easyJet Set to Revise London Strategy to Support Southend Development

UK low-cost carrier easyJet has announced its initial network activity from its new London Southend Airport base. The airline revealed last month that it would open a base at the Essex facility from April 2012 with plans to operate up to 70 flights a week and carry around 800,000 passengers a year but declined to detail its precise schedule. However, it has now confirmed that it will serve eight initial destinations from April 2, all presently served by the airline from the London area. These comprise international links to Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Faro, Ibiza, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca and a domestic service to Belfast.

“This is an exciting time to be launching our routes from our newest UK base. The airport is in a fantastic location just outside London with a fast rail link into the city. Through offering easy and affordable travel, we expect the new routes to appeal to customers in Essex and London looking for a convenient new departure point for many top European destinations,” said Catherine Lynn, Customer and Revenue Director, easyJet. “We also believe that the European city links, such as Amsterdam, Belfast and Barcelona, will also attract a high number of inbound business and leisure passengers to London next summer.”

Source: www.easyjet.com for the week commencing May 14, 2012 once all three based aircraft are in situ.

It is not clear what impact, if any, easyJet’s development at London Southend will have on the airline’s wider London strategy. It is possible that it could cut back frequencies at other airports or even cancel routes to support the extra capacity it is placing in the market, but easyJet has yet to confirm this.

As the table above illustrates the airline offers at least a daily schedule to each of the initial London Southend destinations from each of Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports, with up to five flights per day in some markets. Its largest schedule is from London Gatwick with 227 weekly flights to these eight destinations offering 35,412 seats from the UK. Due to the proximity of London Stansted to London Southend and the crossover of their catchment areas, it is very likely that the low-cost carrier will reduce capacity on many of these routes at the same time as its London Southend launch in spring next year.

The confirmation of easyJet’s operational plans at London Southend is a major fillip for the airport and comes just a week after its new dedicated railway station was opened, providing fast access into the capital. This is just part of a major investment in the facility that will conclude with the opening of a brand new terminal building and extended runway next year.

"This ten year deal with easyJet will jump start the airport's growth giving us the critical mass and credibility to grow further. Aligning ourselves with a carrier which has strong brand presence on the continent is vital to stimulate our inbound traffic to London and broaden the scope of the route portfolio," explained Jonathan Rayner, Head of Business Development, Stobart Air.