It has been a busy year for Stobart Air, the operating company of London Southend Airport in the UK. A significant investment in the Essex facility is seeing it finally fulfill its potential as an alternative to the London gateways. Earlier this year easyJet announced plans to set up a base there in spring 2012 in what has been one of the most significant route announcements of the year.
Ahead of this year’s event we grabbed a few quick words with Jonathan Rayner, Head of Business Development, Stobart Air…
Q) Can you explain the background to easyJet's selection of the airport as its new base?
A) We represent the only new peak time slots into the London area for some time to come. It really solidifies easyJet’s position as ‘the’ carrier for London having significant capacity in four of the six major airports. As easyJet progress to a higher standard of service with their new flexifare options and such like; the London Southend business model is well aligned offering an excellent service proposition.
Q) What does having a recognised based operator offer to your future route development negotiations?
A) It puts London Southend on the map offering critical mass and fantastic levels of awareness. It is attributes like this which can greatly help new route acquisitions with Aer Arann and other airlines.
Q) Where next for London Southend?
A) Get up and running in the new infrastructure, ensure we’re getting the product right, and continue growing our route and airline portfolio.
Q) How are works at the airport progressing?
A) Extremely well and on target. The Terminal will be handed over for retail and catering fit out this month and will be ready to open in Q1 next year. The road diversion process is complete and the new diversion road opened on September 1 so we can now properly phase runway works. This will all be complete in the first quarter of 2012 with all new nav aids and improved distances. The hotel build also started last month and will be complete by early July 2012.
Q) Why should operators select London Southend ahead of other London airports?
A) Peak time slots; fast passenger process (by virtue of size); improved passenger experience through Stobart quality service; exclusively contact stands; no coaching; MASSIVE local market, but also critically, access to the London goldmine; exceptional transport links to London with a brand new state of the art railway station not 100 steps from the terminal; a marketing budget to achieve punchy awareness KPIs; flexible pricing structure for new routes and new airlines; and more. As you can see there are lots of advantages and we invite airlines to become part of our legacy from conception.
Q) What are your traffic and network aspirations?
A) A low-fares underpinning to create critical mass buoyed by direct business routes throughout Europe, some global hub connectivity via a major European hub as well as some traditional tour operator capacity thrown in for good measure. Of course, business jets and corporate aviation will also be a critical ingredient.
Related Content
