Stobart Air to operate new Dublin to London Southend Airport route under Flybe brand

Stobart Air, Europe’s leading franchise flying partner, has today announced that the airline will operate a brand new route from Dublin to London with flights to London Southend Airport commencing on 29 October 2017.

The new route, operating under the Flybe brand, will operate up to three flights per day, seven days a week between the two capital cities, with fares from €29.99 one way, including taxes and charges.

Tickets are one sale from today (20 June 2017) at www.flybe.com

London Southend Airport boasts a fast, direct rail link into the heart of London in just 45-minutes, with up to six trains per hour to and from Liverpool Street. The airport, which was purpose built for passenger convenience, has a 15-minute ‘plane to train’ promise and unique customer service. It was voted ‘Best in Britain’ by readers of Which? Magazine three years in a row, and also ‘Best Small Airport’ by the Airport Operators Association in 2015 and 2016.

This new service brings to nine* the number of Flybe routes which will be operated by Stobart Air as part of its 2017 winter schedule from London Southend. The new route will offer unrivalled convenience for business and leisure passengers and represents a brand new route to London for passengers; Stobart Air is the only airline to operate a Dublin to London Southend service. 

The new Dublin to London Southend route is part of Stobart Air’s three-year growth strategy announced recently. Stobart Air will invest €25 million in the airline, creating 60 new jobs and adding two new Embraer E195s jet aircraft to its fleet. These new jets will operate the new routes from London Southend Airport.

Headquartered in Dublin and employing 570 people, Stobart Air currently operates up to 860 flights weekly across 43 routes throughout 11 European countries from bases in Ireland and the UK under the Aer Lingus Regional and Flybe brand. The airline operates a fleet of 17 aircraft with routes across Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Kerry and Donegal in Ireland.

According to Graeme Buchanan, Chief Executive at Stobart Air, the addition of London Southend to the route network represents another option for travel to the UK’s capital and increased competition on one of the busiest routes from Dublin.

“We are delighted to expand our relationship with Flybe with the introduction of our new Dublin to London Southend route as part of our upcoming winter schedule. London Southend is one of the UK’s fastest growing airports, offering unique convenience and direct access to central London.  I have no doubt that the new route will be welcomed by both business and leisure travellers between the two cities, particularly those travelling between London, Essex and Dublin on a regular basis. We look forward to welcoming the first passengers on the route come the 29 October.

“The new route is also a sound strategic move for Stobart Air as we invest in our three-year growth strategy. We are on track to carry two million passengers in 2017, a 50 percent increase in passenger numbers over the past five years.”   

Commenting today, Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison said that Dublin-London is the busiest route in Europe with 4.8 million passengers travelling between the two cities every year.

“We are delighted to welcome Stobart Air’s new route to London Southend operating under the Flybe brand.  This new route will provide both business and leisure passengers with even greater choice and further flexibility when flying to London.”

Glyn Jones, CEO at London Southend Airport said:

“The announcement of this new route to Dublin further builds on our ambition to make London Southend the capital’s next big airport by providing fantastic leisure and business destinations to passengers from Essex, London and the South East, and now we can add regional connectivity to that mix. This new route also shows we are listening to our customers and responding – as a route to Ireland is easily one of the most requested destinations. LSA is perfectly placed to serve London’s growing travel market especially in the face of the other London airport capacity constraints.”

Vincent Hodder, Flybe Chief Revenue Officer, said “We are delighted to introduce the new winter schedule from London Southend airport this coming winter.  The brand new routes further increase connectivity and choice for passengers across the UK and Europe and we look forward to welcoming everyone on-board in October.”