SOUTHEND - 4

[virginblue]

I guess what SEN really needs are some more airlines to minimize the risk should easyjet ever close down their shop at SEN. Rather risky to expand on the basis of capacity required by just a single customer (in the absence of easyjet, all operations could easily be handled in the existing infrastructure)

[cjags]

Figures for inaugural NQY. 104 outbound, 30 inbound. Seems about right for a seasonal startup.

[cornishsimon]

Will be interesting to see how things progress over the course of season on NQY.

Generally speaking most book returns so those 104 will mostly be on an ex NQY at some stage.

cs

[tayair6]

That from LSA Enquire Thank you for your note below. We are happy to advise you that the A320 operates well from London Southend Airport and the A319 has many years left in the fleet.

Generally speaking, technology in aviation is fast developing and looking towards the future we would expect new aircraft to be more efficient and quieter.

Regards
Enquires

[tayair6]

There are no plans to further extend the existing runway and we will continue to operate within our agreed operating controls. Each specific aircraft type can be configured differently and whilst aircraft purchasing is a matter for the airlines concerned we are confident that we can continue to provide a suitable base for our operators.

Regards
Enquires from LSA

[tayair6]

JUST 23 flights out of 28,546 were found to have breached strict noise regulations in a year.

A Southend Airport report also shows the number of complaints about noise pollution are going down, while the majority of complaints – more than 80 per cent – were put in by just ten persistent residents.

[Expressflight]

That same report says that 29% of pax used public transport but I don't know if taxis are included in that figure. Otherwise it must mainly be the train and no doubt the figure would be considerably higher if the train service operated earlier and later than at present.

[maliyahsdad2]

I wonder what people think of these which are on the "SAEN" website.

Madness or does the applicant have a point? The author is one Peter Elliot who seems to have been appointed by "SAEN" as some kind of advisor to their cause.
He has also been involved in a number of proceedings with Stobarts and Andrew Tinkler after being sacked by them.

http://saeninfo.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/app-to-revoke-06-runway-lisence.pdf

http://saeninfo.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/southend-airport-grounds-to-immediately-supend-then-revoke-runway-06-procedures.pdf

Some of it appears laughable.


"There have been recent incidents where passengers of aircraft and persons on the ground have been frightened by Easyjet go arounds on finals to runway 06 at Southend Airport in poor weather which ultimately caused Pilots to make (thankfully) the brave decision to divert aircraft to Stansted."

[Phileas Fogg]

As the CAA well knows I was a Licenced Aviation Law Examiner for the CAA and am deemed by the UK High Court to be an “Aviation Expert”.

Classic :)

Whilst I am one for correcting the idiots that refer to the British Isles as "England" rather than "UK" when it comes to law there is no such thing as "UK Law", indeed "UK High Court" and one needs to revert back to the individual country(s).

There is a High Court of Justice of England and Wales, it seems there is a High Court of Justiciary in Scotland whilst there is a further High Court in N. Ireland.

But, dear "Aviation Expert", there ain't no "the UK High Court" whichever way you dress it up :)

Sometimes as a human being of course I am wrong

Never a truer word spoken :)

[Expressflight]

maliyahsdad2

"Madness or does the applicant have a point."

I don't think you would for a moment leave in the last seven words of that comment if you had followed the history and utterances of this person over the years.

Since when have go-arounds in poor weather been unheard of, either at SEN or anywhere else? As for the shock horrror of those aboard or on the ground that's rather mild for a SAEN statement. I'm surprised nearby schools and hospitals weren't avoided only by "the brave decision" of the pilot. Still, their website is always good for a laugh and a brief welcome break from reality.

[WOWBOY]

Anyone know how the Edinburgh route is shaping up passenger wise?

Always intrigued me how well it would do with Luton and stansted nearby.

[Barling Magna]

There's one young mother and her innocent child in a push chair as the possible destination for dislodged roof tiles.........

Mr Elliott's letters have a strange style which, in general terms, might be thought to be similar to that of a person suffering from a serious mental disorder rather than a professional "Aviation expert". He has been on a personal crusade against Andrew Tinkler and Stobart's for six years or more, and it continues as this Telegraph article last month shows:

Monday Interview: Stobart boss Andrew Tinkler - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10067746/Monday-Interview-Stobart-boss-Andrew-Tinkler.html)

[rowly6339]

I can't believe he quoted Wikipedia, it just shows how much he is clutching at straws and using whatever he can make up to rubbish the airport and owners.

[VickersVicount]

"Anyone know how the Edinburgh route is shaping up passenger wise? "
Looking at CAA domestic stats, and not taking into account frequencies, the Southend domestic routes show
BELFAST INTERNATIONAL 7304
JERSEY 5200
EDINBURGH 3396

Read into that what you will

[fatmed]

The route was only started half way through the month ?

[tws123]

Edinburgh launched on the 2nd of May with a 6x weekly frequency. Like many routes it probably needs time to establish itself.

[Expressflight]

I think it's fair to say that the SEN-EDI route was rather disappointing in its first month of operation, achieving a load factor of only 41%.

It seemed odd to me to launch the route as just a daily middle-of-the-day service which was likely to appeal only to leisure travellers. Either a morning or evening service would have seemed more logical, given that a double-daily wasn't possible due to lack of aircraft availability. It switches to 0710 M,Tu & Sa(0700) and 1920 W,Th,F & Su for the winter schedule and it will be interesting to see what effect that has.

[vulcanised]

It's the Stobart AGM today, in case that's of interest.

[Barling Magna]

Air Humberside has noted an interesting development. Balkan Holidays are to fly two services to Bourgas using, it seems, A320s. This is from their website:


This week we are delighted to announce three brand new UK departure airports to Bourgas in Bulgaria which serves the popular resorts of Sunny Beach (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/holiday_destinations/summer_holidays/bulgaria/bourgas_area/sunny_beach/index.html), Nessebar (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/holiday_destinations/summer_holidays/bulgaria/bourgas_area/nessebar/index.html), Duni (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/holiday_destinations/summer_holidays/bulgaria/bourgas_area/duni/index.html), Sozopol (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/holiday_destinations/summer_holidays/bulgaria/bourgas_area/sozopol/index.html) and Pomorie (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/holiday_destinations/summer_holidays/bulgaria/bourgas_area/pomorie/index.html).
The airports of Cambridge (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/flight_only/cambridge-airport.html), Southend (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/flight_only/london-southend-airport.html) and Newquay (http://www.balkanholidays.co.uk/flight_only/newquay-cornwall-airport.html) will each have one departure in May and September 2014 allowing for 7 night holidays only as follows:


23rd May 2014 Southend to Bourgas
23rd May 2014 Cambridge to Bourgas
24th May 2014 Newquay to Bourgas
01st Sep 2014 Southend to Bourgas
05th Sep 2014 Cambridge to Bourgas
12th Sep 2014 Newquay to Bourgas

Announcing the new route, London Southend Airport’s Managing Director Alastair Welch said: “We are delighted to be adding Bulgaria and the beautiful Black Sea coast to our growing list of destinations for summer 2014. Balkan Holidays and Southend airport will, I am sure, prove a very popular combination for residents of South Essex and London.” He added: “Balkan Holidays fly state-of-the-art Airbus A320 aircraft, so passengers will arrive in Bourgas fresh and relaxed having enjoyed all the creature comforts these planes offer.”

[SWBKCB]

He added: “Balkan Holidays fly state-of-the-art Airbus A320 aircraft, so passengers will arrive in Bourgas fresh and relaxed having enjoyed all the creature comforts these planes offer.”

What a gem! Who thinks this stuff up?

[Barling Magna]

State-of-the-ark more likely.....

However it will be good to see A320s operating from SEN. There's been a lot of discussion about their ability to use the runway, so I guess this will resolve that.

I am aware that Balkan Holidays Airline also has a couple of A319s though......

[8674planes]

I do like the paint job's on there aircraft!

Barling Magna Yes they do. However, one is currenlty leased to the Bulgarian Government.

[mikkie4]

History was made at SEN yesterday as our first 1,000,000th pax used the airport since opening in 2012.welldone to all, who have made this possible

[tws123]

Aer Lingus are offering onward connections to Toronto and San Francisco through Dublin from next year when they launch the routes from Dublin itself.

[cornishsimon]

Don't EI offer onward connections to all EI destinations ?

Could you not in theory book SEN-DUB-LHR ?


cs

[tws123]

Technically yes you could fly from DUB to any EI destination, but the significance of onward connections are that they can be booked with a single transaction, whereas SEN-DUB-LHR would require two (e.g. SEN-DUB then DUB-LHR), plus Aer Lingus are encouraging these routes because it enables you to clear US Immigration at DUB saving you time when you land in the US.

[kriskross]

Trouble is that the single booking attracts a lot of APD - they assume you are flying all the way in one and tax accordingly. Much cheaper to book 2 flights, or go via AMS!!!

[EI-A330-300]

Aer Lingus say last week that UK passengers are booking separate tickets and they will still check the bag through to the US once the staff at the airport are told and showed proof of onward flight.

[davidjohnson6]

Has anything happened with the lack of ground transport between east London and Southend airport for early morning departures and late evening arrivals, or are airport management still bleating about how they are powerless to do anything like organising a couple of limited stop coaches ?

[Expressflight]

As far as I know there has been no change to the situation regarding the train times. Whether or not the management at SEN is still "bleating about how they are powerless to do anything about it" I don't know. I've certainly suggested the coach idea but there was no response.

The Thomson PMI flights seem to have averaged 112 pax per flight for the five Saturdays in June but I don't know the exact capacity of the 717. The first two weeks of the KRK, SXF and NQY services had load factors of 67%, 78% and 39% respectively.

[NickBarnes]

The 717 is configured with 125 seating, so they had good loads, around 90%

[cornishsimon]

39% is rubbish on NQY !

Any hope it could pick up ? Is it likely to be back next year ?


cs

[VickersVicount]

I'm not sure NQY would have been on my first launched routes, so going by these figures, would be surprised to see it back

[fatmed]

The numbers for Edinburgh don't look great. Lets hope a change in schedule later in the year to a more business friendly timetables shows better use.

[Expressflight]

I really don't know what they were thinking of in launching EDI with a daily 13:30 departure. It's appeal to the business user must be very low, yet surely that sector of the market is of prime importance on this route. At least for the winter timetable the timings are more business-friendly, but I can't see anything less than a double-daily being able to maximise the potential of the route.

As far as NQY is concerned, it did seem rather a strange choice of route. Some friends of mine told me they had booked a hotel for a holiday in Newquay and as they live just a kilometre from SEN I assumed they were flying. But no, they were driving down until I told them about the NQY service and they then went to their travel agent and booked flights for this Tuesday. To me that illustrates that many people who habitually take UK holidays would not think of flying to their destination and so are not an easy market to tap. I wonder if LPL-NQY is performing any better.

[Wycombe]

One would hope that SEN-NQY will pick up once the school hols start.

In any case, the reality is that if anything this will be a LGW-NQY service next Summer.

[sxflyer]

The timings aren't great though for NQY, would be better to be keep Thu am and Sat and replace Tue am with a Sun pm or evening. Thu and Sun to cater for the long weekends and short breaks, Sat for the 7-day holidays. Or just fly Saturday only, which they were originally planning for September.

As I understand it the Tue morning is very much the weak link in both directions, Thu busier at 70-90 and Sat 100+. The CAA stats pretty much reflect that, bearing in mind the first couple of NQY-SEN would have been very lightly loaded.

[cornishsimon]

Suppose SEN-NQY is a bit of a suck it and see for U2, if it does return next year I'd expect different timings and days ?


cs

[Expressflight]

It's now in the public domain that Alastair Welch will be relinquishing his position as MD of Stobart Air and SEN at the end of July.

He proved exactly the man for the job in pushing though the regeneration of SEN from sleepy local airport to an international class LON airport. I had many dealings with him over that whole period and was impressed by his professionalism and good judgement, tempered by the necessary pragmatism when required. His will be a hard act to follow and I wish him well in his future career, wherever that may be.

[davidjohnson6]

The MD and head of business development both leave in a 6 month period - is there something behind this, or just a coincidence ?

[compton3bravo]

Two things here - Mr Tinkler joint head of Stobart is renowned for not getting on with people especially when he can´t have his own way hence quite a turnover in the hierarchy of Stobart Group. Secondly Newquay does seem an odd destination - just a filler really and also Expressflight I was surprised to hear that your friends went to a TRAVEL AGENT to book their flight - you do have computers in Essex don´t you!:O

[Phileas Fogg]

Newquay does seem an odd destination

Stobart's call the shots of where airline operators choose to operate to do they?

[Expressflight]

c3b

It was more a case of them being of an age where they still feel more comfortable using a travel agent than making online bookings. I didn't actually realise that you could still book an EZY flight through a travel agency.

[Phileas Fogg]

you do have computers in Essex don´t you

Except in Basildon ... Where they all got stolen :)

[8674planes]

Haha, according to a friend this evenings Berlin Flight to Southend was pretty full with a school trip returning from Germany.

[Expressflight]

The new MD at SEN is reportedly a Roger Clements.

I haven't been able to find anyone with that name whose CV seems likely to fit the job description. Anyone know who he is?

[Barling Magna]

According to the Evening Echo:


"Roger Clements, who has been working for Stobart Air for some time, will take over as managing director in August, with David Lister as airport operations director and Graham Moorhouse as chief financial officer.
Mr Tinkler said: “Roger has in recent months been working with Alastair to achieve a seamless transition, ensuring we provide the same standard of service.”

[EssexMan61]

Passed by SEN at lunchtime today and noticed a British Airways tail fin visible through the bushes next to Rochford Road. A divert from last nights storms maybe - does anyone know the details? Certainly nice to see a British Airways plane parked up at SEN!!

[maliyahsdad2]

It didn't make it back to City before it closed yesterday lunchtime from Ibiza.

[mikkie4]

Anyone know why a DANISH AIRWAYS ATR 72 OY-LHB is on the SEN/DUBLIN run?

[Hangar6]

Short term lease for summer to cover scheduled maintainance on EIR aircraft
With two new arrivals last week this should return to owner in august

[controlx]

Bit of speculation on the Biggin Hill page about ex-MD, AW - all wrong, he's not going to Biggin!

On the matter of Southend's finances, assuming the likes of Easyjet pay tiny sums to the airport for services rendered, that leaves just retail revenues and car parking as the primary sources of income for Stobart. However, if a great chunk of passengers are taking the train to the airport station, surely that diminishes the car parking revenue considerably? Do they get a kick-back from the train company franchisee for each ticket sold for/from Southend Airport - if so, does that included tickets sold online, cash sales by machines at other stations on the line etc.? Should think there's enough holes in that process that revenues via train ticket sales would be far from what was anticipated when they built that very expensive platform next to the terminal.

A long, long return on the investment I suspect, three decades?

[Expressflight]

I believe that Stobarts hoped to gain a share of the train ticket revenues but I'm not sure that it turned out that way.

I find it rather amusing when people make assumptions such as "assuming the likes of Easyjet pay tiny sums to the airport ....." when nobody outside of the negotiations has any real idea of what the deal comprises and how the charges levied are tapered throught the contract period for example. I don't doubt that they were able to conclude a very good deal with SEN from their obvious position of strength, but "good" has to work for both parties in that SEN also had to be satisfied that overall (and over time) the deal was to their benefit commercially.

I didn't find the past year's profit situation at SEN in any way surprising given the additional operational costs which will have been incurred in going from virually nothing to 700,000 ppa during the year in question.

There is still plenty to come operationally as far as SEN is concerned over the next 12 months and within a year or two it might be possible to judge its financial performance somewhat more accurately than at present.

[virginblue]

Flew from SEN yesterday for the first time. With the current terminal size, it is stretched to its limits when handling four flights simultaneously. Became really crowded in the downstairs area and the poor girls at WHS were sort of overwhelmed by the queue - and this despite the clever Disney-style queue management which meant that passengers were moved slowly in ten or so steps from the gate area to the aircraft steps over a 30 minute period.

[Expressflight]

Yes, the departure hall is inadequate at some times of day; the downside of EZY bringing forward their 4th based aircraft by 12 months and prior to the terminal extension being completed.

The new arrivals hall is now in use and perhaps you would like to give your impressions on your return flight. I don't think the new departure hall and additional gates will open before the end of the year and it's a pity if passengers are somewhat put off by the current departure hall's limitations.

[fatmed]

Have any ideas been mooted about what new concessions/facilities will be in the extended departure area when it is finished?

[stluke]

Some seriously impressive figures from SEN in July - 111,139pax the departures hall most have been extremely full at times so the sooner that phase of the development is finished the better.

ALC and BCN particularly strong as well as AMS as always. SXF and KRK were also impressive with the latter fully booked on occasions.

Still heavily reliant on EZJ and would like to hear news of further airlines soon, hopefully something is in the pipeline for when new departure terminal is complete later this year.

[stluke]

A quick review of EZJ booking system shows the following sold out flights:-

SEN to BCN Friday evening and Sunday lunch
BFS to SEN Monday flight
SEN to KRK Sunday flight
SEN to AGP Friday & Saturday flights

[FRatSTN]

ALC and BCN particularly strong as well as AMS as always.

ALC and BCN probably because they're the routes they've axed from STN.

[davidjohnson6]

... sold out flights ... SEN to AGP Friday & Saturday flightsstluke - with the greatest respect, you're making a fairly undemanding claim. If a flight on a Friday afternoon or Saturday 1 week before the August bank holiday from South East England to Malaga still has plenty of seats available 1 day in advance, then the airline is doing something wrong

[GAZMO]

I have noticed quite a few times that the BFS- SEN-BFS is fully booked

Mon and Tues BFS to SEN and Thurs and Fri SEN to BFS

Looks like the BFS folk like the route rather than vice versa?

[AIRPORT66]

Maybe in the near future it will go back to twice daily some days of the week.

[GAZMO]

Unless it is a later flight from SEN to BFS in the morning the I cannot see it being viable. 8AM departure OK, 7.15 slightly early for London connections.

Maybe if they had BFS plane to cover the early departure and the SEN plane would cover the evening rotation?

[wowzz]

Just to reiterate what has been said by a previous poster, I will shortly be travelling from SEN to ALC, but only because EZY have axed the flight from STN.
This is hardly an endorsement by me for SEN, just a lack of choice from EZY.
I believe that SEN is only surviving because EZY have taken the decision to transfer some of their most popular sectors from STN to SEN for purely commercial reasons. It would be interesting to see what the load factors would be if ALC was served from both STN and SEN,

[mikkie4]

You could have used EZY from luton or RYANAIR from stansted, you did nt have to use SEN.If you hate SEN that much i suggest that you dont bother using it again.There are plenty of other PAX that are more than happy to use our airport......

[LTNman]

I believe that SEN is only surviving because EZY have taken the decision to transfer some of their most popular sectors from STN to SEN for purely commercial reasons. It would be interesting to see what the load factors would be if ALC was served from both STN and SEN,

Well that's the truth! No doubt MAG will be looking for the SEN routes to return particularly as easyjet is now committed to growth at Stansted again.

You could have used EZY from luton or RYANAIR from stansted, you did nt have to use SEN.If you hate SEN that much i suggest that you dont bother using it again.There are plenty of other PAX that are more than happy to use our airport......

I see there is still aggression from the odd soul here to anyone who is not 100% pro Southend. I though those days were over:=:=:oh::oh:

When is the rail service franchise up for renewal? Who is actually stopping a 24 hour service, railtrack or the train company? It is this lack of public transport that could have a real negative impact on the future of the airport.:(

I see that tomorrow the first train arrival from London does not arrive at Southend until around 9 in the morning. Anyone who is taking luggage is meant to arrive 2 hours before departure according to the airports own website so the 13:00 flight to Jersey is the first flight of the day that can be used for passengers with luggage. This has to be a little depressing for all those airport supporters here.

[fatmed]

man from Luton

I believe from previous posts that it is rail track not wanting to release the track to the operator to run on. Rail track like the track at these hours of the morning to carry out they're work. From what I know the operator and stobart have held talks with rail track on this issue and they are not willing to change they're

Quote:
You could have used EZY from luton or RYANAIR from stansted, you did nt have to use SEN.If you hate SEN that much i suggest that you dont bother using it again.There are plenty of other PAX that are more than happy to use our airport......

I see there is still aggression from the odd soul here to anyone who is not 100% pro Southend. I though those days were over

Well it's not surprising when posters such as wowzz make such daft statements. Easy setting up at sen has obviously wound up a few stn fans and they like to chuck a few comments our way to vent they're spleen. It is more than correct that flights to the place mentioned are available at most airports so its not as if people are being forced to use SEN. if anything SEN increases the choice not reduces.

If EZY aren't happy at SEN they will move back to STN but until that time perhaps we can all just learn to live with it EZY at SEN and watch with interest what happens.

[tophat27dt]

I was allowed to start up this thread again after promising the regulator I would stop the over reactions and poor comments from its supporters. So PLEASE if you are a SEN supporter, don't rise to the bait when somebody writes a criticism. Either provide them with helpful information or ignore them. This way, I can keep this thread in tact and interesting. (Well done LTNman....for your comments....I agree for once!):ok:

[Expressflight]

wowzz

It's surely rather unfair of you to use the word "surviving" in describing the current SEN situation when "thriving" would be more accurate.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of EZY transferring a couple of routes from STN, there certainly doesn't seem to be any passenger resistance to using SEN across the board. EZY must be particularly pleased that Krakow and Berlin achieved load factors of 92% and 89% respectively in July, both being just into their second month of operation. I was with some friends in North Norfolk yesterday who flew to FAO from SEN recently, having used the STN-FAO route regularly previously. They both offered the opinion that SEN was so much more pleasant to fly from compared to STN, so I doubt EZY have any regrets regarding that change.

LTNman

I don't think any change in the train operator will result in earlier or later trains, it being Railtrack who will not countenance opening the line any earlier as fatmed has said. Could continuation of the current situation have a long term negative impact on SEN? I really don't know but the early flights seem as popular as later ones and fares for those flights also seem generallly in line with similar timings from LTN for example. I must admit that I thought the train situation would be a considerable disadvantage, but maybe it really isn't.

It will certainly be interesting to see what EZY's plans are for SEN next year and there are still persistent rumours that an A320 operator will be announcing something in the next month or two.

[FRatSTN]

It appears a few people have had a change of tune since this topic about STN vs SEN was raised, and one for the better by all accounts. It's good to see that a few more people are starting to see the real reason why STN has lost such popular routes.

wowzz is completely correct!

Never mind that FR flies from STN to ALC or even EZY from LTN. Wowzz was one of those thousands of customers who used EZY from STN and has ONLY used SEN because there is no longer the choice with EZY from STN, so has chosen SEN as the alternative (as EZY will know people will do).

Some people will be loyal to EZY and won't switch carriers, and others will never use Ryanair in particular. If people do switch to FR from STN (which a certain number will do), then that in the longer term is a serious problem for EZY and something that can't be sustainable!

It stuns me to see that some people cannot see that STN had its ALC, BCN and FAO routes axed clearly for commercial reasons to push up SEN's load factors and yields, not because their performance at STN was reduced. The fact that some people believe that those routes just got unpopular is outrageous!

At the moment there is more yield to be made at SEN and so the most popular routes from STN are axed so their performance can be boosted at SEN by not giving people the choice to use STN, effectively forcing an area of the market to use SEN if they stick with EZY.

I'm not saying I dislike SEN, but it has it's limitations over STN. EZY know that and in reality, more people would choose STN over SEN of the two(due to better rail and coach transfers and wider reaching catchment area), giving EZY little choice but to no longer make STN and option so that people use SEN instead.

And the question asked by wowzz is the one we all need to be thinking about... What would SEN's loads or frequency of flights be like if EZY still served ALC from STN as well as SEN? And BCN's and FAO's as well for that matter! Probably not as healthy!

[Red Four]

As the old saying goes, 'the market will decide' in the long run.
Of course people might just prefer using Southend over over airports, as well as having it's own not inconsiderable catchment area population.

Which? reveals the best and worst UK airports - August - 2013 - Which? News (http://www.which.co.uk/news/2013/08/which-reveals-the-best-and-worst-uk-airports-330453/?intcmp=HP.hero.large.1.wcunews.bestandworstairports.aug17)

[willy wombat]

I wouldn't claim to be an expert in the SEN/STN debate but given that Ryanair operate STN/ALC, this would have some impact on the prices Easy could charge on that route whereas by moving the route to SEN, Ryanair pricing will have less impact on what they can charge. Seems like good business sense to me.

[wowzz]

Thankyou FRatSTN for explaining my position rather more clearly than I did!
I am totally ambivalent as to flying from STN or SEN, as they are both more or less equi-distant from my departure point [Colchester].
I hope SEN suceeds, but as has been said, as I do not wish to fly FYR, and as Luton is not easy to get to from NE Essex, my only option is to fly to ALC from SEN.
I have not been able to make a deliberate choice to fly from SEN, the choice has been made for me.
So, please can we now return to a rational discussion!

[Tagron]

Thank you for a pair of measured and sensible posts. And of course Expressflight as usual.

Unfortunately this thread suffers from too much opinion dressed up as fact and too many assertions that are not based on any hard evidence or any valid professional or industry opinion. These posts become extremely tedious , a complete time waster and quite useless and that only gets worse when people respond.

It seems that as soon as any piece of good news about SEN is published the usual suspects reappear pushing their customary personal agenda of negativity. My message to these people is: please refrain unless you have some real news, some credible rumour (not just one you have invented yourself) or some access to a real operational or commercial source. Please do not continually repeat the same tired old mantra.

tophat27dt is right to remind us that the thread was closed down last year because of the postings by the trolls and the responses they generated.. And just for the avoidance of doubt my remarks can be equally directed at other threads in the AA&R section.

[Expressflight]

FRatSTN

You are certainly correct when you say that frequencies from SEN to ALC, BCN and FAO would be less if EZY also still operated those routes from STN. It's probably safe to assume though that load factors would still be similarly high in that case with frequency being matched to demand as EZY do everywhere. I must admit I was surprised that those routes were transferred totally to SEN but they obviously felt it made sound commercial sense. You are also right when you say that SEN has its limitations, but no doubt EZY will play to its strengths as they see it.

EZY won't be disappointed either by the Which? report which has SEN top of the list for customer satisfaction and I cannot see any reason at present why they won't continue to grow their presence at SEN. Let's not forget that two years ago some people were saying that EZY's SEN base would never work; that certainly hasn't proven to be the case so far.

[Barling Magna]

The Which? survey also showed that Stansted airport had the longest average check-in desk waiting times in England and Southend the shortest.

So maybe there is a "pull" factor to Southend as well as a "push" factor?

Certainly SEN has done well and the passenger numbers on its new Berlin and Krakow flights look most encouraging.

No doubt MAG will attract new customers to STN, but, hey, there's room for two successful airports in Essex.

[vulcanised]

More on Which? report

BBC News - London Southend Airport is rated best in the UK (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-23738060)

[Nakata77]

Why oh why doesn't Flybe see the opportunity from Southend? The LGW closure is even more of an opportunity to do something at SEN. But they seem intent on SOU instead.

Very strong numbers from SEN in July, shows that this is not just an airport for the local catchment but must be catering for 'London' itself.

[davidjohnson6]

Nakata - SOU has a short runway making it more difficult for Easyjet or Ryanair to operate profitably. That means minimal competition for Flybe and a better chance of profits given Flybe already have a fortress base at SOU. If Flybe open up at SEN, expect a robust response from Easyjet, perhaps a bit similiar to what happened with Aer Lingus at Gatwick in 2009

[pottwiddler]

However, a 4xdaily flight to AMS would be more attractive to onward travellers from SEN. Just finding the niche that won't upset the big boys...

[rog747]

my sister just flew SEN-FARO-SEN for her 2 week hols with the school kid grandchildren...this was high season dates and she remarked to me how many empty seats there were both 02/08 out and 16/08 back

is the route weight restricted out of interest?

ta ever so...

[vulcanised]

I would have thought a carrier offering a regular French route would have turned up by now.

Flybe were unadventurous to say the least when they had a monopoly at SEN, even given the restrictions of the original airport.

[Barling Magna]

is the route weight restricted out of interest?

The highest monthly load factor achieved on the SEN-FARO route was 94% in August last year so that suggests there are no restrictions. Average monthly loads have been in the mid 80%s for most of the year, so there would be an average of about 25 seats empty. Were there more than that?

[rog747]

no not as i understand it

likely from what she said a couple of rows or so empty

[tophat27dt]

so scare over on that one then!

[rog747]

what do you mean lol

i was merely interested from an operations point of view...it was my job many moons ago...
and i used to go to SEN as a little boy in the 1960's to watch all the channel airways viscounts going off on holiday flights...
that's me right under the nose!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/BAC_111-408EF_One-Eleven%2C_Channel_Airways_AN0223120.jpg

a heavy Airbus on a hot day out of SEN's short runway i dunno it might have a weight penalty sometimes?

[Barling Magna]

Well, the runway's longer now of course. An A320 should be able to get to the Med without restriction. Balkan Holidays are operating flights to Bourgas with A320s next summer - not sure whether they are making a tech stop though....

[CaptainDoony]

I would expect Balkan would go direct to Bourgas. They operated comfortably out of ABZ even at its per-extension length of 1829m. It's only a what 3 hour sector at most so I would say no problem for SEN-BOJ :ok:

[Ernest Lanc's]

a heavy Airbus on a hot day out of SEN's short runway i dunno it might have a
weight penalty sometimes?


BLK had not much more length than SEN - More width but that does not matter. Monarch operated a full A320 out off BLK no problem. You might have restrictions with a 737-800.

[cjags]

I have heard that EZY are to replace their BFS service with a new destination from Jan 2014. Booking engine seems to confirm this, as tickets are not on sale past 5th Jan. Would anyone like to speculate on its replacement?

[LTNman]

Southend seems to have real issues with its domestic routes. No idea why but it won’t be long before Newquay goes and I hear the yields on the EDI service are not that great.

Easyjet still appear to be pushing SEN hard as it is the default airport on their drop down departure airport list and continues to be shown on their banner that runs across their home page so there is clearly commitment for the Essex outpost.

Well done Southend for being the Which readers favourite airport. ( I won’t mention which airport came last) Mixed reviews here though with one customer already moaning about long walks.
Reviews of London Southend airport (SEN) (http://www.europe-airports.com/reviews/show-airport-reviews.php?code=SEN)

[fatmed]

that comment from the person complaining about the length of walk made me chukle. you can stroll the entire length of the terminal inc the extension in aprox 2mins. regards the Belfast flight going (if this does turn out to be the case) I wonder if aer Arran would want to give it a go the smaller ac with 7000 passengers approx pm might work for them. would take the right advertising to make people aware

[Steviec9]

I would doubt that the Aer Lingus Regional brand will be used for any 'mopping up' of routes like SEN-BFS. Clearly the brand will concentrate on feeding the increasing number of TA flights from DUB. I would be surprised to see any new RE/EIR routes that don't fulfil this role.

As I've said before, the destinations from SEN will come and go in these early years as it finds its place, just as happened at LCY. Lots of good feedback generally from those I know that have used it and the expanded facilities can only help. However, the lack of early and late surface connections remains an issue and Stobarts need to do something about a coach service as it is obvious that Network Rail aren't going to decrease their engineering hours. There will come a tipping point when airlines will not consider serving SEN if their pax can't get to/from the airport and London. There's only so many people and planes you can cram in the peak slot times AFTER the first train from London arrives.

[rog747]

thank you for letting me the latest,

i did not know that SEN had a runway extension...
when i saw you mentioned Balkan i had visions of TU-154 lol:}
but of course things have moved on lol

a 737-800 should be ok for take offs at SEN but needs longer for landing...
needs bigger brakes...

my pal is a skipper at BRS on the 767/757 and Thomson were about to replace the 757 there with 738 but they know there is a performance issue with landing distances for the 738 needing longer v.v the 757 which can stop PDQ
the 757 stays for 2014....

[cjags]

Sigh... I do get tired of hearing the train debate all the time. It will be interesting to see how EDI performs when the times change in the winter.

So what will replace BFS in the schedule? CDG? HAM? GLA? NCL? Any bets?

[LTNman]

Southend does not have a full standard width runway which will stop some aircraft types using the airport

Sigh... I do get tired of hearing the train debate all the time.

That is because it is the airport’s main weak spot. Johnny Foreigner without a car needs good public transport if he is to use the airport.

[Expressflight]

Something certainly needs to be done to provide satisfactory onward transport for at least the late evening arrivals. The current situation is that the airport taxi company charges £25.00 per person for the journey to London after the last train departure at 23:05, assuming there are 6 or 7 people needing it. Surely Stobart need instead to provide a coach which departs SEN at around 23:45 with a couple of suitable drop-off points en route to London. At least that could be advertised and would show they are making some attempt to remedy a recognised current shortcoming.

[davidjohnson6]

Express - from what you've written in the past, you seem to have a number of contacts at SEN at a sufficiently high level to be able to make decisions or take some sort of action. Perhaps you could approach someone and ask what the position is on early morning and late evening coaches is and whether it will ever change, given the issue has been ongoing for over a year ? The general public instead get fobbed off with some a bland 'we are looking into it' PR -driven response.

[LGS6753]

LTNman -

Easyjet still appear to be pushing SEN hard as it is the default airport on their drop down departure airport list and continues to be shown on their banner that runs across their home page so there is clearly commitment for the Essex outpost.

That is to do with the cookies on your own computer. You have obviously made enquiries about EasyJet SEN flights in the past, and the cookie recognizes this and elevates the SEN flights and ads to the home page. My EZY home page tells me about LTN flights, as I recently booked a LTN flight.

[cornishsimon]

So SEN-NQY is being dropped ?


cs

[Expressflight]

davidjohnson6

My SEN contacts are now somewhat in the past tense due to recent changes in personnel, but for the past year or so I've certainly pushed the case for improved public transport arrangements. The expectation was that Network Rail would be persuaded to release the line for longer in due course; whether that is likely to happen I don't know but that mantra certainly started to sound more like wishful thinking as time went by. My suggestions that a coach service be provided by Stobart to meet passengers' needs in the interim met with a lack of enthusiasm.

cornishsimon

The NQY route was always planned to be summer only and to terminate on 21 September, which remains the case.

[8674planes]

I flew to Malaga from Southend on the 14th and returned yesterday (20th) and both flights were around 95% full which is great to see. One thing I picked up on regarding trains was that there were no trains heading towards London displayed on the board in baggage reclaim (around half eleven) which is not good as some passengers would have to use alternate travel such as taxies ect.

[stluke]

Front cover and inside 2 page spread on boom of hotspot routes and plans for future.

Confirmation of Belfast being axed from 6th January next year, with Dublin going 4x daily no start date mentioned.

[tws123]

I think a Newcastle route could work well especially with Flybe dropping LGW leaving them with only BA to LHR.

[cornishsimon]

Thank you

I was aware that SEN-NQY was summer seasonal but had misunderstood the comments previously as meaning a decision had been made not to return to that route next year !


cs

[tophat27dt]

Whilst bucket and spade destinations will always be big business from SEN, I have always thought that a domestic route (mainly for business clients) needs an early morning and early evening flight outward. The train situation must surely be the reason for its failure (BFS), and maybe EZY should look again to providing buses like Ryanair do. I have flown to several RYR destinations to be welcomed by my pre-booked bus into a town centre for a reasonable fee.
If EZY cant do that at SEN, then they must surely look again at a 0800-2200 operation. Having said that, most of the pax do seem to find alternative travel arrangements for their holiday flights...but domestic I am not so sure.
From Luxembourg, EZY have been brave to operate in competition with Luxair on the Milan route......not necassary to say who is carrying the most people. SEN needs a Milan, Rome, Paris or Nice route. Plus, and not in EZY category, a major airline offering world wide connections via SEN. KLM have braved it from Manston. Lufthansa and Air France have similar possibilities. I wonder if Stobbarts promotions people have look into this, and pushed hard for it.

[GAZMO]

Would have to agree with the comments. SEN is well supported from the BFS end but if you are trying to get from central London for the previous 7.15 AM flight it is virtually impossible. I believe if the plane was BFS based it would be more popular.

Maybe EZY will up the schedule on STN from BFS since they have promised MAG they will increase flights/pax

[vulcanised]

Perhaps some of the domestic flights are not well supported by holidaymakers who are after the convenience of their own car on holiday?

[mart901]

Perhaps now a good opportunity for EIR to do a BHD run? Half the seats to fill and no STN - BHD to compete with. Sure that could work.twice daily.

[pabely]

If SEN offer they same deal to KLM, Lufthansa and Air France as they did with EZY then I see no reason why they should not try this, but will they?

[davidjohnson6]

London City airport is about 1h10 or 1h15 from Southend by train / DLR. That means some places like Romford and Brentwood that fall in Southend's potential catchment area for LCC flights may be currently using LCY to some degree. Is 1h15 really long enough for AF-KL to want to set up at Southend ?
Lufthansa couldn't make a big standalone city like Bristol work - why would Southend be any better ?

[Barling Magna]

I think DJ6 is right. SEN can operate effectively on routes to Med holiday destinations, plus major city break destinations. It can also provide an efficient London gateway for flights originating in Europe, especially central and eastern Europe. For business flights LCY will usually win.

[EI-A330-300]

Business travels have voted SEN the best business traveller route from Dublin. The airport scored 84%, while other airports in London Luton 43%. Heathrow only managed 2% better than Luton.

[Barling Magna]

Really? That's somewhat surprising. Do you have a link to the survey report?

[EI-A330-300]

I had the link earlier but can't find it now, will see if I can and post it lather.

[canberra97]

MAGNA

There is a link on www.uk-airport-news.info (http://www.uk-airport-news.info) plus of course on www.which.co.uk (http://www.which.co.uk) in actual fact it has even been in the some of the national press with some dailys reporting it along with the other airports that made the list.

The which report actually came out at the beggining of the week.

[Barling Magna]

Ah yes, I'm well aware of that report. I didn't realise that EI-330 was referring to the same report. You have to subscribe to Which? to read the full report, I believe.

Whatever, as the youth say, it's good news for SEN.

[vulcanised]

Great news from the pax survey but I would also be interested to hear what the aircrew experience of SEN is.

[8674planes]

It appears that the Jersey to Southend flight and Barcelona to Southend flights are/have been circling overhead southend due to poor visibility.

[Expressflight]

8674planes

That doesn't seem to be correct as both flights are shown as having landed at SEN slightly ahead of schedule in fact.

[tws123]

At least it would appear the airport's drainage system works! Perhaps Stobarts could get in touch with Southend Borough Council?

[Expressflight]

It looks like four based aircraft, at least until mid-June. There is no BFS but that is being dropped from January as already announced.

AMS increases to 3 x daily (ex Tu & Sa) and GVA runs on through the summer at 5 x weekly. JER is reduced to 2 x weekly, presumably due to the 3 x daily from LGW next year.

[Barling Magna]

Disappointing, but not surprising given the change of approach at London (Bishop's Stortford) now that MAG are in control....

As we all know, SEN needs other operators soon.

[tws123]

Looking on the EasyJet website, no new routes have been uploaded at all yet at any London airport as far as I can see. Liverpool to Newquay is still not bookable either so there is no guarantee that it won't run next year. On the whole its probably what was to be expected if no new routes are announced. GVA was rumoured a few months back that it would go year round and so it turns out to be.

[Expressflight]

The timetable issued today also runs only until mid-June so there is still plenty of scope for additional destinations/frequencies after that. It would though require either an additional based aircraft or flights originating from other bases.

I wouldn't call it disappointing as the May 2014 timetable shows considerable increases on May this year in terms of the total number of flights operated.

tws123's point regarding NQY and other new EZY routes is quite correct.

[FRatSTN]

Disappointing, but not surprising given the change of approach at London (Bishop's Stortford) now that MAG are in control....

Stansted appears pretty much exactly the same as now, same flights and frequencies I believe which is better than could be said in previous years. With that in mind, I doubt much will change.

SEN could still be in with a chance after mid-June, though hopefully not another a/c will be moved from STN to SEN at that time!

[Tagron]

I cannot see that any of the UK bases could have expected extra based aircraft in Spring 2014. EZY's absolute priority is surely the covering of those new slots at LGW, nothing to do with MAG and STN It looks like a requirement for 7-8 extra hulls at LGW and a capacity increase in the region of 12-15 percent, growth they will need to accommodate without causing too much damage to their yields.

By the time the midsummer schedules start I would imagine there could be extra aircraft available if new build A320s continue to be delivered through the summer as is happening this year. Equally of course some of the LGW routes and frequencies are seasonal so some of the later deliveries could still be required there. These are just my estimates and welcome comment anyone with a better knowledge of actual plans.

[pamann]

It's also worth remembering that a lot possibly can/probably will chop and change between now and then.

[frostbite]

With the continuing problems in BFS I doubt many would actually choose that as a destination unless they have business there.

[sxflyer]

Saw this posted on twitter, from Monday evening's DUB:

@theseaside100: It's peaceful. There are 8 (eight) passengers on this @SouthendAirport Aer Lingus flight to Dublin. http://t.co/ovz5HWZKLA

Are there frequently such low numbers on particular flights? I know the average is reasonable and I've seen 40+ get off the evening flight but was surprised the load was so light.

[EssexMan61]

sxflyer - Are you for real??? The day I start believing everything that is posted on "Twitter" is the day I believe that the world is flat. Have a look at one of this chaps colleagues messages on your link - says a lot - no??

Anyway - back to reality. Flew to Amsterdam and back from SEN middle of last week - just a dozen or so empty seats each way. In fact I only got my two bottles of (reduced price!!) white wine about 10 minutes before landing. Excellent travel experience all round from SEN, Easyjet, and the UKBA (quick exit).

Now the cons - the quicker the Terminal completion is completed the better - the hoardings and boarding do not create a good impression. Hurry up Kier!!!!
Also - on arriving at the railway station neither ticket window was open and the ticket machines were playing up. SORT THIS OUT PLEASE!!!

Other than that - SEN is brilliant. Off to Edinburgh mid-week - though unfortunately forced to fly back into that unwelcoming cavern - Stansted. AARRGHH!! Stuck with the X30 back home.

[LTNman]

When the terminal extension is finished will this not make the terminal all width and no depth? Even though the grass that fronts the terminal looks very nice is this not a waste of valuable land?

The terminal will end up with an impressive frontage but a bit of a walk for some passengers will be required. So how wide will the terminal be, I'm thinking around 100m but am I way out?

[Barling Magna]

Do you mean width (length) or depth (breadth)?

The terminal building will double in length, becoming 90m longer, and the number of check in desks/baggage drop-off points will increase, as will the amount of space for passengers in security. The departure lounge will grow in size and a larger arrivals area will have enhanced baggage reclaim facilities and a larger immigration area. Retail and catering facilities will also be expanded throughout the terminal in order to provide a much wider range of shops and services to passengers.

[LTNman]

:eek: So the terminal will be 180m wide:eek: That's quite a size, so how deep is the terminal?

[mikkie4]

BA8484 from palma est arrival 22,45 is this because LCY is closed or for another reason?

[onyxcrowle]

Just a question how long is the Runway at Southend now?.
Can it take larger jets. And have they put more stands in.
Perhaps an additional runway expansion is needed to attract more operations ie 757 or A330 type stuff.
Could be an idea to have the likes of Flybe in there in there doing some domestic routes currently not served.
Perhaps SEN-LBA. SEN-HUY. SEN-INV/ABZ.

[Barling Magna]

The extended runway is 1856m long with a TODA of 1799m.

The extended terminal will actually be a shade over 160m long, and just over 10 m wide.

[onyxcrowle]

The extended runway is 1856m long with a TODA of 1799m.

The extended terminal will actually be a shade over 160m long, and just over 10 m wide.


Ah ok thank you. Similar in length to Vagar. Not much chance of A320's then or 757.
Tho I could swear id read that a 747 touched down there

[LTNman]

Southend has a non standard runway width of 37m instead of the more common 45m which can also limit aircraft types. While indeed the runway is 1856m long the published takeoff run is 1739m in both directions. At the western end there is a starter extension of 135m x30.

Questions:

Why can't this starter extension be added to the TORA or has it already?
Is this because the starter extension is only 30m wide?
Why go to all of the expense of building a runway extension and make the first 135m even narrower than the already narrow 37m runway?

Is the terminal really only 10m wide? I find that hard to believe, surely it has to be more than 10 paces wide.:eek:

[davidjohnson6]

Onyx - Southend-Leeds takes 4 hours by train so would need a very large corporate with regular daily staff transport requirements for such a route to exist. Humberside has very few domestic routes right now - Southend is not a centre for oil/gas so can't really see SEN-HUY being top of the list.

Flybe from Southend to Scotland is a little more interesting. Easyjet are dropping Belfast and struggling with SEN-EDI - if they give up on the EDI route then there might possibly be room for Flybe to step in instead on a 78 seat instead of a 156 seat aircraft. Glasgow on a Q400 might work as well but Southend-Inverness seems rather ambitious...

[Expressflight]

LTNman

I don't have the exact dimensions of the terminal but its footprint, excluding the baggage handling areas, is 7,321 sq.m, (previously 2,822 sq.m) so if it's 160m long, which seems about right, it's 45m in depth; certainly not 10m deep! The total floor space will be 11,775 sq.m when the extended terminal fully opens in January. The extension has trebled the size of the departure lounge and more than doubled airside arrivals, security search area and check-in concourse. The area available for offices/shops/lounges is four times larger than previously.

The SEN runway is ICAO Code 3C so the TODA declared cannot be more than 1,799m and starter extensions are often of less width than the runways they serve; perhaps to visually identify them as such.

mikkie4

The BA E190 from PMI missed the night curfew at LCY so diverted to SEN.

[LTNman]

Expressflight

Thanks for the information, 45m sounds much better. Do you think the terminal footprint could be extended again in the future or is this it due to a lack of space?

[Expressflight]

I suppose it would be theoretically possible to extend the terminal further at either the North or South ends at some future time. There is also space to extend it to the East towards the access road, onto what is currently a grassed area, if it was thought necessary to greatly increase the size of the landside concourse.

I doubt that any thought is being given to doing so even in the area of long term planning and I 'm sure Stobart will want to maximise the throughput as things will stand in a few months when it is all brought fully into use.

By the way, I'm still reasonably hopefully that an airline announcement might be made before the end of September which would help keep the enlarged terminal busy.

[fatmed]

A 4th airline would be welcome and very much needed. Express flight, are you in know as if this would be an all year round service/s or on a seasonal? Without given any names away of course!

Fm

[tws123]

...also will they base aircraft here or not?

[Expressflight]

Enough said for now I think; let's see what transpires.

[tophat27dt]

Very wise guys......let's not say anymore about new services until all contracts are signed and licences are obtained. There are other airports waiting to poach back whatever we do achieve in the future.

[Ezyfan]

I'm sure express flights overall measurements are correct, but I understand the building depth is increasing from the current 40m to 50 m for the extension and that most of the original building is also seeing this increase in depth. The extension also has a narrower section in the 'connector' between arrivals and departures landslide to ensure the departures lounge is much, much bigger than before. Should look good by Christmas!

On the runway length comments, the constraint at SEN always used to be the take off climb on 24 after runway length. I think the extension has been designed to balance this conflict as well as possible. Seems to work pretty well, I'd say!

[tayair6]

Easyjet has cancelled its Belfast to Southend service with effect from January 6 next year.

The news comes a day after we reported that the budget carrier is showing confidence in the Belfast market with the launch of two new routes in summer 2014 (see news, September 9).

It would appear that the Southend route has been underperforming.

An Easyjet spokesperson told Business Traveller: "As with all our bases, Easyjet continually reviews which destinations are best served by each base.

"Belfast is a popular business route which is well served from our other London airports. We are currently accessing potential alternative new routes."

[tws123]

...potential alternative new routes from SEN or BFS?

[tophat27dt]

EZY are assessing new routes from both BFS and SEN.
Until Stobarts sort out the lack of early morning trains from London, there is no point in trying to offer business routes from SEN. However, I believe tourist flights to beautiful cities like Rome, Nice, Milan, Copenhagen, Prague and Budapest might be more viaible.

[GAZMO]

EZY have announce BOD and JER from BFS next summer. Frequency not announced but likely to be two or three times weekly.
Pity about SEN BFS route

[davidjohnson6]

I thought that Easyjet cancelling the Southend-Belfast route was made public about 3 weeks ago ?

The upbeat news has been tempered by easyJet’s announcement that it will axe its flights to Belfast after passenger numbers virtually halved.


Big boom in flights from Southend Airport to hotspots (From Echo) (http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10625207.Big_boom_in_flights_from_Southend_Airport_to_hotspo ts/)

[LTNman]

EDI will go next. Easyjet has found out that there is no real market for UK domestic services from Southend. Maybe the rail situation is to blame

[GAZMO]

David J

I don't think EZY made any public announcement, although it was reported on the BFS thread here. When they announced two news routes this week from BFS it was barely mentioned as an after thought. Naturally numbers have dropped by half since they have reduced from double daily to daily!
As posted on SEN thread numerous times I think the train issue, especially for early morning flight was an issue

[fatmed]

the numbers on BFS were not that terrible. Would a smaller aircraft operator with a BFS based operation consider the route. The aer lingus regional route has performed much better since the bases switched from SEN to DUB

[LTNman]

They could well fill a small aircraft but unless passengers are willing to pay the higher fares the service could still run at a loss.

[mart901]

Realistically how much trade would ezy have attracted on the AM rotation from SEN, farmed is correct in that the demand lies more heavily in Lon bound pax at that time. Remove that flight and there is no means of day return. Yes I do believe there is adequate demand for a smaller a/c, BE or EIR perhaps.

[davidjohnson6]

Just a thought - and possibly an irrelevant one...

Easyjet is one of 3 airlines flying London-Edinburgh after Cityjet exit the route in October. Flights from Southend probably don't compete that much with Heathrow - so right now the only real local competition is BA at City.

If there were an early morning / late evening train to/from London, would a Southend-Edinburgh flight end up in fact competing with flight to/from perhaps Luton and Gatwick and thus diminishing yields ? It is after all in an airline's interest to segement customers into fare groups based on budget and need to travel.

Because of no early morning train, Easyjet end up growing their London-Edinburgh market with the population of south Essex and pinching some customers from BA at London City, while preserving their existing market at places like Gatwick or Luton

[tws123]

Bye bye Newquay route?

BBC News - Easyjet 'to keep Newquay-Gatwick flights' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-24057837)

[True Blue]

I see according to that report Ezy are going to use 737's!!!!!

TB

[pabely]

A reporter who knows nothing, once again.....

[Donkey497]

Having just flown EDI-SEN-EDI, unless coincidence put me on the only healthy flights, I'd say that the load factors either way seem to be very healthy & more than enough to keep the route ticking over.

[tophat27dt]

Nice to hear some good news concerning load factors on the domestic flights. We only normally read the monthly stats. Glad you enjoyed the flight.

[Expressflight]

The August 2013 CAA Provisional Stats have been published and show total SEN pax for the month of 118,049. The route breakdown is as follows:

BFS 8,105 84%
EDI 6,192 76%
JER 7,209 86%
NQY 2,802 64%
SXF 7,263 90%
DUB 6,401 76%
VCE 4,836 91%
AMS 13,117 88%
FAO 10,140 90%
ALC 12,839 91%
BCN 12,593 88%
IBZ 3,767 93%
AGP 8,847 91%
PMI 7,849 (6,662 EZY 93% & 1,187 Volotea 119 pax/sector)
KRK 5.026 89%

BFS seems to do quite well at once daily and EDI is picking up after a slow start. I doubt that NQY will re-appear next year.

[FRatSTN]

Ryanair basing six more planes at Stansted in 2014. I wonder what impact this may have on Southend and/or EasyJet's operation there??

[GAZMO]

Agree that SEN to BFS is good reading for the once daily service (84%). Pity the route is stopping

[compton3bravo]

As with all other airports and airlines it is not the number of passengers flown but how much they have paid - yield dear boy, yield!
Also Ryanair are only putting back the number of aircraft they had based before they through their toys out of the pram at Stansted - but good PR all the same for those not in the know.

[tophat27dt]

In the monthly CAA passenger stats, why are diversion passengers not listed?
Sometime when SEN receives up to 10 inbound diversions in the winter months, I have not seen them included?

[tophat27dt]

one correction: Agust pax for Palma (EZY) were 6662 (not 8847) plus 1187 for Thomsons

[FRatSTN]

Also Ryanair are only putting back the number of aircraft they had based before they through their toys out of the pram at Stansted - but good PR all the same for those not in the know.

Something tells me though that SEN might not see it quite like that. There was no EZY base in SEN back in 2007/8 when FR was at it's peak at STN!!!

Please do keep up. Things have moved on since then and any capacity increases (whether it has been there before or not) will effect different airlines/airports in different ways.

I'm just simply intrigued at what effect it might possibly have on SEN now it has built up a base with EZY with STN being very weak.

It's not a pop at SEN, I hope it continues to do well, but I'm just not sure an extra 1 million passengers using STN will go unnoticed at SEN?

[tayair6]

London Southend Airport announced today that 230,000 passengers travelled through the Essex terminal between 1 July and 31 August 2013 – a 29.9% increase on the 177,000 that used the airport in summer 2012 - making it the busiest summer since formal records began in 1967.

[tws123]

In fairness this was always likely to be the case since the 4th EZY A319 arrived last June, but still good news none the less.

[vulcanised]

This could be of interest on Sunday to those in the area around SEN.........

Military Vehicle & Forties Show - Rochford - Essex | Pure Nostalgia (http://www.pure-nostalgia.com/)

[cjags]

5th aircraft to be based for the winter, TFS confirmed as a route twice weekly to be operated on an A320. Other routes to be announced.

[fatmed]

Really! Is this for next winter as a bit of short notice for this year Good news if true thou

[fatmed]

Actually. Is on the ezy booking system from 13th December tfs Tues and Fri dep 1215

[SENChris]

Starts Dec 13 2013 and already on Easyjet.com

[Expressflight]

There we are, the predicted A320 announcement.

[tayair6]

easyJet, the UK’s largest airline, has announced its newest destination from London Southend Airport - the hugely popular island of Tenerife.

Tickets go on sale today – Tuesday 24 September 2013.

Over 11,000 passengers each year are expected to take advantage of the new twice weekly service each Tuesday and Friday between London’s newest airport and one of the youngest Canary Islands.

- See more at: New route to Tenerife from London Southend Airport | Latest News | Community Relations & News | London Southend Airport (http://www.southendairport.com/news/latest-news/new-route-to-tenerife-from-london-southend-airport/#sthash.BZE3SqAG.dpuf)

[tws123]

On the downside today, it would appear that Thomson/First Choice have cancelled their planned Ibiza route for next year. No longer bookable on their website and also Airport website has removed it. Palma de Mallorca is still available though.

[Expressflight]

I think there will be a statement about that soon.

I wonder if Thomson are concentrating on STN at the moment - although I doubt the statement will say that even if it is the case.

[davidjohnson6]

Just doing a (somewhat theoretical) calculation...
5 aircraft x 156 seats x 3 outbounds x 2 directions x 364 days x 85% load factor = 1.45 million passengers
Yes, I know that in winter things go quiet and there's less flying. Yes I know that if an aircraft is going to Tenerife, it may struggle to do 3 round trips per day. Yes, I know that aircraft may do W trips to cover other routes. Yes, I know there are countless other reasons as to why this theoretical limit may never be reached.

But it's still an awful lot of potential (and dominant) capacity at Southend, especially compared to where the airport was a couple of years ago isn't it ?

When Easyjet had their first summer at Southend, I was cautious about the airport thinking that Easyjet's initial flooding the Southend market with very cheap fares for summer 2012 did not prove a reliable market existed. If Southend can make it to 1 million passengers in a 12 month period, it'll have my complete respect as a proper London airport...

[tayair6]

It will be A320 it show easy jet website choose seat guide

[easydan319]

There are still only 4 early departures and 4 late arrivals during Winter 13 and Summer 14 so still appears to be a 4 aircraft base.

Also the Tenerife flight is only on sale until the 29th April which indicates a seasonal route. (The new Newcastle to Tenerife flight is also going to be seasonal).

In May 2014 all flights from SEN are operated by 4x 319's based on the seat maps.

The A320 may then be positioned into Southend to operate the Tenerife flights. This was done a few years ago when easyJet launched Edinburgh to Paphos on Wednesdays and Saturdays and was only an A319 base. The A320 was swapped on Wednesdays and Saturdays at LGW e.g:

Wednesday

EDI - LGW A319
LGW - EDI A320
EDI - PFO A320
PFO - EDI A320

Thursday

EDI - LGW A320
LGW - EDI A319

and was done again on Saturday and Sunday mornings. All cabin crew at easyJet are trained on both aircraft so swapping wasn't an issue.

[LTNman]

Wonder if runway limitations only allow for a winter Tenerife service.

[Expressflight]

LTNman

That is a possibility but the fact that NCL-TFS also operates only from December to April might tend to discount that theory.

Their use of the A320 at SEN certainly ticks yet another box for its potential for additional EZY routes. The Summer 2014 (post mid-June) timetable will be interesting when it's published in mid-October(?).

[fatmed]

express flight

Can you clarify if the a320 is an additional 5th aircraft or a replacement for an A319?

[Expressflight]

fatmed

I'm not sure that it is actually either.

easydan319s thoughts may well represent what they plan, although I cannot at the moment see quite where the 391/320 changeover would take place. It will be interesting to see if any other A320 destinations are added when the Summer 2014 timetable is issued.

[Tagron]

The schedule as currently published requires five aircraft on some of the days of the TFS flights. In December five aircraft are needed on Fridays though only four on Tuesdays. In April both Tuesdays and Fridays require five. That is the limit of my checking.

Regarding LTNman's point about summer operations on SEN-TFS my view is that they could not be planned without a payload restriction in order to take account of possible high ambient summer temperatures. Unfortunately one cannot be too specific because of the quality of data available to an outsider looking in. Whether an 0630 departure would enable a schedule to be mounted with an acceptable degree of commercial risk might be an interesting consideration.

Are there any current A320 flight crew on this thread who can answer this question: Are A320 Packs Off take offs allowed by current procedures and if so what is the potential gain in RTOW from a limiting runway ?

[Jack1985]

Don't know if any of you guys seen this, but Stobarts efforts to focus on the traveller seem to be paying off. Aer Arann’s London hub voted best British airport in survey - Marketing - Marketing | Ireland's online business and management news service - Businessandleadership.com (http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/42435-aer-aranns-london-hub/)

[cjags]

The A320 will be a 5th based aircraft operating the TFS only during the winter. It will then be used as a standby aircraft the rest of the week or used on sectors where some extra yield can be generated during the winter.

[Expressflight]

Tagron

I don't know how helpful this is with the figures being just my impression from the performance graphs on the Airbus website, but it looks to me as if RTOWs (or is it RTOM these days?) for the A320-200 at SEN could be as follows:

ISA conditions: RTOW 74.3 tonnes
ISA +15 conditions: RTOW 72.1 tonnes

How this translates to payload/range I don't know, plus any second segment climb restrictions on 24 might also come into play. Perhaps soemone out their with access to the relevant manuals can comment further.

cjags

If that's confirmed it's an interesting development.

[LTNman]

It will then be used as a standby aircraft the rest of the week or used on sectors where some extra yield can be generated during the winter.

Might be the case that they get free parking at SEN if the aircaft operates at least one flight per week so it is a good place to park up an aircraft

[mikkie4]

Any idea were the A320 might come from?

[compton3bravo]

At a quick guess Airbus:)

[Captain_Caveman]

cjags is correct

The A320 will only be used for this TFS flight and will be a standby aircraft for the rest of the time. Whilst there are lots of aircraft sat around over the winter at various bases due to a more relaxed flying programme, it seems a good idea to ensure there is a standby in SEN as well as those in LTN and LGW and most of the other bases.

Those cold, foggy, dark and wintry days in SEN should cause a little less chaos this winter. :ok:

[Expressflight]

Yes, really terribly difficult to operate from SEN when it's cold and dark.

[LTNman]

A CAT 1 airport is the issue. Seem to remember the posts last year that Southend doesn't get much fog until the fog came down and closed the place a few times.

I see that direct rail services to London will only run Monday to Friday over the next few weeks due to maintenance work closing part of the route.

[Expressflight]

LTNman

As you correctly point out SEN having only CAT I ILS is a disadvantage, but one that is shared by the likes of LCY, SOU and JER. It is a fact though that SEN's incidence of foggy conditions is historically less than that of STN and, particularly, LTN but it's going to happen from time to time.


Captain_Caveman

With all the good news surrounding SEN in the past few months you think I need "cheering up"? I simply found your comments amusing; sorry if you missed the intended humour.

[Captain_Caveman]

Express flight in that case my apologies and post removed :ok:

[tayair6]

SOUTHEND Airport’s move to take control of airspace within 2.5 miles, in an effort to cut delays and improve safety, has taken a step forward.

The airport’s owners have started a consultation, which will last until December.

An application is being made to the Civil Aviation Authority forcing pilots of any planes over Southend Airport to seek permission from its air traffic control tower. The airport has not controlled the airspace since 1992 because, up until recently, so few flights used it.

[Expressflight]

The Controlled Airspace consultation document is available on the SEN website. Click on Community Relations on the home page and there is a link to the document within the Controlled Airspace page.

[Expressflight]

Apparently easyJet will continue with the SEN-NQY next summer operating 4 x weekly from 4 July until 7 September, operating M,W,F & Su.

At the same time they confirm that they will not replace Flybe when they come off the LGW-NQY route in March and it must be doubtful if anyone else will pick that up, not from LGW at least.

[tayair6]

This morning the EI-RJX for LCY was flying circle around Southend Airport air space for half hour possible due to fog at LCY

[Barling Magna]

A CityJet F50 from RTM diverted from LCY to SEN this morning, due to fog.

[tayair6]

SAEN Leaflet thru door today. they say they will fight planned expansion to 5m passengers and say we are now threatened with A320 aircraft which are much larger and noisier. Council invested £6m subsidising private sector profits. Another scaremongering from SAEN

[adfly]

And I'm sure people will really notice one of these 'noisy' A320's you speak of among the A319's already there!

[Boeing737-8]

A320 no louder

[Buster the Bear]

Folk of Southend, Rochford and surrounds, be prepared for the onslaught that is the A320!

Not only is it larger & heavier, it has been known to use more runway especially being so heavy on it's flight full of fuel, passenger and baggage!

This is a four hour flight, not a 45 min trip to Amsterdam!

I suggest strongly that folk are encouraged to tape over panes of glass to prevent them exploding inward when that A320 departs!

This is serious, the plane is massive and the damage it will cause could be huge!

There are countless cases of folk that have removed windows and bricked the gap up around Luton.

I am so sorry for all the residents involved, my heart goes out to you all.

People of Southend, reject the A320 now!

[onyxcrowle]

The A320 is something like two rows longer. Slightly bigger wings and similar engines.
Living so close to Doncaster Airport.
Most of our flights are 320s And they are not that loud.

[mikkie4]

What stupid comments,thought you would have had more sence

[student88]

The only difference between the 319 and 320 is length, the wings and engines are exactly the same, just the microchips in the engines allow them to produce a higher amount of thrust. No one within a vajazzles distance of SEN would be able to notice the difference in sound profiles between the variants.

SAEN are bull:mad:ers

[4Screwaircrew]

Buster you need bigger eyebrows so they understand you are extracting the P !

[Barling Magna]

Buster, you've been a bad, bad bear...... :)

[Wycombe]

Very funny Buster, but your tongue-in-cheek comments obviously went "over the heads" (like a very noisy A320!) of a few :D

[mart901]

I would imagine just about every commercial airport in the UK has or has had an association of nimbys peddling half truths etc. Just look at STN or BHD for starters.......

[tayair6]

AN airline is to increase flights from Southend to Cornwall next summer after the route proved popular.

Budget airline easyJet is to lay on four flights a week instead of three after almost 8,000 passengers flew from Southend to Newquay this summer.

[SENChris]

A cursory glance at the Easyjet website appears to suggest no new destinations next summer and Tenerife not currently planned to continue beyond April

[sxflyer]

SENChris, Geneva is a new summer destination, also Amsterdam is up to 3x daily. In peak summer, Newquay gains a flight. On the downside, Belfast is of course gone and Jersey drops to 2-3 weekly from 5-6 weekly

[Expressflight]

A year of consolidation at SEN for S14 always seemed the likely result of EZY's requirement for additional LGW-based aircraft next year. The completion of the terminal extension should provide an even better passenger experience.

What SEN really needs now is an additional operator either in the form of an expanded Aer Arann presence as suggested in the Stobart annual report or A N Other. Still plenty of time for something to happen for S14 of course.

[fatmed]

FAO also up 9 x weekly with second flight on a Tuesday afternoon similar to that of a Saturday

FM

[tayair6]

With the construction of a number of new Check-In Desks getting underway, work on a £10 million extension to the London Southend Airport terminal is well on track for its New Year opening

[mikkie4]

Over 100.000 pax last month,a new record for SEN.Lets hope we can get another airline to fly from SEN.Maybe when the new extention opens airlines might find that SEN could be a good place to opperate from.......:)

[tayair6]

A Japanese delegation has been visiting London Southend Airport in a bid to understand how to successfully operate a commercial airport.

[asdf1234]

A Japanese delegation has been visiting London Southend Airport in a bid to understand how to successfully operate a commercial airport.

Any chance you could point me to the original story/source?

[tws123]

The Link: London Southend Airport helps shape burgeoning Japanese airport industry | Latest News | Community Relations & News | London Southend Airport (http://www.southendairport.com/news/latest-news/london-southend-airport-helps-shape-burgeoning-japanese-airport-industry/)

[mikkie4]

Will be the first one to book my SEN-TOKYO flight:):):)

[Expressflight]

I've heard from several sources over the past couple of days that the SEN based A320 will be one of the lightweight interior, Sharklet equipped aircraft that are currently being delivered. It's also reported that EZY will be limiting seat sales to 170 on SEN-TFS.

[LTNman]

Beads of sweat from the pilots then as they head down the runway:}

[Fairdealfrank]

A Japanese delegation has been visiting London Southend Airport in a bid to understand how to successfully operate a commercial airport.


They'd have to come to the UK, it's one of very few countries with privately owned airports. Good to see them at SEN.





Will be the first one to book my SEN-TOKYO flight


You'll still have to via AMS!

[tws123]

Southend in profit and looking for more airlines - www.travelweekly.co.uk (http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2013/10/24/45762/southend+in+profit+and+looking+for+more+airlines.html)

From the article:
“Discussions are being held with a number of European-based airlines with a view to commencing services in winter 2013 and beyond,” Stobart revealed.

Are these real world airlines or is it just a marketing ploy to attract shareholders?

BUT ...still good news that profits are being made, despite fewer movements than expected. :D

[tophat27dt]

I think they must mean Winter 2014. I mean it's almost November now, so who would start up new routes without a good period to advertise them?

[SWBKCB]

despite fewer flights than expected.

Really? Don't remember anybody thinking SEN would be doing better than it is now!

[Expressflight]

I believe they said fewer movements than expected, which would obviously include business and private flights.

[Barling Magna]

Are General Aviation movements being put off by the increased commercial movements...?

[LTNman]

I wouldn't have thought a handful of commercial movements would affect general aviation but an increase in landing charges would.

[mikkie4]

How much did it cost to land at SEN before we became a proper airport?,rather than an airfield,also how does SEN compair with other airports on landing fees(LTN,STD,LCY)?

[LTNman]

Southend jet centre takes on Biggin Hill - Corporate Jet Investor (http://www.corporatejetinvestor.com/articles/london-southend-airport-jet-centre-biggin-hill-second-year-628/)


The airport is handling three or four business jets per day

Seems rather dismal to me and why is Southend viewing London Biggin Hill Airport as its “main short-term competitor?

[Expressflight]

mikkie4

You might find it interesting to do your own research on this; it's all out there in the public domain.

I cannot remember the historic movement fees for SEN but I don't think they increased greatly for aircraft below 10 tonnes MTOW after March 2012 and they remain at that level now. The big change was bringing in compulsory handling for all 'hire and reward' movements above 2.3 tonnes. That made it very unattractive to a lot of existing users with a minimum handling charge of £150 per movement, so a daystopping PA31 would cost you £396 compared to £96 previously. I'm not saying that isn't comparable to LTN, STN or LCY, but it was bound to make existing SEN users look elsewhere. It would surely have been better to have delayed the introduction of compulsory handling or at least had a lead-in tariff for aircraft below 10 tonnes. Any suggestions on these lines fell on totally deaf ears unfortunately.

In comparison terms the total aircraft movements in May 2010 were 2,723, of which 216 were air taxi/business, 1,037 were flying club and 862 were private. The May 2013 figures are 2,751, 217, 1,022 and 406 respectively, so private flights fell by over 50%.

I believe the main problem in increasing bizjet movements is that Stobart insist on operating the FBO, whereas an established industry player is needed to provide a feed of traffic. I'm sure that if Signature (for example) operated the SEN FBO there would be an upward trend in the figures. That was, in fact, the original plan and at one time a shortlist of providers was drawn up but this idea was abandoned for some reason in favour of what exists today.

[Buster the Bear]

Stobart plan to expand service boosts Aer Arann - Independent.ie (http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/stobart-plan-to-expand-service-boosts-aer-arann-29698400.html)

[Expressflight]

The Irish Independent story doesn't really reflect what was stated in the Stobart six monthly report.

What that actually said was that "opportunites are being considered (by Aer Arann) to increase passenger throughput at London Southend airport using a similar model (to Aer Lingus Regional)".

That's still some way off from them saying they've decided to go ahead with it, which the newspaper report seems to be suggesting. Presumably a decision will be made within the next couple of months one way or the other as Spring 2014 would seem the ideal starting period.

[globetrotter79]

If they are trying to become a "franchise flying" platform, who exactly of going to franchise them to fly a network of routes ex-SEN?!

I can, perhaps, at a push see either Brussels A/L or Air France agreeing a non-risk franchise (ie where Arann themselves take the commercial risk on a 2/3 x daily SEN-BRU or SEN-CDG rather than assuming risk via an ACMI)...I think KLM are limited by 'scope clause' to the total number of UK routes they can operate under franchise/code share - but am happy to be corrected on this.

But the point really is that (although worthwhile expansion) it is unlikely to bring much more than one based ATR of they are lucky..

[Phileas Fogg]

LON/BRU has always been a dead duck of a route, National Airways tried it out of SEN previously and died a death and when Air UK started it out of STN utilising a SD330/360 they found themselves carrying single figure passenger numbers.

[tws123]

Perhaps they can try the routes Join! planned to do before they disappeared off the radar? They also targeted France and Benelux destinations. Proposed routes were Caen, Munster, Groningen, Cologne and Liege (whether these would attract enough pax to work is another matter).

Balkan Holidays:

BH Air flights next year have been cancelled due to 'operational reasons'. Why do these charters seem to be cancelled so early?

[wetlanding]

Balken flights seem to have been droped from Cambridge also, so from the July announcement only Newquay remains, have they supplied reasons for the change off mind or have they been cancel through lack of demand but this seems early.

[8674planes]

I always thought Bulgaria would be an odd choice for a charter flight out of SEN anyway. I'm not surprised it has been removed as to me it's not an appealing holiday destination.

[8674planes]

Turkey next on the list for destinations from Southend? Is Turkey next on the ever-growing list of destinations from Southend Airport? (From Echo) (http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/10773032.Is_Turkey_next_on_the_ever_growing_list_of_destinat ions_from_Southend_Airport_/)

[tophat27dt]

I think the local newspaper has been over-speculating again, and now readers' comments on the article (including mine) have been withdrawn on their website. Really weird, but I suspect that Stobarts hate their local press writing things like that before contracts are finalised, and are pulling the strings.

[Civagiarn]

It doesn't seem that odd to me, they've been successful from Norwich and smaller airports around Scandinavia for the last few years. There are some remarkably beautiful places along that part of the coast such as Sozopol, Dyuni and Arkutino. It does seem as though BH Air fill most of their seats with holidaymakers to Sunny Beach, which I agree isn't very appealing.