I live in Bruges and I am by car at my appointment in Rotterdam in 2.5 hours ( OK, if the Van Brienoordbridge is't blocked) and at Amsterdam in +- 3 hours. Comparison: It takes me 1.15 H to get from my home into the parking lot of BRU. Check inn at least 1 hour before departure. 50 minutes flight, resulting in exactly the same travelling time. But than I am still at an airport, maybe 20 to 40 km from my destination. It costs me 477 € by KLM Cityhopper, 55 € by car according Viamichelin.
You sure are right if your final destination is RTM.
Let's say that you have the likely scenario that you are a random person generating in Rotterdam or The Hague and you need to get to Milan city to do a deal for your company or to see family.
Imagine that SN operates RTM-BRU.
Your flight options:
-Transavia, RTM-MXP but they fly 4 weekly and not on the days/times you need to fly. Also MXP-Milan city center is 1 hour driving.
-KLM, drive 45 minutes to AMS, then do all the airport stuff, fly AMS-LIN (very expensive).
-SN, do all the airport stuff at RTM, fly 20 minutes RTM-BRU, wait 1 hour, connect to BRU-LIN. 60 euro cheaper and more convenient/
Which one would you choose?
So if SN can offer better schedule and price, there is a big chance that a pax could decide to choose SN over KL at AMS. That is also the idea behind Lille.
It's not the driving distance or time that matters, but how convenient it is for a passenger to go from one place to another and what the price is.
If it isn't clear yet, perhaps the following will clarify it all:
How do people get to an airport, from most preferred option to least preferred option
1. ask family or friends to drive, but it's often a problem because of their own commitments and schedules or because none available at all
2. public transportation
3. taxi
4. drive on their own, then pay expensive parking for many days or week.
People will prefer to take any of the first 3 options in the order listed.
No matter what you do, the more the airport is far from home, the more all options demand more time, cost and inconvenience. However, when an airport is closer from home, the reverse is true: getting to the airport becomes easier. You must not forget that flights can start or end at very different phases of a day and family, friends and bus or trains are not available 24 hours a day. There is also the uncertainty of delays and flight cancellations.
If living in Rotterdam or The Hague, the easiest and cheapest option would always be to take a bus or taxi to nearby airport RTM and to enter into the airline's network.
Many airlines forget this aspect of air travel.
Passengers want to enter and exit the airline's network web as close as possible from their personal departure and destination points. The closer the entry point to the web, the lower the risks, the cost, the hassle and time lost getting to/from the airport. That is as important as the number of times they need to connect between departure and arrival points.
If SN can match the inconvenience of the connection at BRU by offering customers the convenience of getting into its network closer from their homes or offices than airlines operating from airports further away (AMS in case RTM, CDG in case of LIL, LHR in case of LCY), then all that's left to compare is price and schedule.
...
oh.. here we go again..
