. By the way when was the last time anyone from Essex actually ' shot over Dartford' to LGW. I have heard of a number of people missing their flights because of holds ups on the bridge or in the tunnel.
But please feel free mike3bravo.
'shooting over Dartford' to Gatwick rather than use SEN because of one unhappy experience. By the way when was the last time anyone from Essex actually ' shot over Dartford' to LGW. I have heard of a number of people missing their flights because of holds ups on the bridge or in the tunnel.
But please feel free mike3bravo.
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Mik3bravo
No cheap jibe from me intended. Just my usual smart-arse 'humour'. Your attack has raised a concern which I hope is being addressed (the extension possibly?) There's only one way out. I've arrived a few times from Jersey and simply walked through unmanned immigration. I never really thought about what happens when two flights arrive together. Clearly if you or Manchester or Glasgow etc. arrive a couple of minutes behind a flight from TFS, 180 pax will have to be corralled into quite a small area before you can be allowed through.
If's that's the problem you should be angry. It's clearly not a happens situation. It's something that airport owners with a "logistical heritage" should have prepared for.
No cheap jibe from me intended. Just my usual smart-arse 'humour'. Your attack has raised a concern which I hope is being addressed (the extension possibly?) There's only one way out. I've arrived a few times from Jersey and simply walked through unmanned immigration. I never really thought about what happens when two flights arrive together. Clearly if you or Manchester or Glasgow etc. arrive a couple of minutes behind a flight from TFS, 180 pax will have to be corralled into quite a small area before you can be allowed through.
If's that's the problem you should be angry. It's clearly not a
happens situation. It's something that airport owners with a "logistical heritage" should have prepared for.
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It wasn't a problem in earlier times, we arrived alongside the EIR flight from DUB in perhaps 2013 or 14, we got in the queue for passport and they got funnelled down the side. What has changed?
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What's changed?
The airport can't seem to manage disembarking CTA and International simultaneously because all pax are herded and could end up mixed together in the corridor.
Clearly they need to sort it. For the poster above who also was on the sane flight, myself and first say 5 to 8 of us could hear the full conversations between the Captain and ground handling - the Captain was annoyed and asked why are his pax still not disembarked to which ground handler said we have to wait until pax from a/c parked on stand to our right emptied first and cleared passport border control.
The pax up front of our a/c were frustrated with the duration standing waiting for word to disembark possibly made worse because we all heard the stupidity of the circumstances the ground handler shouted up to the Captain who had the slide window open.
So as I said, it was not a satisfactory or acceptable position. I pay a fare, I expect fast boarding and disembarking and hold bags on belts quickly. That did not happen on the night and the airport was dead at that hour so can't understand what exactly the baggage handlers were doing for it to take so ridiculously long for bags to come out.
I could understand it if the place was rammed busy but it was dead.
Thankfully I got alternative airport choices in LCY, STN or LGW - and happy to drive my car to any of them.
The airport can't seem to manage disembarking CTA and International simultaneously because all pax are herded and could end up mixed together in the corridor.
Clearly they need to sort it. For the poster above who also was on the sane flight, myself and first say 5 to 8 of us could hear the full conversations between the Captain and ground handling - the Captain was annoyed and asked why are his pax still not disembarked to which ground handler said we have to wait until pax from a/c parked on stand to our right emptied first and cleared passport border control.
The pax up front of our a/c were frustrated with the duration standing waiting for word to disembark possibly made worse because we all heard the stupidity of the circumstances the ground handler shouted up to the Captain who had the slide window open.
So as I said, it was not a satisfactory or acceptable position. I pay a fare, I expect fast boarding and disembarking and hold bags on belts quickly. That did not happen on the night and the airport was dead at that hour so can't understand what exactly the baggage handlers were doing for it to take so ridiculously long for bags to come out.
I could understand it if the place was rammed busy but it was dead.
Thankfully I got alternative airport choices in LCY, STN or LGW - and happy to drive my car to any of them.
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Absolutely! Equally, if I
hopefully experience a good passenger experience on upcoming pre-booked flights over Christmas then in the interest of balance, I will happily come on here and share, let's see how the next trip goes. Here's hoping SEN resolve the threatened strike action by the airports Fire Rescue Services in time for the busy festive period.
hopefully experience a good passenger experience on upcoming pre-booked flights over Christmas then in the interest of balance, I will happily come on here and share, let's see how the next trip goes. Here's hoping SEN resolve the threatened strike action by the airports Fire Rescue Services in time for the busy festive period.
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Now it's a long time since I've heard of someone actually advocating taking on the M11 to Stansted or
'shooting over Dartford' to Gatwick rather than use SEN because of one unhappy experience. By the way when was the last time anyone from Essex actually ' shot over Dartford' to LGW. I have heard of a number of people missing their flights because of holds ups on the bridge or in the tunnel.
But please feel free mike3bravo.
'shooting over Dartford' to Gatwick rather than use SEN because of one unhappy experience. By the way when was the last time anyone from Essex actually ' shot over Dartford' to LGW. I have heard of a number of people missing their flights because of holds ups on the bridge or in the tunnel.
But please feel free mike3bravo.
On average I drive to LGW twice a month and have never missed a flight due to traffic congestion. This is partly due to most of my short haul flights departing early morning so I have the bridge to myself. However when flying long haul I normally depart mid-evening and the journey to LGW is in the rush hour.
I'd much prefer a short taxi ride to SEN but the flight schedules from SEN are geared towards holiday makers and not business travellers.
Interesting to see that the local authority capped the pax numbers to 2m in the S106 agreement. Can SEN payback the massive investment by Stobart with 2m pax annually? I'm guessing not.