The drop off zone is the 150-space short stay car park.

The north apron was enlarged this year to accommodate A320 sized aircraft, together with new apron lighting, so pax could be bussed to those stands if required.

Probably maintaining their title of UK's favourite airport might be difficult but an acceptable trade-off for the increase in passenger numbers/revenue generated.

The label of UK's favourite essentially means too much capital has been invested and shareholders are not seeing a decent return on investment

Actually Southend is now the UK's second favourite airport as I believe Docaster took the title. Best not to mention bottom place please.:O

I do find that a lot more airports lack good drop off points. Even here in Luxembourg, one must enter a short-term car to do this. First 15 minutes free, then payment. Southend could offer further bait by offering 30 minutes free. Regarding the peak hour rushes, surely airport management and any new routes could be encouraged to depart between 0730 and 0800 to avoid the first rush of the day between 0630 and 0715.

Drop offs are easy with the free ten mins in short stay.
Pick ups are always the problem as people usually arrive about an hour too soon ..
Ok if your getting to an airport from an hours plus drive away you don't want to be late.
But Southend has plenty of places to lurk if your early, that are less than five mins away and won't attract the disapproving eye of some business park 'parking' warden ..
flight radar, and your eyes can do the rest

And I nearly got the thread closed for mentioning trains! Seems parking is safe, trains are not.

The tumble in the STOB share price is worthy of discussion here. Anyone know why Tinkler tried to offload a third of his shareholding a couple of hours prior to the closed period? I'm guessing the results soon to be announced are disastrous.

Equally disastrous was Tinkler's inept "stealth" exit. He didn't sell all that he hoped to sell and his paper wealth took a gigantic hit of circa £8m-£10m. I'm betting that's the last time he tries a stealthy sale.

Why not just wait and see ?

Well no actually...adsf1234 is credible & the post is worthy & valid for "discussion" as it concerns issues around the re-development/ownership & management of SEN...If no one cares to "discuss" (a very common feature on this thread) or has any more knowledge at least the info is out there & in that respect a valid post IMHO.

The Stobart October statement is due next Thursday. I would have thought sensible posters would choose to wait just six days before going into print.

I have no doubt a discussion may or will take place in the light of the contents. I suggest that will be the appropriate time to hold such a debate. At least then it can be based on some actual information rather than just the whims and prejudices of individual posters.

No need to worry about it. There's plenty of 'jam tomorrow'.
http://www.cityam.com/273818/theres-...em-uk-and-isnt

Tagron...
Sensible the theory...but context to be added/taken into account too particularly here, which in my opinion of a fair few SEN posters includes @ the least v defensive statements to close down views differing from theirs.
On your basis much of todays & yesterdays general press & news output is not valid & should not be available..
All posters views are valid & put out there for "discussion" even if you contended they are whims & prejudices. Just because you disagree or choose not to confront those issues does not necessarily make them so.
The original poster has put forward credible info & asked you to discuss..I would suggest again you are possibly defensive & borderline censorial IMHO.

Glyn Jones says he needs Government help, more like the UK taxpayer.

Yes, but if I have read the same article as compton then Jones is not pleading for help for SEN specifically, but for a change of thinking within government to encourage a more benevolent environment for smaller and regional airports. This in turn would promote runway and airspace capacity that is currently under utilised.

Surely when one sees the congestion and third world conditions available to pax at LHR, LGW and LTN and even STN with little sign of an improvement, perhaps it is time for a radical re-think. But don't hold your breath.

And dropping the tax for an airport like Southend may help to attract new operators, because you can bet your bottom dollar that the £13 will be going into their coffers, not remaining in the punters' pockets.

Someone is having a laugh

If Southend got to 10 million passengers then it would join the ranks of the other London's Airports. The secret is to say enough is enough and that will never happen.

Southend is the UK's second favourite airport not by good design but because of low passenger numbers. This makes for a depressing time for Stobart who wants to run a third world airport.

Most folk here who praise Southend's popularity also want the airport to become third world.

Sometimes less = more. Not many people here are prepared to accept that as a good option.

LTNman you are absolutely right, that is why mass tourism destroys the very thing people want to see.

It's all about making him money, passenger experience matters not one jot.
Ten million at Southend be crazy IMHO.
Subsidy, you mean a taxpayers subsidy. That's what this always means. Now LHR and LGW are subsidised to some extent in terms of transport infrastructure but they are intrinsic parts of UK plc.

LTNman I don't believe there is a single regular contributor to this thread who believes 10 million is either possible or desirable. All most of us want is a sustainable future for the airport.

Oh! I nearly forgot, Glyn Jones doesn't believe 10 million is possible either. Only when Warwick Brady came along did that figure become the 'target'. Glyn will sell anything he's required to with such gusto. What he thinks privately only he knows. But he's (pre Brady) been consistent and rational in his view that Southend could handle a maximum of 5 million pax p.a. long term.

I'm as sure as it's possible to be that SEN will never achieve 10 million. The absolute maximum in my opinion would be 5 million given its footprint and access and I doubt anything in excess of that figure could be achieved commercially under predictable circumstances.

I for one do not want to see it develop beyond around 3 million, certainly in the medium term. I very much accept that as a "good option" both as a supporter of the airport and as a traveller using it. As LTNman says sometimes less does indeed equal more.

I don't understand why this 10 million figure keeps getting mentioned by SEN management. Perhaps its simply to keep investors interested as I cannot see any logical reason for doing so.

But LTNman & others should not be castigated when they quote the figures & part statements back...
From memory the Airport Director was first to mention those figures some time ago & certainly in some fluffy article again today the Airport Director with the full backing obviously of the landlords is making sure that figure of 10m is now endlessly trotted out..
If all on here are agreed it is neither possible or desirable than the question should be asked what are they bolstering up?.
Their own divi`s & pensions are an immediate thought but it certainly could be called in normal parlance & description "flattering to deceive"..
Please note I stated normal parlance & not in business terms before I am accused again of stating deceptive practices are at work..
The thread unfortunately should expect comment from observers of the general scene & I haven`t even mentioned my observation of the article today which appears to portray the CEO as wanting a subsidy..my life...in the form of less or no taxes in the operations of an underperforming airport...Priceless.
Now how are hard working successful airports/enterprises & the hard working people employed there supposed to view that?.