TCAS FAN - ties in perfectly with official opening date of 21st Sept (tbc), until then the extension will have beneficial use only

And then what? I am guessing the big wait and then frustration with the lack of business.

With all due respect haven't we gone over this question over and over again and on so many occasions. And there's me thinking that you had put a stop to it.

Come on now stewyb surely your better than that.

How many return flights a day and new routes that actually need the runway extension would the good people here find as an acceptable number and were would the threshold be that triggers disappointment?

I am assuming easyJet’s temporary domestic routes don’t count, as they could have operated anyway without the runway extension.

I dont see a lot coming for 2024,as I believe they would have been announced by now. SOU biggest problem is there operational hours,so no based LCC planes!
I think the Canaries could be a bet for the future.

May have been said tongue in cheek as RW20 seems to think none/very little growth will happen in S24! :ok:

about time the airport announced new routes. So disappointed the runway is almost complete and nothing has been added with airlines or destinations. If they want to add passengers and compete with BOH they have to sort it out and announce something quick, or else it’s the same old boring domestics and once weekly sun routes

You’re blaming the airport yet it is the airlines that set the agenda. Maybe they are just not interested?

Southampton made a speculative investment with no agreements signed for new routes before work commenced. They hope that once finished that will change.

The question is " What happens to the airport if nothing materialises"?
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Presumably this is your opinion, rather than a staetment of fact like it appears? Just because nothing has been announced, doesn't mean nothing has been agreed.

Does the previous performance of SOU's owners suggest they are the type to make speculative investments on the off chance?

No airport ever extended their runway or doubled the size of their terminal on 'a promise' from an airline to use it.

Its an investment for the long-term and if there is negligible benefit in year one (2023/4) I would imagine the marketing goal is summer 2025 onwards.

Didn’t SEN announce a multi year partnership with EZY a few months prior to the extension being opened and in time for London2012?

To be honest I don't know how the flow chart ran, but if the investment came 'on a promise' so to speak, the outcome was a perfunctory lesson in how not to invest.

Of course at DSA it was done the other way round (infrastructure then business) and ultimately that didn't turn out well.

I have no idea but I suspect they have. I know Luton has done it. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometime it appears to be paying off and then still ends in tears. Only time will tell.

Personally I think a point that is being missed in this debate is how much capacity EZY has to expand at SOU at the moment. For S24 their priority for the South East must be to maximise LGW slots. I appreciate that due to opening hours, any loco operations at SOU are like to be by aircraft based overseas but if I was running EZY and had a slot pair at LGW and the choice between using them (or losing them) vs operating a rotation into SOU it would be a no brainer.

And how many aircraft they have. Remember, 3 have been allocated for the new BHX base opening March 2024.

I would wager that an EZY base will not happen in 2024 but that away based flying by EZY will, which is how they built up BHX into a base (admittedly over a very long time). They don't normally release their flight only summer schedules until mid Autumn so there's plenty of time for some away based routes to be announced for SOU.

Why Easyjet are unlikely to ever base any aircraft at Southampton

Southampton

Southend

How long before the airport asks for an extension to operating hours?

LTNMan,
You'll be branded as a 'troll' by some, but given that straight jacket you're probably spot on.

You can see any application, even just for a minor extension of operating hours or a little latitude taking months, more likely years, to go through the planning process.

Glad you posted this and not me as I would have been shot down immediately. You are however spot on with your assessment of the situation!

Actually EasyJet are feeling a little constrained at Gatwick at the moment. 80 plus aircraft is proving tough to accom and operate especially as they tend to have two intense departure waves a day. Also any slots they still have leased from BA will need to be returned. So not impossible they may be looking elsewhere. Surely even overseas originating flights are a good thing. It doesn’t need to be a base.