SENFLYER

A new terminal? Really? The terminal at Stansted is more than adequate, modern and spacious. The original design incorporated a transit facility for passengers, something that without the need for has been removed but could be easily re-introduced without the need for a new terminal.

SENFLYER the market has no wish to use STN for the purpose you describe even at a discount. Lack of space and capacity is not an issue, it's just too close to LHR to compete.
Last few times I was through I thought BAA were doing fine. Nice terminal, pretty clean, major issue is UK Border queue on the last wave and that's not BAA.

The flag carriers were invited in the late 1990s and by the mid-2000s they had gone. I recall AA and LH as just two that tried to make it work for them.

STN is very good at what it does but, like all the others in the South East, there is 50 years of accrued behaviour and vested interest.

What would it take, either from BAA or UKBA to ensure that the immigration queues around 10pm on Sunday do not stretch all the way back to the transit system doors, remembering that the UK is in recession and major Govt expenditure increases will not happen ? Preferably without telling captains not to let passengers disembark from aircraft for 10 mins until queues further on in the system go down.

If 4 B738 land in about 10 mins that can send 720 people to immigration in a very short spike in passenger flow. To expect UKBA to have the capacity to handle all spikes is unreasonable on cost grounds. So what can be done ? Or are UKBA actually doing a good job already ?

Additionally, how much would it cost to widen the corridor between the main terminal building and the Ryanair pier ? Can get very crowded with people sometimes

Finally, is there a way to remove some of the obstacles in the main post-security departures area ? Around 7 am it feels extremely cluttered and in need of a bit more space to allow the flow of people.

Have heard BMI Regional will be announcing further expansion plans in spring 2013. What do people think the odds are of Stansted being a new airport for them?

Would suit their business model I think and Stansted lacks domestic routes and to nearby cities like Brussels and Frankfurt. Plus BMI Regional are in no way like Ryanair or EasyJet, so they will hardly be any competition to them!

Maybe bmi regional will bring back STN-NQY.


cs

What's the point to point business load likely to be on a twice daily Cornwall to Essex in Feburary? Surely it's WAY too seasonal?

In the nicest possible way, cs, I think you live in dreamland. :ok:

Easyjet fly from STN to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast. They also used to fly to Newcastle, but it was dropped.

What other domestic routes are there from STN which are really going to be worthwhile bmir looking at ? The only one I can really think of is Aberdeen, but as far as I know, STN is not a place of major hydrocarbon-related activity

Quote: "Have heard BMI Regional will be announcing further expansion plans in spring 2013. What do people think the odds are of Stansted being a new airport for them?"

Would say nil.

Would expect it to be LHR if returning to the south, and that looks highly unlikely at present! Regretably, don't think we'll see BD reg/BM in this neck of the woods for a while.

BMI
 

would southend have a better chance?

Has Stansted been sold yet?
 

Anyone know of the outcome of BAA selling STN?

cessna - a glance at the Stansted airport website shows the letters BAA displayed prominently. You may wish to draw your own conclusions as to whether BAA have sold Stansted yet

Only asking! And Thankyou for pointing the obvious out. :mad:

I believe the formal sale process is now underway and the aim is for the sale to be completed by the end of 2012

God I hope so, maybe Stansted may have some good growth potential now!

Easy @ STN
 

Just what is going on with Easy @ Stansted?

Now before anyone points out the obvious I'm fully aware they have a new basket at Southend that they seem to be putting most of their eggs into. But dropping ALC from their Stansted network is crazy seeing as ALC is Stansted's second most popular route. None of the charters serve the route which has mostly been dominated by Easy with upto three/four departures at their busiest and Ryanair on this occasion with two departures most days.

Faro, Funchal, Fuerteventura, Barcelona (Going too) among others I'm sure. Does this not now pave the way for Monarch or Jet2 to step in and clean up where they've left off? Please don't leave it to the monopoly that is RyanAir with their sour faced crew, crap customer service and day-glo cabin interiors with hard plastic seats. :ugh:

New report on London's airports suggests a limited future for Stansted, and is scathing about its lack of catchment area:

http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/ima...%20quieter.pdf

The problem is, it's not even just about catchment areas any more. It's all well and good saying so many people live within an hour of Stansted, but how many of those actually want to use it with what's on offer?

I live 3 miles/10 minutes by public transport from Stansted. This year I've flown from Stansted twice (both on Ryanair), from Gatwick 12 times (on Easyjet) and from Heathrow 4 times (BA and Bmi).

The 2 times I've flown from Stansted have been far the worst experiences. Mainly because of Ryanair themselves, but also 30 minute security queues on both occasions, 30 minute immigration queues late at night coming home, rude staff, etc. On one of the trips, a guy infront of me had 2 bags at security and the security woman was telling him that he'd have to go back to Ryanair and check-in one of the bags. He was pleading with her saying that surely it is is own risk to try his chances at the gate, to which she replied "If you walk off and attempt to join another security line without checking-in your 2nd bag I will call the police". Is it really her job? I'm not really sure of the answer to be honest, I'm sure someone can tell me.

Anyway, I think that the point I'm trying to make is that Stansted has lost it. Is it any wonder that people don't enjoy coming to Stansted, when even I would prefer to go to Gatwick or Heathrow despite them being on the wrong side of London for me? At least Easyjet are consistently average, despite being no-frills and basic they try to make life as easy as possible for the customer and you know exactly what to expect each time (nice website, decent mobile phone app, not too much emphasis on selling you stuff on board, no silly tunes played on landing, no embarrassing J20 adverts played on boarding...etc). With Ryanair I just have no idea how cr@p my flight is going to be, my last trip on them was so dire that it actually put a downer on my entire weekend away.

Unfortunately with Easyjet cutting back at Stansted it will only mean more and more trips to Gatwick for me.

And as for the train line...I commute on that line daily to London on the Stansted Express and at a guess I'd say that approximately once every 2 weeks it has some kind of signal failure where I have to sit there watching various tourists pull their hair out over missing their flights and panicking about how much Ryanair are going to charge them for new tickets on the day. I imagine that each and every one of them who has been through that experience would choose to avoid Stansted on any future visits, and recommend the same to their family and friends. I hate to say it because I worked at Stansted during it's peak around 2008 when everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves, but I can only see the passenger numbers continuing to drop for the foreseeable future.

At least the train is quicker to London than the Southend shuffle. It is more frequent and doesn't stop at every station. Also the trains get you to Stansted in time for the early departures. I still like Stansted, just a shame about its location