Southend-2
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Essex
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Have mentioned previously this "story" could actually benefit no one in the industry if it is hijacked by others who are gaining influence with age groups & outlooks different to ours.
Stobart have decided to enter the industry but should be a guardian for it too & a mindful neighbour.
There is a little Swedish girl travelling around Europe meeting with large numbers of leaders & decision makers by train! eschewing air travel with an audience of many millions of younger people.
Stobart have decided to enter the industry but should be a guardian for it too & a mindful neighbour.
There is a little Swedish girl travelling around Europe meeting with large numbers of leaders & decision makers by train! eschewing air travel with an audience of many millions of younger people.
Indeed, there's also Emma Thompson who flew 5,400 miles to address climate change protesters (but that's ok because she plants trees to offset her carbon footprint).
Southend airport does have a scheme to purchase properties affected by excess aircraft noise. Previously, they identified 5 properties that may be affected. But in their latest noise report they state that none are (I believe because the airport has coughed up for triple glazing etc.) I don't mind if Stobart dig their heels in over this, but they need to be aware - as I believe SS is saying - future governments support of air travel may start to wobble if these protest groups have any influence on mainstream thinking and voting intentions.
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: bishops stortford herts
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Lol...Good point out re Ms Thompson but that point does not detract from the access provided to the little Swedish girl with HER audience.
Anyways...Pretty incredulous SEN has zero properties earmarked for purchase.
Regarding a "wobble" from Government & with no one even politically savy able to call where the cards could fall in Local/European or a UK General Election then a wobble with a capital W may well be the end result.
When the Lib Dems entered coalition previously one demand & accepted was that all airport expansion were to be taken off the table.
Before that General Election many airports had ambitious expansion plans even with added runways.
A day at the polling booths changed pretty much an industry outlook.
Anyways...Pretty incredulous SEN has zero properties earmarked for purchase.
Regarding a "wobble" from Government & with no one even politically savy able to call where the cards could fall in Local/European or a UK General Election then a wobble with a capital W may well be the end result.
When the Lib Dems entered coalition previously one demand & accepted was that all airport expansion were to be taken off the table.
Before that General Election many airports had ambitious expansion plans even with added runways.
A day at the polling booths changed pretty much an industry outlook.
Been having a look at fares on Ryanair to/from Southend. Routes to Brest and Kosice amongst others seem rather low - either the same price as APD or cheaper. I know 10 years ago Ryanair used to offer fares for 1 pound to stimulate demand on a regular basis but this tends to be much less common in 2019. I'm wondering if Ryanair are finding demand on some routes out of Southend is significantly lower than initial expectations... along with the implications for these routes after October 2019
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Outer London
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I looked at DUB for next weekend yesterday (too expensive, which is good I guess!) and saw this coming Tuesday was £20 return which isn’t so good at such short notice
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Daws Heath Essex
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Anecdotal reports are that the FR load factors on most routes are good, however it's not just bums but yields that matter, so time will tell once the numbers have been crunched.
Join Date: Jul 2015
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For what it's worth, and only anecdotal evidence from my personal observations - I've flown 3 times on the new FR services from SEN, generally around 90% of cabin was full.
Hardly any empty seats really.
Hardly any empty seats really.
Join Date: Aug 2008
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It appears JC is influenced more by the little Swedish girl though than brave words on here as after meeting her last week Labour are now calling for a Climate Emergency to be declared.
Join Date: Jul 2015
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: rochford essex
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I cant see how they are going to hit 5m by 2023 unless a terminal 2 is built somewhere else on the airfield, the present terminal is not coping very well at the moment at peak times and there are only 10 aircraft stands, there are a few more northside but these would require a bus transfer. There was supposed to be small extensions to both ends of the terminal to make a bigger arrivals area including baggage reclaim and passport control/customs, also more departure gates. A lot of people thought that these would all be in place by the time Ryanair started ops but alas no sign of any work on the extension so far as i know.
Join Date: Apr 2008
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Grand designs for sure. 5mppa is a long way off and with limititations airside due to a smallish land footprint, specifically at the 06 end with houses and a church being restrictive, this will unlikely be achieved. The airport has done a great job in attracting EZY/RYR and will add further destinations but will need a huge amount of additional infrastructure to hit those heady passenger targets. This not withstanding environmental and political concerns surrounding further growth that we have already had a flavour of this week with Charlie taxiway and the locals and the airport will be headed for a long drawn out and expensive legal battle!
There is actually plenty of spare capacity at SEN at present. Scheduled commercial movements at the 2019 summer peak are likely to be no more than 70-75 per day spread over the 17 hour scheduling period. They need to fill in some of the big activity gaps such as the 0800-1000 block. which probably.will have to be achieved with non-based aircraft. This could prove more difficult than attracting additional based units. The new Loganair routes are a step in the right direction though the volume may be small.
The airport already has planning permission for the terminal extension. As noted above surprise has been expressed that it was not completed in time for the arrival of Ryanair. There is space for six or so extra stands on the north apron. There always used to be stands on the north apron before the reconstruction work of two years ago so I would have thought that stands could be implemented as a permitted development, i.e. without the need for planning consent. Or they could "borrow" a couple of stands from the Stobart Jet Centre. They would need to accept a coaching operation but having done that there is scope for expanding the based fleet without undue difficulty. Provided of course they can manage the terminal issues with the early morning wave of departures rather better than they achieved on Good Friday.
In short the building blocks are already in place for a potentially significant increase in passenger numbers without the need to run the gauntlet of the planning system
The airport already has planning permission for the terminal extension. As noted above surprise has been expressed that it was not completed in time for the arrival of Ryanair. There is space for six or so extra stands on the north apron. There always used to be stands on the north apron before the reconstruction work of two years ago so I would have thought that stands could be implemented as a permitted development, i.e. without the need for planning consent. Or they could "borrow" a couple of stands from the Stobart Jet Centre. They would need to accept a coaching operation but having done that there is scope for expanding the based fleet without undue difficulty. Provided of course they can manage the terminal issues with the early morning wave of departures rather better than they achieved on Good Friday.
In short the building blocks are already in place for a potentially significant increase in passenger numbers without the need to run the gauntlet of the planning system
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: In the sticks
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Sometimes more is less. What made Southend beautiful is being lost. It’s the nature of the business to sweat the assets which will no doubt be supported here as the queues lengthen and the airport loses some of its appeal.
Much has been written here from supporters about the pride of being the UK’s favourite airport but I would think most would prefer a terrible experience and queues out the door just for an ever increasing amount of passengers as though that really matters. It is all about a balance between what passengers expect and what Southend can deliver. That message might well fall on deaf ears.
Much has been written here from supporters about the pride of being the UK’s favourite airport but I would think most would prefer a terrible experience and queues out the door just for an ever increasing amount of passengers as though that really matters. It is all about a balance between what passengers expect and what Southend can deliver. That message might well fall on deaf ears.
Join Date: Aug 2017
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More social media reports of terrible early morning queues and missed flights this morning due to the security fiasco at SEN. Stobart have really dropped the ball on this - Edit - Fiasco might be too harsh a word - but it is now taking 45 mins to get through security which I think is catching a lot of passengers out after having a number of years of relatively quick and easy flow.
Last edited by Bee Rexit; 30th Apr 2019 at 08:51.
What I would like to know is if anyone has missed a flight that arrived at least 2 hours before their scheduled departure time? Prior to RYR arriving it would be fine to arrive 60-90 prior and have no problems. This will be the new normal now (as per other airports across the world) and that is different to how it used to be at SEN. Stobart of course used to sing about the efficiency of SEN as it was under utilised and was a great USP (of course they would, as they were trying to attract new airlines/customers. They will now have to either invest heavily to keep those standards (I doubt they will) or accept that it is the same as the other players and sell the merits of the place based on other things. What now differentiates Sen from other airports is not as clear as it once was.
Stobart will be happy as it means more return on their investment.
Stobart will be happy as it means more return on their investment.
Join Date: Apr 2016
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More social media reports of terrible early morning queues and missed flights this morning due to the security fiasco at SEN. Stobart have really dropped the ball on this - Edit - Fiasco might be too harsh a word - but it is now taking 45 mins to get through security which I think is catching a lot of passengers out after having a number of years of relatively quick and easy flow.
But, there's no denying there's an issue here. Glyn Jones has always insisted the airport had every intention of maintaing the breeze (6 minutes maximum) through security. Right now that sounds like a promise from Pinocchio.