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Let's fly to the Med, says Southend Airport boss
SOUTHEND Airport could soon be running holiday flights to the Mediterranean, as boss Alastair Welch hopes to model the airport on the success of Southampton.
Mr Welch, managing director at Southend, believes the town can emulate the success of Southampton Airport which generates £86.5million a year.
The airport has similar constraints to Southend as it is edged by housing developments and yet every year it serves almost two million passengers.
Mr Welch said: "They are fairly heavily hemmed in. They also have a railway line that goes right past, as we do, and they've got a fair bit of housing around them.
"They are doing about two million passengers a year now from a runway which is a little bit longer, and at the length we'd like to go to. That's why for me it's a good comparison."
Southampton Airport's origins date back to 1910 when Rowland Moon first flew his Moonbeam II aircraft in the meadows of North Stoneham Farm.
It was bought up by BAA in 1994, which invested £80million to get the site off the ground with new aircraft stands, check-in facilities and baggage systems, which aim to create a "breeze through" experience.
There are now 15 airlines at Southampton providing services to 43 destinations - including Amsterdam, Alicante, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Brussels and Malaga.
The airport has also added a new car hire reception centre this year - with representatives from Avis, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and National Alamo.
Mr Welch said: "What's different between our airports is they have a significant number of passengers, whereas we have maintenance and component manufacturing that they don't have.
"But from a passenger point of view there are similar communities in Southampton and Southend, and they have a railway station which is very close to a modern passenger terminal - that's what we are absolutely looking to deliver."
The runway at Southampton is much longer. It is 1,723m and at that length can accommodate the larger aircraft needed for package holidays to the Mediterranean.
However, Southend plans a 250-metre extension to allow medium-sized aircraft - such as an Airbus 319 - to land while fully loaded, which is not possible at the moment.
Mr Welch said: "The airport serves a range of destinations, and serves not just business users but also leisure users.
"It's used at weekends by families. That's exactly the sort of model I'd like to follow in terms of the numbers of destinations, frequencies and reliance on public transport.
"Two million passengers sounds like an awful lot, but it's not that significant, especially when you compare it to Stansted. It's less than 10 per cent of what Stansted is doing today. We could give the people of Southend a real asset with their airport and allow them to go away in their summer holidays from here."
Mr Welch also praised Southampton for the way it works with the local communities to tackle problems with noise and help local causes.
In 2004 it formed a partnership with the nearby Britterne Park School.
It operates a work experience programme with the school, which involves careers' advice, awards evenings, competitions, and enterprise days, culminating in a Dragons' Den-style challenge.
More recently, Airports Council International presented Southampton with the 2008 Airport People Award for customer service.
Jan Halliday, director of marketing and communications for Southampton Airport, said: "Southampton Airport has the proud reputation of being the easy, fast and friendly airport for central southern England.
"Earlier this year, the airport was voted the top airport in Europe for its customer service.
"This is in addition to our ongoing investment in modern facilities that are comfortable, light and airy, and there is excellent access by road and rail."
Mr Welch said his aim was to make an airport which could be used by people locally and he knew Southampton was an example which worked well with its community.
He added: "Southampton is an airport which isn't a big scary horrible airport. There are things we can learn from that. Generally, it's a real asset. It's a small, perfectly formed little thing."
1:27am Thursday 26th June 2008
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CommentPosted by: Vic, Rochford on 4:36pm Thu 26 Jun 08
Maybe Mr Welch should read the letters page of the Southampton Echo, I am not sure that Southampton residents would agree that "Southampton was an example which worked well with its community." An airport dealing with 40 flights everyday is not a good thing , how can noise, pollution, and increased traffic ever be good?
Maybe Mr Welch should read the letters page of the Southampton Echo, I am not sure that Southampton residents would agree that "Southampton was an example which worked well with its community." An airport dealing with 40 flights everyday is not a good thing , how can noise, pollution, and increased traffic ever be good?
Posted by: jim, Southend on 4:54pm Thu 26 Jun 08
Give it a rest vic, have heard it all before, play another tune. Your boring the hell out of me
Give it a rest vic, have heard it all before, play another tune. Your boring the hell out of me
Posted by: Ivanna Goodhump on 5:46pm Thu 26 Jun 08
[quote][bold]Vic[/bold] wrote:
Maybe Mr Welch should read the letters page of the Southampton Echo, I am not sure that Southampton residents would agree that \"Southampton was an example which worked well with its community.\" An airport dealing with 40 flights everyday is not a good thing , how can noise, pollution, and increased traffic ever be good?[/quote] Just more evidence of hype and spin from Mr Welch ....
It's a shame that he can't be more honest with people.
The Southern Daily Echo gives a much more balanced view of the airport in Southampton and it certainly doesn't appear to be all sweetness and light as Mr Welch would have us believe.
Whether you are for or against people deserve to be told ALL the facts.
Vic wrote:
Maybe Mr Welch should read the letters page of the Southampton Echo, I am not sure that Southampton residents would agree that \"Southampton was an example which worked well with its community.\" An airport dealing with 40 flights everyday is not a good thing , how can noise, pollution, and increased traffic ever be good?
Just more evidence of hype and spin from Mr Welch ....
It's a shame that he can't be more honest with people.
The Southern Daily Echo gives a much more balanced view of the airport in Southampton and it certainly doesn't appear to be all sweetness and light as Mr Welch would have us believe.
Whether you are for or against people deserve to be told ALL the facts.
Posted by: Camperman, Essex on 3:45pm Mon 30 Jun 08
I used to Fly to Malta from Southend for my holidays.
It could not be easier, it was great!
40 Flights a day equates to a flight every 36 mins (That's if they ever got that many passengers and flights).
If you don't want to see/hear aeroplanes don't live near an airport.
I used to Fly to Malta from Southend for my holidays.
It could not be easier, it was great!
40 Flights a day equates to a flight every 36 mins (That's if they ever got that many passengers and flights).
If you don't want to see/hear aeroplanes don't live near an airport.
Posted by: Vic-Rochford, Rochford on 10:12am Sat 5 Jul 08
[quote]Give it a rest vic, have heard it all before, play another tune. Your boring the hell out of mequote[/quote] Tell you what then Jim, I'll take a leaf out of Mr Welch's book and make something up just to keep you interested, or maybe you could write something constructive rather than abusive for us to reply to.
[quote]q40 Flights a day equates to a flight every 36 mins uote[/quote] True Camperman, but if it does go ahead I am hoping that they will at least put restrictions on night flights, who wants to woken up every 36 mins!
Give it a rest vic, have heard it all before, play another tune. Your boring the hell out of mequote
Tell you what then Jim, I'll take a leaf out of Mr Welch's book and make something up just to keep you interested, or maybe you could write something constructive rather than abusive for us to reply to.
q40 Flights a day equates to a flight every 36 mins uote
True Camperman, but if it does go ahead I am hoping that they will at least put restrictions on night flights, who wants to woken up every 36 mins!
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