JOTA
 

Surely handling charges are factored into the charter price, so effectively the charterer pays and costs JOTA nothing.

Accepted & that appears to corroborate the allusion then the customer (from the same catchment) in this instance & probably more given a choice choose STN.

As before then why cannot SEN secure the flying from their own facilities.

And when your training ground - where the players report before travelling - is next to J25 of the M25, your airport of choice is very likely to be STN.

Can’t really understand why Jota would have an issue positioning. Do Titan?

There really is no issue here for Jota.

When I was a Charter Broker based at SEN in the 1970s I initially tried to channel any work that I could through SEN but I quickly learned that it was not a good idea to suggest this in case the weather at SEN was a problem - no ILS in those days - whereas at STN, LTN or LGW that was unlikely to be so. The only time I pushed hard for SEN was with P & O Jet Ferries when we gained the contract for supply immediate charter capacity when their Boeing jetfoils ingested something nasty in the Thames. Their in-house travel department had often been chartering Laker 707s, while the 737-200 was better suited to the number of pax normally involved. By using TEA out of Brussels and operating between SEN and OST I could reduce the charter cost by nearly 50%. For that sort of saving the charterer was happy to be persuaded. I don't think Premiership football clubs would be very interested in deviating from their established routines.

Where do West Ham fly from? They would be a better match for SEN I'd have thought. Or are the Hammers earth-bound?

I remember Newcastle United flying into SEN some years back for a midweek game against West Ham when they played at Upton Park. Eastern provided a Saab 2000 as I recall and they flew straight back after the game.

Was it West Ham that flew back to SEN from a European game on a 757 a while back? I think that SEN may have been chosen due to a lack of night slots elsewhere though.

West Ham and Spurs use Stansted while Arsenal usually use Luton but occasionally Stansted. Chelsea use Farnborough when available but when returning from night away games usually Gatwick but have used Luton also. When Watford were in the Premier League teams from the north used Luton, but that will be severely curtailed now they are in the Championship. Teams playing at Wembley usually use Luton.
Arsenal hold the shortest domestic football charter from Luton to Norwich, flying time 13 minutes! It took longer for them to drive to Luton than fly. If my memory serves me correctly I think it was a Chello Aviation 146 which positioned in from Birmingham!

2 seasons ago Jota flew Man Utd from Manchester to East Midlands which I think would give Luton - Norwich a run for its money in terms of distance!

I happened to see MAN-EMA or vv this year, it was noticeable as one of the only aircraft in the sky.

Southend have flown to the odd game in the past and some of the bigger teams have flown in - think I recall Blackpool doing so. In League 2 this will become even more limited.

Bolton flew into SEN more recently for Charlton or Millwall. There have also been a couple of inbound charters heading for Colchester United.

I think they did use BMI Regional for a bit and the 135/145 - there are a few pictures of it on Daily Mail etc as Arsenal came in for a lot of criticism for the decision to fly!

Don’t forget “elite” sports teams are currently required to maintain a bio bubble and undergo regular Covid testing before competition. No stopping off at the Watford Gap services for a pee, sausage roll and a copy of the Sporting Life anymore.

So lots of opportunity for the likes of Jota to cash in, and IF there is any disadvantage to be based at SEN it won’t be much of one right now.

Football teams and their support staff normally use FBO terminals rather than the main terminal. How many passengers can Southend’s FBO terminal handle and seat in comfort?

The inbound B757 I mentioned was handled at the Jet Centre and the pax numbers were well over 100. Obviously outbound it would not be quite as easy to process such numbers.

Football teams don't spend much time in the FBO - especially for domestic flights.

SWBKCB

I don't know if it's the case in the current situation but quite often for departures the team coach would park at the foot of the aircraft steps. Whether that applies at STN or LTN for example I don't know but a number of Jota social media posts have shown this in the past at other UK airports.

Disadvantages for Jota...

Each positioning flight to & from STN adds 2 additional cycles to the frame hastening required m/x.

Each positioning flight from & to STN adds at least 2 hours to the crew rosta & totals for the month.

Generally wasteful in terms of fuel.

It appears Jota & Stobart do not work well together.

That's just the way the charter market is for all operators, not just Jota.

I ran a 10 aircraft operation providing light freight and pax charters in the 1980s and I doubt very much has changed since then in respect of customers' requirements. You operate to and from where they want you to, when they want you to, while making perhaps a few suggestions that might actually prove beneficial to them. If you fretted over the additional sectors and crew hours that this requires you would be looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

As far as 'the fireplace' is concerned, maybe that bit of quirkiness actually increased awareness of the Jet Centre. Bizjet business seems to have picked up over the past few weeks in any event which is good to see.

Are we missing something here? Or being a little dense? Is the majority of Jota’s work from STN? What advantage does being based there give them if they have have to position to LTN, LGW, LCY etc?

All this started because an individual has heard that Jota are not happy over a particular fee. Let’s hear a little more about that grievance if anyone can back it up.

The only thing I can say with some certainty was that when ASL started their night freight operation Jota were told that they would not be able to book any night slots at all in future. They also had to tow their aircraft onto the terminal contact stands for all departures, including positioning, and were probably charged accordingly. Whether this was due to generally enhanced security measures I don't know but they used to be able to depart from their hangar apron I believe. Certainly the talk at SEN was that Stobart did not seem to value their presence.

Last week Jota moved out of Viscount House and have established their commercial and operations offices in a nearby, off airport, business estate.