Totally accept your point. But you have to start - sorry restart - somewhere.

No but doesn't mean that Alicante won't get one certainly on a seasonal basis, who knows. Moreover, if Ryanair stay away, they may reinstate the base.

To make a mistake is human, to make the same mistake again is stupidity...
 

Is everyone forgetting that EZY gave the airport the vanity of increased passenger numbers with the reality of financial losses? It's time for profit making which didn't happen last time EZY opened a base at SEN.

I know it rankles with you to see any good news at SEN but are you really suggesting that Esken should turn down the return of easyJet? It will certainly help their marketing department in negotiations with other prospective airlines to be able to show that easyJet haven't totally lost confidence in SEN as a departure point.

Probably depends how many realistic prospective airlines they are talking to - hell of an expensive marketing exercise.

Hopefully the deal with Easy is something like if we hit these numbers we'll look at re-instating the base.

I want the airport to do well however, sadly, it won't do well with EZY being there.

The same arguments apply as did last time. No profit from EZY who actually have a stronger negotiating hand this time. Their presence puts off other airlines trying to make a success of new routes. And this time, huge costs in opening a terminal for a handful of flights each week.

Obviously this is just my personal opinion however it is the same opinion I expressed last time EZY turned up and the financial results tended to support my argument.

Such as who? Who are going to provide the volume that would allow SEN to make money? RYR, WZZ? SEN aren't fishing in a big pool.

Agree. SEN has the local market and marketing to support a smaller operator doing a Med programme - someone like Eastern with their jets - but that wouldn’t pay the bills either. And would need to be supplemented by a multitude of other operators and routes who at present can pick and choose slots wherever they wanted around London.

Southampton is my local airport, and it too has suffered with the downturn in business plus the collapse of Flybe, although the losses obviously haven't been as bad as those experienced at Southend. So, isn't it great to hear some good news for change - hats off to Southend, and I hope this marks the start of the route back to the success and profitability that such a fabulous airport deserves!

I wonder what the financial inducement from Esken was?

I wonder if EZY thought that running flights from SEN to PMI and AGP through the summer would produce some very healthy revenue and didn't actually need their arms twisted.

When every airport wants an EZY route there will have been an incentive to pay.

What next? More orange ? Or some white and purple props ?

And what about trying to bring back JOTA ?
surely Biggin isn’t as good a base as SEN ?

I'm afraid unless SEN is going to pay or offer zero cost in this market I see little hope. Just hope owners have deep pockets to see airport through to 2023.

Biggin doesn't have commercial passenger ops by loco operators that demand to be prioritised over all other airport operators.

I've often argued that a successful SEN should concentrate on a mix of MRO, freight, business aviation, club flying and charter amd scheduled passenger ops where every user has equal access to the runway. Anyone who needs use of a runway should be welcome at SEN but the focus seems to be on pax numbers above all else.

If you want loco operators at your airport you need to generate revenue through the terminal (shopping and food) and the car parks. The loco operators do not pay sufficient aeronautical fees to pay the bills.

Looking at the timings of the Wizzair Bucharest flights, I bet these will be run from LGW and not SEN now.

“Not enough”
https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/198...-enough-alone/

I don't have a great deal of confidence in there being a Wizz operation into SEN from next Spring myself, but I cannot see anything on their booking system which suggests the 3 x weekly flights shown, commencing at the start of April 2022, will in fact operate from elsewhere. The flight time is correct for SEN and they don't duplicate any flights shown from LGW or LTN.

The SEN to Bucharest flight departs 10 mins before the Gatwick to Bucharest does. Maybe both will run but seems unlikely and I’d guess SEN will be the loser.