It seems the every growing juggernaut that is Ryanair is seeking new bases to expand out of – with the airline targeting Southend Airport (or what some call London Southend Airport).
David O’Brien, Ryanair’s Chief Commerical Officer and Warwick Brady, Stobart Group (Southend Airport owner) on the announcement of the new base – Image, Ryanair
The new base will open for the Summer 2019 season, with the airline planning to serve Alicante, Barcelona Reus, Bilbao, Brest, Corfu, Cluj, Dublin, Faro, Kosice, Malaga, Milan Bergamo, Palma and Venice – or in numbers terms 8 Countries, 13 routes and 55 weekly flights
The frequencies are:
- Alicante (5 times weekly)
- Barcelona Reus (2 times weekly)
- Bilbao (4 times weekly)
- Brest (2 times weekly)
- Corfu (2 times weekly)
- Cluj (3 times weekly)
- Dublin (2 times daily)
- Faro (5 times weekly)
- Kosice (3 times weekly)
- Malaga (5 times weekly)
- Milan Bergamo (4 wkly)
- Palma (4 times weekly)
- Venice (4 times weekly)
A lot of the routes are holiday routes or “Planned travel” routes (ie if you are travelling for business, you’ll be keeping a clockwatch). The Dublin route provides extra twice-daily connectivity between the South east of England and Ireland.
The airline will base three of its aircraft at Southend Airport.
t. Connectivity to the airport is reasonable – with trains direct from London Liverpool Street and Southend Airport – and for those who wish to drive, the A127 will lead you towards London (though I’d take the train if you can).
On the launch Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer, David O’Brien said:
“We are pleased to add London Southend Airport to our UK base network. Ryanair guests travelling to and from London and the Essex area can now enjoy low fares on a choice of 13 routes through London Southend’s exceptionally passenger friendly terminal.
Southend Airport’s train station will deliver direct services from the terminal to London Liverpool St and also the new Crossrail service (opening in 2019), making the airport even more accessible from all parts of London.
Meanwhile, Brady, CEO of Stobart Group (owner of Southend Airport) states:
“We are delighted to welcome Ryanair and its guests to London Southend in S2019. We have a clear and focused strategy to grow our airport to welcome over 5m passengers a year by 2022. This news will help us achieve that aim, and Ryanair will be a valuable partner to Stobart Group in developing London Southend airport with 13 routes and 6 new destinations, allowing us to play a key role in solving London’s capacity crisis. We look forward to delivering a great service to Ryanair guests to ensure we support the extraordinary growth of Ryanair operations out of London.”
Southend Airport catchment area gives it prime access the public in the area – namely Mid-Essex, South Esssex and Thameside , as well as North Kent. It will provide an attractive alternative for those who don’t want to cross London, or cross Esssex to reach Stansted Airport
Currently Southend Airport hosts EasyJet, Air Malta and Flybe operate out of the airport – and with Ryanair showing up next summer, these carriers will have some competition on their hands.
As for Southend Airport – it gets the growth it so much wants.
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