Route Development

[superking]

This was my gripe about the airport.Its like the secret service with news from the airport them selves. Any bit of news should be shouted from the roof tops. Lets hope the new ceo has thinking that way with news. There is no better way to advertise.

 

[andrewgreen]

With the rumours regarding jet2 maybe setting up a base at Bristol ,are there actually any stands left for it ? especially if its a 4 aircraft start ?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

With the rumours regarding jet2 maybe setting up a base at Bristol ,are there actually any stands left for it ? especially if its a 4 aircraft start ?

Good question. Three new stands came into operation earlier this year but I understand that aircraft cannot exit or enter them under their own power - presumably because of planning consent constraints. There is talk of another stand being built this winter.

I was told in May by a reasonably sound source that Jet2 would be commencing a base in summer 2018 but I have to say that the longer there is no announcement the more doubtful I've become. I would have expected an announcement by now. I understand that last year the Stansted base was announced at the same time as the Dart Group AGM which this year was last Thursday.

 

[Marko1]

Bhx was announced in July last year. I was hoping for last Thursday to be honest with the Agm with nothing in the press release suggesting of anything. However there has been much suggestion of brs being a jet 2 base so it must have some legs

 

[andrewgreen]

I assume the 3 new stands your talking about are on the Western apron ? is the 4th there as well ? If so it looks like we will have to wait until the old terminal building comes down to even have enough space for Jet2 or anyone else ! unfortunately i think that point more to 2019 than next year , unless they get a move on .

 

[Jerry]

There may be something that has lead them to postpone the launch by a year. I'm sure EZY, FR, TOM and TCX don't mind as a Jet2 base that large definitely have a big effect on their loads and yields. In a way any future Jet2 base for BRS could end up being a double edged sword and stifle growth from the other airlines and honestly if I was them i'd add aircraft to my BRS base and block off those stands so there is nowhere for Jet2 to park!

 

[Severn]

There are currently at least two A320/B738 sized stands (and some smaller E145 hideawys) still unoccupied this summer even with 14xEZY, 5xRYR, 5xBMR, 3xTOM, 2xTCX, 1xKLM. I've heard a new stand will arrive over the winter, and to expect it to be a squeeze next summer... we'll see what that means...

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I assume the 3 new stands your talking about are on the Western apron ? is the 4th there as well ? If so it looks like we will have to wait until the old terminal building comes down to even have enough space for Jet2 or anyone else ! unfortunately i think that point more to 2019 than next year , unless they get a move on .

Yes, the ones they had to excavate a half a hill to make space for them. Not far from the emergency gate at the 90% turn at the top of the short hill in Cooks Bridle Path.

The stand to be built before summer 18 is, I am told, to be situated between the eastern terminal extension and the fire station.

 

[andrewgreen]

Yes, the ones they had to excavate a half a hill to make space for them. Not far from the emergency gate at the 90% turn at the top of the short hill in Cooks Bridle Path.

The stand to be built before summer 18 is, I am told, to be situated between the eastern terminal extension and the fire station.

Maybe that stand is already ear marked for the 15th easyJet ? a squeeze indeed

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Maybe that stand is already ear marked for the 15th easyJet ? a squeeze indeed

There might well be a 15th easyJet based next summer. The five-year agreement between the airline and the airport must be coming to its end soon - next year? When it began there was talk of 16-18 based aircraft at the conclusion of the agreement, although not from the airline or airport.

Thomas Cook is also supposed to be adding a third based aircraft next summer and the TUI B787 will have four return trips in summer 18, albeit three will no doubt be overnighters. The fourth though - Sal (Cape Verde) - might see it back at the airport in the early hours if it follows the timings of the B757 that is currently operating to Sal.

 

[Jerry]

If the other airlines are going to base extra aircraft then maybe the lack of stand space has put Jet2 off from arriving next year? Looking at their BHX and STN bases they've expanded pretty rapidly and if there are no extra stand space available to expand at BRS then that could put them off. EZY or Ryanair would have no trouble because they could just operate more non based flights and in the future deploy larger aircraft.

 

[Marko1]

Given that there is only two spare stands and one to follow assuming one is taken up by the a320 of Thomas cook and assuming one extra EasyJet there is no room for jet2 ?

 

[Jerry]

It could mean Jet2 in the long run might operate a smaller operation from BRS than they intended and look at CWL and EXT as overfill or just suspend any plans for BRS until it becomes much larger.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I wonder how big BRS could have become had it had an airport capable of serious development. With the current site's small size, short runway, dubious weather, poor surface connectivity and in many ways located on the 'wrong' side of Bristol it is nothing short of incredible how the airport has grown over the past 20 years.

At the time of the 60th anniversary of the Lulsgate site earlier this year there was talk in the local press of an eventual target of 15 mppa; some reports suggested 20 mppa. As the Bristol press never self-generates items on the airport - they rely on airport press releases and and trawling social media sites - it must be assumed that these figures came from the airport in some way.

To reach 15 mppa, let alone 20 mppa, will require some imaginative thinking to fit in all the aircraft and passengers.

 

[Sierra3]

I wonder how big BRS could have become had it had an airport capable of serious development. With the current site's small size, short runway, dubious weather, poor surface connectivity and in many ways located on the 'wrong' side of Bristol it is nothing short of incredible how the airport has grown over the past 20 years.

At the time of the 60th anniversary of the Lulsgate site earlier this year there was talk in the local press of an eventual target of 15 mppa; some reports suggested 20 mppa. As the Bristol press never self-generates items on the airport - they rely on airport press releases and and trawling social media sites - it must be assumed that these figures came from the airport in some way.

To reach 15 mppa, let alone 20 mppa, will require some imaginative thinking to fit in all the aircraft and passengers.

Agreed - some imaginative thinking is clearly needed for the surface access problem.
On 20th August at about 13.30 I tried to drive from Wrington to Clevedon; taking the wrong turning ended up going past the airport. What a joke, a small roundabout clogging entry / exit to / from the terminal and tailbacks in all directions. Something needs to be constructed to relieve the traffic congestion on the one public access road to the terminal otherwise such growth won't work, it will all just clog up.

Maybe an underpass for the A38 at the roundabout & whilst there at it another 150 meters or whatever across the end of (or under) the runway. Is there not any public funding for such road schemes?

Another (south side) terminal could relieve some pressure but only if the surface access is sorted out.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Any runway extension, even one where airport control is within current airport boundaries, would require a 150-metre tunnel on the A38.

Nearly 20 years ago the A38 was diverted in an arc to the east to permit Cat3b ILS on 27 and that diversion was paid for by the airport - £5 million from memory. The airport also contributed several million pounds towards the cost of the South Bristol Link Road that was opened at the beginning of this year and which is about four miles from the airport but, in theory at least (see later), will help with airport access for traffic coming via Avonmouth and the A4 Portway.

I am often in the vicinity of the airport as I do a lot of walking and the airport bus interchange is very useful. I was there today.

Outside rush hour periods when commuters from the villages travel to/from Bristol along the A38 the section between the city boundary and the airport isn't that congested most of the time. Friday afternoons can be a trial with southbound traffic sometimes stationary from Lulsgate Bottom to the bottom of Barrow Hill but the culprit there is the traffic light control installed a few years ago at the junction with Downside Road, something else the airport paid for. That said, clearly a dual-carriageway or (better still) a motorway link would be a great improvement.

The problem is more to do with the roads in south Bristol itself which the A38 feeds into and out of. As mentioned, the SBL ought to help but until all the MetroBus works are complete it won't become clear how much a help the SBL will be to airport traffic (Hartcliffe Way the major artery from Hartcliffe and that part of south Bristol into the city is one-way for a year forcing traffic to seek alternative routes including the SBL) .

A second terminal on the south side (with another full-length parallel taxiway) is mentioned in the current master plan but in a magazine article in April the current CEO stated that all significant future development would be on the north side. That looks the end of a south side terminal but as with the runway it seems that these major parts of the airport's future are not to form part of the root and branch re-assessment of the master plan that will start soon. It seems very odd.

 

[Jerry]

If i remember correctly the owners of the airport Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan wanted to sell part of their stake in the airport? Maybe they don't want to put off any potential investors by making it look like the airport's future will be one potentially difficult expansion project as i'd imagine any thing like runway extensions and tunnelling the A38 will meet a lot of opposition and could end up in a legal challenge.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes, it was reported last February that OTPP was looking to sell a minority stake in the airport.

Reuters reported at that time that OTPP still wished to remain invested in this asset but was looking to take advantage of strong demand from pensions funds and other long-term investors for the often-attractive returns on offer from high-quality infrastructure.

Reuters was citing an unnamed source.

If OTPP had made such a decision seven months have now elapsed. BRS was once something of a cash cow for some of the funds operated by its previous part owner, the Australian Macquarie Group, as well as the Spanish conglomerate Ferrovial (through its subsidiary Cintra) also once a part-owner.

These days value is also significantly generated in its physical assets and what they bring to the party. All of BRS's owners since privatisation have invested heavily in the airport and if the value of the asset is to continue rising so will investment.

Getting the major expansion plans approved in the face of one of the best organised, best connected and most voluble of any airport expansion opposition groups, including legal challenges, was a supreme feat and the then owners didn't shirk from splashing the cash.

Any future part-owner will have to do the same if it becomes necessary which it undoubtedly will, expanded runway or not.

 

[Jerry]

Easyjet have launched long haul connections out of Gatwick with Norwegian Airlines. With that partnership in place then maybe Norwegian long haul flights could be a more of a possibility now out of BRS.

 

[tpm]

Easyjet have launched long haul connections out of Gatwick with Norwegian Airlines. With that partnership in place then maybe Norwegian long haul flights could be a more of a possibility now out of BRS.

Veerrry interesting!

Difference is of course that easyjet run multiple flights per day to most European cities from Gatwick, pretty much same frequency if not better than most legacy carriers, whereas at Bristol it's more like 2-3 flights per week (with a few exceptions).