Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-sout ... s-29625645

Bristol's elected mayor, George Ferguson, is at it again with his vision for much greater economic co-operation between the Bristol and Cardiff regions.

He mentions the two airports again. Before he was elected mayor two years ago he was an opponent of expansion at BRS. He's an environmentalist and is very much pro-cycle and anti-car in the city.

When he floated the idea some months ago of co-operation between the two cities he was suggesting that services could be shared between BRS and CWL. He talks about sharing facilities again this time although what he means is not clear. Last time some people thought he was after a back door way of having growth at BRS curtailed by bringing CWL into the equation.

In fairness to the man, he is passionate about seeing Bristol succeed but his ideas on the way of achieving this aim don't always appeal to a lot of people.

He has no say on what goes on out at Lulsgate anyway because the airport is not in Bristol; it's in the unitary authority of North Somerset.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Flying school comes in to land at new headquarters

One of the oldest flying clubs in the Bristol area is celebrating after finally moving into a brand new purpose built headquarters.

The Bristol Flying School has been in talks with Bristol Airport and has moved into its new headquarters at the south side of the airport.

The new building will be home to the 200 members of the Bristol and Wessex Aeroplane Club and its sister organisation the Aeros Flight Training School.

A spokesman for the club said: "I think this is one of the most important dates in the history of the flying club. We have been operating out of mobile offices and we are finally getting a permanent home.[/textarea]

Full article at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Flying-sch ... story.html

The south side is certainly now a very busy place. In addition to this new facility there is the Bristol Flying Centre with its corporate lounges and associated charter airline Centreline, and it also handles the Airbus and BAE corporate shuttles.

Then there is the substantial Dyson facility with its hangar as well as the home of the general aviation people.

 

[superking]

Cardiff Airport would have a "significant advantage" over its rivals if the Welsh government won the power to set airport passenger duty, the boss of Bristol Airport has claimed.

It would mean the airport could cut or abolish the duty, resulting in potentially cheaper flights.

The idea has been rejected by the UK government under current plans to devolve financial powers to Wales.

However the four main parties in Wales have called for it to be reconsidered.

Bristol Airport chief executive Robert Sinclair claimed any power to cut or abolish the duty would be unfair.

The duty imposes a £13 charge on every passenger flying from the UK on short flights, rising to £97 for the most distant long-haul destinations, with the amounts doubled on tickets in business class.

The idea of devolving the duty - recommended by the cross-party Silk Commission - was not included in the Wales Bill currently making its way through Parliament.

But Cardiff Airport chairman Lord Rowe-Beddoe tabled an amendment to the bill in the House of Lords last week calling for the devolution of air passenger duty on all flights
bbc bristol information.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Two entrenched positions here. In a nutshell Bristol Airport reckons that devolved APD would give CWL an unfair advantage whilst the Welsh position is that their airport is struggling and needs some (more) public money thrown in, because taking away the need to charge APD is in fact putting in public money as the money lost through a reduced or abolished APD will have to be raised elsewhere unless other non-aviation services are to suffer.

I wonder actually whether a different APD regime at CWL would make that much difference. £13 on a short haul return journey (because that's what it is in reality as most passengers travel to somewhere and back again) isn't going to have West Country people beating at the CWL gates as the Severn Crossing charge and petrol will wipe out the £13 saved.

Furthermore, the vital difference between the two airports will remain which is that BRS will continue to have a significantly larger and more prosperous core catchment and, short of mass movements of population, this won't change whatever happens with APD.

I don't like government interference in any industry by playing with tax regimes on a selective basis because it often skews matters in ways not previously anticipated or intended.

There is the further point with Wales that it has only one airport worthy of the name and it's state owned. This means that CWL's owners would be in the position of being able to set its own APD rates. What airport owner wouldn't want that privilege?

CWL might get a few more long haul holiday charters through the more substantial long haul APD rates but as BRS has none pf these flights at present it won't be losing anything, although it might fail to gain in the future. BHX might have more to lose in this sector.

Robert Sinclair has apparently responded on this occasion (he's visited the subject in the past) because Lord Rowe-Beddoe has recently tabled an amendment in the Lords to the Wales Bill currently passing through the Westminster parliament that would see APD devolved to Wales. It would still have to gain the approval of the Commons and if the government of the day didn't like the idea it would ensure that its MPs vetoed the amendment.

Some, including me, believe that it's a bit naughty for the chairman of the arm's length airport company owned by the Welsh government to use his position as a peer to move this amendment. As I suggested earlier it's a clear case of an airport owner attempting to set its own APD rates. I'm sure another 'friendly' lord not connected with CWL could have done this instead

 

[superking]

i see the goverment announced today that apd will be abolished for 12 year olds down from april 2015 and 16 year olds down from april 16.
well its a start. anyone would think an election is not far away.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

i see the goverment announced today that apd will be abolished for 12 year olds down from april 2015 and 16 year olds down from april 16.
well its a start. anyone would think an election is not far away.

So far as BRS is concerned this move would reduce slightly any advantage that CWL might gain if APD was devolved to Wales and the Wales Assembly Government abolished it or reduced it significantly as they say would be their intention.

I read on another forum that Scotland might not be able to abolish it or reduce it to a nil band immediately if APD is devolved to them because they would need the money. They would hope to reduce it by about 50% with a long term aim of getting rid of it.

Wales generates relatively little APD revenue so they might not have the same problem in reducing it substantially.

 

[kraktoa]

An Airbus A400 military plane due to make a few passes over the airport today

 

[TheLocalYokel]

An Airbus A400 military plane due to make a few passes over the airport today

I saw it doing some circuits from this morning form where bI live on the south-east edge of Bristol.

Used to see Hercules doing a of of approaches at one time and Sea King helicopters. Presumably the closure/altered operational role of some local military flying bases is the reason we don't seem to see them so often now.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Bristol Airport prepares for busy Christmas getaway

Bristol Airport is preparing for a busy time during the Christmas and New Year period, with over 200,000 passengers expected to pass through the terminal over the course of the holiday (from 19 December until 3 January inclusive). Daily passenger numbers are forecast to peak on Sunday 21 December, with around 20,000 people arriving and departing from the Airport over the course of 24 hours.

Preparations are underway to provide a stress-free start to the festive period for those flying off to see friends and family or heading home for the holidays. However, departing passengers are advised to allow sufficient time to complete check-in, bag drop, security and boarding processes, as well as taking holiday traffic into account when planning the journey to the Airport. If using public transport, passengers are requested to check timetables in advance as no services will be operating to or from Bristol Airport on Christmas Day and a reduced service will be in place on other days over the holiday period.

As well as passengers travelling to be with loved ones over Christmas, festive figures are boosted by those seeking winter sun or hitting the slopes with skis or snowboards. Popular winter sun destinations this year include the Canaries, Egypt and Marrakech, while winter sports enthusiasts can choose from Verona for easy access to the Italian ski resorts, Geneva for the Swiss Alps, Innsbruck for Austrian resorts, and a wide range of other scheduled and charter services. An alternative winter getaway is available for the second year running courtesy of easyJet’s service to Reykjavik. Ideal for those passengers wanting something a little bit different, the Icelandic capital offers dramatic scenery alongside a bohemian music and nightlife scene.

But it is not just one-way traffic. The run up to Christmas also sees families and friends reuniting in Bristol Airport’s arrivals area, with flights from international hubs such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt and Munich enabling travellers to connect to Bristol from across the world.

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“December is historically a busy month at Bristol Airport, but with more seats available than ever to sun and ski destinations we are seeing particularly strong demand over the Christmas period this year. We expect this to continue into 2015, which already looks like being a busy 12 months as we continue to enhance the range of routes and facilities available to passengers.”

While thousands of people will be starting their holidays at Bristol Airport, it will be business as usual for the staff on shift over the festive period - including on Christmas Day itself, when a limited number of flights will be operating to Amsterdam and Sharm el Sheikh, with the flight schedule returning to normal on Boxing Day.[/textarea]

BRS press release at http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media-c ... stmas.aspx

Seems to be a busy holiday period in prospect.

 

[conns757]

What will tomorrow bring at Lulsgate Bottom........

 

[Marko1]

Should we expect some good news?

 

[NOSIGWX]

Looks like Wizz air will start operating from Bristol next year, details on routes to follow. More great news for Bristol.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Looks like Wizz air will start operating from Bristol next year, details on routes to follow. More great news for Bristol.

Katowice announced 2 x weekly from June. Details in the Wizz Air thread in the BRS forum.

 

[kraktoa]

Is there more. Rob Sinclair said yesterday that there may be a few announcements on the new route front.

Anything anyone

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Is there more. Rob Sinclair said yesterday that there may be a few announcements on the new route front.

I've not heard anything. I was surprised about Wizz Air. With Ryanair (mainly) and easyJet having the Central/Eastern European market fairly well covered I thought that if anything Wizz might go to CWL if it was looking at Severnside. It's the sort of operation one would think might be hooked by the Wales Government's route fund.

I wonder whether Riga (Latvia) will feature if Wizz decides to expand in the future. Ryanair did pretty well with it loads-wise a few years ago but it was one of those routes it axed despite decent passenger figures. Currently there is only Ryanair's Kaunas (Lithuania) to the Baltic States although it is year-round.

 

[superking]

well i hope everyone had a good christmas day,its soon over. back to the forums with tit bits of news. 2015 looks to be a good year, with new routes starting and routes returning. lets hope when this round of devopements going on that it can attract a few different airlines and expansion with the ones already here.
well wishing everyone a good,happy and peacefull new year.
onwards and upwards.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

well i hope everyone had a good christmas day,its soon over. back to the forums with tit bits of news. 2015 looks to be a good year, with new routes starting and routes returning. lets hope when this round of devopements going on that it can attract a few different airlines and expansion with the ones already here.
well wishing everyone a good,happy and peacefull new year.
onwards and upwards.

I echo that. I hope everyone has had and is having an enjoyable Festive Period.

 

[superking]

wish every one a happy new year.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

wish every one a happy new year.

Many thanks and I offer the same sentiments.

It's shaping up to be another positive year for BRS. It would be the sixth in a row after the drop in 2009 as a result of the recession. Could be around 6.5 mppa at the end of 2015.

 

[superking]

nice to see brs pick up this award as most punctual small airport.
ADS Advance - OAG see Bristol as most punctual airport worldwide
sorry guys cant get link to paste proper. the link is on dried plum.