It seems that Southend's passenger total has kept it out from being considered as the UK's best airport, as it was not even listed.

The UK's best and worst airports revealed | Daily Mail Online

'Online booking for non-existent flight has left me £500 out of pocket' (From Echo)

Echo website today. Stories like this do not inspire confidence. The first of many?

LTNman

I cannot see LCY on the list either so perhaps that is one of the airports, like SEN, where there were not enough respondents to the Cheapflights survey for it to be included.

Flight radar showed a Virgin Australia B737 at SEN a couple of days ago.

In for a paint job?
.

No unfortunately not, instead flight radar had a temporary glitch which was showing a lot of aircraft from Sydney (AUS) as being near SEN.

easyJet
 

The Echo seems to think that Southend is going to benefit from an easyJet expansion. I wonder if they're just speculating or whether they have anything concrete?

Easyjet?s recruitment drive to create hundreds of new jobs could be major boost to Southend Airport (From Echo)

I think it's another misleading article based on speculation. Those jobs could go anywhere in the UK so there is no guarantee that SEN will benefit from it what so ever. Fingers crossed for SEN, but I won't hold my breath.

easyJet Media Centre

The press release does not mention any airport so why Ann Holland, councillor for tourism and the economy, said the announcement was “great news” for Southend and Rochford is beyond me.

A better announcement would be to hear that Easyjet was to transfer some of its aircraft to Southend from Luton until their building work is finished as that airport can't cope with the demand there.

......... but a very unlikely announcement.

Quote from the easyJet media centre article:

"will offer its new cabin crew positions across all of its 27 European bases. Around half of these positions will be based in the UK."

...will offer its new cabin crew positions across ALL of its 27 European bases.
That must surely include SEN, even if only to a minor extent.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Let's hope so. Maybe it's tied to the introduction of the 320neo?

To be honest I think it's simply the Echo's simplistic assumption that easyJet growth equals growth at SEN. I agree that the introduction of the A320neo may result in some benefit for SEN but that's far from certain and a mere possibility as far as I can see.

Well given that easyJet is allegedly struggling with crew shortages I supect this recruitment is just making up the roster at each base to the required number with maybe a few extra heads for schedule resiliance.

With London City having its expansion approved I wonder if this could affect any hope that Southend had of picking up business from the city airport?

How long would it take before works at LCY are substantially complete so as to be able to significantly increase the passenger capacity ? If airlines have to wait just a year, then SEN will find it tough; if it's three or four years then the story might be a bit different...

As much as i want SEN to succeed and i really do, they will not hit the target of 2.5m pax by 2018. It will not happen. I fail to understand why they keep saying it will be achieved when it's clear that it will not be. I'm thinking maybe 1.5 - 2m by then at best.

Easy jet are just downsizing their UK operations & moving to Southend because it costs less, it is good news for Southend.

What are you talking about, you haven't been on the smelling salts have you?

I was thinking the same. Easyjet have said nothing about any expansion of services out of SEN so I can't see where the good news is.

davidjohnson6

Declan Collier, the LCY CEO, is quoted in Airport Business as saying "I look forward to delivering new airport capacity for the south-east by 2019" so presumably that is the timescale for the approved expansion.