Yep, that sums it up nicely. SEN survived in the past with a wide range of aviation related activities that Stobart cast aside or ignored. It won't be easy to rebuild that.

https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/231...ead-christmas/

From the London Southend Airport FB page:

Don't forget, we're still operating over the winter period with private/business flights supported by the incredible Jet Centre Team, as well as general aviation activity. This comes with a price tag attached which all goes towards the overall airport money pot.
You might've also seen us on the telly recently, featuring in a Christmas TV advert and again with an epic feature in global YouTuber Mr Beast's latest multi-million-dollar video challenge?
That's because we're utilising the sleek, modern spaces here at London Southend Airport as a prime filming location. Just bear in mind that, if you do see film crews here on site, that they're doing so in a secure location with a reasonable expectation of privacy. We also often can't tell you what's going on, as much as we want to!
It popped up in the press a little while ago but it's worth mentioning again that we'll be reintroducing a cargo operation between January 8 and March 25.
We have a fantastic facility at the airport to support these flights, and it's great to welcome additional business during the coming winter period. It also gives us the opportunity to develop our logistics channel and connect London Southend Airport around the world.
Ok! So, I've probably (undoubtedly) missed something but to summarise:
a. Rather excellent filming location
b. Amazing Jet Centre
c. Light aircraft
d. Cargo flights between January 8, and March 25, 2023
Before anyone says anything... Yes, of course we want to be making money off of holidays to Palma de Mallorca, but we refuse to sit quietly over the winter in the meantime.
I say "we're working hard" all the time, but it's always true. In this case, we're working hard from a commercial point of view to ensure that London Southend Airport is as financially secure as possible and operating as a smart, opportunistic business until such time we see commercial plane tails taking off from the runway once again at the end of March.

Good for them

Can it get any worse? SEN have just lost 3-0 to England……

There's black humour, gallows humour and then DC3 Dave humour... :D

Painful as it might seem, Blackpool turned itself around by expelling Jet 2 and other operators and then knocking down its terminal so it could focus on general aviation. In its last year of commercial operation the airport handled 223,372, a figure SEN would be glad to see today.

Southend will always have a future but it needs to focus on cutting overheads and expanding the successful parts of the business. While its fan base here will judge success on the number of passenger destinations and passenger flights the bean counters will be more interested in profits or losses. If those profits can only be achieved with no terminal operation then so be it. This won’t happen under Esken, but when the airport is sold the new owners will have a cold hard look at which parts of the airport make money, which parts has the highest overheads and whether they can see where Esken got it wrong.

Personally I would like to see SEN grab 20% of Luton’s passengers but that isn’t going to happen. I will put that down to location, location, location. Hemmed in by water on 2 sides, its distancing from London and no motorway network at its front door was always going to be a challenge despite its railway station.

The Esken strategy of Southend becoming successful as the airport of last choice has come unstuck yet that remains the strategy because that was the obvious business model with no plan B

The difference between Blackpool and Southend is the amount Esken has sunk into the airport.

Much of which will likely be written off.

Even with it's own rail station, the journey time is 50-ish minutes long as it stops at all stations en-route from/to London.

If there were a twice-hourly 'Southend Express' type rail service, which operated from London-Liverpool St that only stops at Stratford, Shenfield & the airport en-route to Southend Victoria, then surely this would help to cut that journey time down.

Of course, the problem is that they need passenger numbers to improve before being able to justify implementing such a service.

So we can all read through the familiar reasons given why SEN will not succeed but back in 2019 it was well on the way. Near 40% growth on the previous year, 7 based LCC aircraft, 2 Stobart ATRs, Wizz adding to the mix and other smaller operations choosing the airport. It all added up to 2 million PAX with surely more to follow. Then Covid destroyed the dream. That and what appeared to be some terrible decision making from the Stobart board, biting off way more than they could chew trying to play a leading role in a new regional airline formed from Flybe. Losing easyjet - Tinkler is on record blaming Warwick Brady for that. Was the assumption that Ryanair would gobble up the million pax easyjet were walking away from?

Anyway we are where we are now. Roads to the airport have improved into the last couple of years with big improvements in key locations and the Elizabeth line has helped rail connections. But it is all irrelevant until airlines see Southend as a good option for better times and believe those days are fast approaching. May be a while IMO.

STOPPING TRAIN MYTH
 

Can we please, once and for all, put to bed this myth that the trains to SEN call at all stations? The stations between Stratford and the airport where the train does NOT call are listed below:

Maryland
Forest Gate
Manor Park
Ilford
Seven Kings
Goodmayes
Chadwell Heath
ROMFORD ***
Gidea Park
Harold Wood
Brentwood

*** Romford is served by only one train in every three.

The number of times I have seen misinformation on this subject is truly amazing!

The reality is that there are stops at only seven of the stations between SEN and Liverpool Street, these being Rochford, Hockley, Rayleigh, Wickford, Billericay, Shenfield (for Elizabeth Line Crossrail) and Stratford (for Central and Jubilee Underground, DLR for Canary Wharf and London Overground services). I really don't see that being a deterrent to airlines' decisions, especially in view of the station being two minutes walk from the terminal exit and the high frequency of the train service.

I would think there is little chance of being able to add a 'Southend Express' due to the very high level of traffic on the route with very limited passing places for an Express.

Okay, I apologise & stand corrected - they don't stop at ALL stations.

I wasn't suggesting an additional service, just an alteration to the timings of the existing service(s) so that at least one train can do fewer stops. If Billericay, Wickford, Rayleigh, Hockley & Rochford were avoided, then the service would be faster and thus more appealing, no...?!

Those stations aren’t served by Greater Anglia, so in theory, it does stop at all stations.

Possibly for some. But not if your destination is one of the stations mentioned. But people have never flocked to STN over SEN because they can shave a few minutes off a train journey (lost anyway in their journey to and from the platform) They go there for reasons that are only too obvious.

The idea that the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair only need base a few aircraft at Southend to see how successful it would be for the airlines doesn’t cut the mustard. They did and then they left. So what’s changed?

In theory GA could serve them as the infrastructure is there, indeed a few of them are served one weekend or so per year coinciding with a major festival. Not sure if still the case but Gidea Park has been a mainline stop on one of the last trains on weekdays. Romford is a regular stop throughout the day.

MARKEYD posts on the Jersey thread that new routes to the island are expected from easyjet tomorrow.

Why do I feel a stirring in my loin?

Probably just something you should see your doctor about