Bristol: General Airport News, Updates & Discussion

[kraktoa]

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...ion-provides-greater-control-of-night-flights

Any significance to future growth ?

The consultation period did not include the local groups who are actively against airport expansion? That is odd indeed.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...ion-provides-greater-control-of-night-flights
Any significance to future growth ?

Looking at the background notes BRS, at its own request, has been moved to Level 3 for slot co-ordination along with the likes of LHR and MAN, except in BRS's case it will be a partial movement and apply only in summer and only between the hours of 2300 and 0700.

The reason seems to give the airport greater control over the way slots are used during this period to ensure its night time quota is not exceeded.

I haven't looked at the night times quota score for a a year or two. I'm not even sure where the most recent can be found. The last time I did look the airport seemed to be comfortably inside them.

The consultation period did not include the local groups who are actively against airport expansion? That is odd indeed.

Doesn't seem as if they have to be consulted. According to the background notes:

When an application is received for a change in airport level, the DfT holds a consultation with all relevant stakeholders. These are: airlines and aircraft operators; the airport; air traffic control authorities; the coordinator of the airport; the government authority (in the UK this is the Civil Aviation Authority).

 

[tpm]

Is this a requirement to allow BRS to auction off early morning peak-time slots? (Taking into account grandfathering and such of course)

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Is this a requirement to allow BRS to auction off early morning peak-time slots? (Taking into account grandfathering and such of course)

The partial move to Level 3 for slot co-ordination (2300-0700 in summer in BRS's case) doesn't coincide with the night quota period at BRS which is from 2330-0600. Few aircraft take off during this period so in practice the night quota must apply mainly to inbound movements.

If there is to be any slot payment haggling, and I don't know whether that is partly the purpose of the move, it would seem it would relate to the pre and post midnight arrivals. That would affect easyJet probably more than other airlines and BRS might be reluctant to try to whip that particular horse.

If the airport rises above 10 mppa in the future it seems self evident that there would be many more potential arrivals during the night quota period and getting around that might prove more problematical than having the 10 mppa planning consent limit raised, although I suppose the two are interrelated.

This is the note on the BRS website about the night quota.

Bristol Airport operates 24 hours a day and aircraft do arrive and depart during the night. We are aware that aircraft noise in the night is more noticeable, with otherwise low ambient noise levels, and this period is acknowledged as a sensitive time. Bristol Airport therefore operates night flying restrictions, with set limits on the number of aircraft movements that can occur and the level of noise these movements can make. The night flying restrictions form part of our planning permission with North Somerset Council.

In summary, the restrictions are split into two seasons, summer and winter, based on the change to and from British Summer Time. The night period is from 23:30 hours to 06:00 hours. The restrictions include:

• A summer period limit of 3000 movements
• A winter period limit of 1000 movements
  
  Each aircraft movement is also assigned a Quota Count based on its noise level. The sum of all these quota counts is calculated and restrictions are applied including:

• A summer period limit of 1260 quota count
• A winter period limit of 900 quota count
  
  The Quota Count points for each aircraft are published by the Civil Aviation Authority. Aircraft of a quota count of 4 or more (the noisiest aircraft) are banned from being scheduled. We also have a night time noise limit for departing aircraft of 85dB, as recorded at our centreline noise monitors, which is more stringent than our daytime limit of 90dB.

 

[Marko1]

Found this on the acl website

 

[Marko1]

That's better

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks for that Marko.

Returning to the night quota question, the quotas provide for a maximum of 3,000 movements during the night time quota period (2330-0600) in summer, ie the period of BST, and a maximum of 1,000 movements in winter.

However, coupled with this is the noise quota count which is 1260 in summer and 900 in winter, so if 1260 is reached before 3,000 movements the noise quota would take precedence otherwise there is no point in having it. There is though some leeway in that 10% of the noise quota if not used in one season can be carried over to the following season, and up to 10% of the next season's quota may be anticipated in the event of an overrun but that could result in penalties in the season after that. There are also additional provisions for dealing with delayed departures and early arrivals.

I looked at August this year, the busiest month, and found 91 arrivals and four departures per week during the night quota period. This would amount to around 2,900 movements in the summer period as a whole but actually the summer shoulder months don't see as many movements so the overall total would be less than that.

Winter sees only a handful of arrivals each week in the night quota period, fewer than 150 in the entire winter, so it can be seen that the maximum 1,000 movements in that season as well as the night quota count limit (900 as against summer's 1260) is never likely to be exceeded so up to 10% of it can be carried over to the summer.

I hope everyone has taken all this in as there will be questions later.

 

[kraktoa]

I suppose its last 2 shifts for the current CEO at Bristol. Wonder when they will announce his successor.

 

[Jerry]

Is it coincidental that both BRS and BHX haven't recruited a new CEO yet?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I can't recall the successor trail last time. Paul Kehoe took over from Andrew Skipp but lasted less than a year (from memory) before taking over 'a bigger club' (in football parlance) at BHX. I can't remember if there was a gap between PK leaving and a successor being appointed or even announced. It turned out to be Robert Sinclair of course who is now off to London City.

Given that BRS is about to begin a major reappraisal of its master plan one would think the airport would want a new CEO in place, and one who had been given time to get his or her head around the airport's history, potential and likely future path.

Janis Kong, the airport company chairman (that's how she's described in the airport press release), who incidentally is also a non-executive director of Tui according to Linkedin, said that the process to find a replacement for Robert Sinclair would begin straight away. That was on 28 June.

 

[kraktoa]

http://www.chewvalleygazette.co.uk/...ol flight path&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017

Residents reacting to news of night flights in 2018.

 

[Marko1]

Well that didn't take long did it ? Anyway I was thinking its very quiet on here at the moment again - I wonder when we will see the 'full' easyJet and Ryanair schedules ? Also tui still has to fill a fair few TBAs. I'm guessing jet2 not coming any time soon?

 

[Jerry]

Well that didn't take long did it ? Anyway I was thinking its very quiet on here at the moment again - I wonder when we will see the 'full' easyJet and Ryanair schedules ? Also tui still has to fill a fair few TBAs. I'm guessing jet2 not coming any time soon?

What routes are TBA for TUI?

 

[Marko1]

Ace pmi x 2 dlm bjv and ant

 

[Ray Finkle]

I've not read the whole article yet but OTTP have agreed to sell 30% of their stakes in Bristol and Birmingham.

Ontario Teachers' has entered a definitive agreement by which it will sell 30% of its stakes in both Bristol and Birmingham to TCorp as trustee of TCorpIM Direct Investment Fund E and Sunsuper Pty Limited as trustee of Sunsuper. TCorp and Sunsuper will each acquire 15% of Ontario Teachers' stakes in Bristol Airport and Birmingham Airport. Following completion, Ontario Teachers', TCorp and Sunsuper will own 70.0%, 15.0% and 15.0% of Bristol Airport and 33.8%, 7.2% and 7.2% of Birmingham Airport respectively.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...ristol-and-birmingham-airports-654281813.html

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I've not read the whole article yet but OTTP have agreed to sell 30% of their stakes in Bristol and Birmingham.

Ontario Teachers' has entered a definitive agreement by which it will sell 30% of its stakes in both Bristol and Birmingham to TCorp as trustee of TCorpIM Direct Investment Fund E and Sunsuper Pty Limited as trustee of Sunsuper. TCorp and Sunsuper will each acquire 15% of Ontario Teachers' stakes in Bristol Airport and Birmingham Airport. Following completion, Ontario Teachers', TCorp and Sunsuper will own 70.0%, 15.0% and 15.0% of Bristol Airport and 33.8%, 7.2% and 7.2% of Birmingham Airport respectively.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...ristol-and-birmingham-airports-654281813.html

It would be interesting to know how much OTPP raised from the sale. Bloomberg said earlier in the year that the high demand for such infrastructure assets as BRS and BHX was something that OTPP would want to take advantage of so we can assume the price was near the top end.

So BRS is back to the situation that obtained when it was fully privatised in 2001 in having Australian part-owners. Then it was the Macquarie Group through various funds. Apart from First Group that originally took a controlling interest in 1997 when the council part-privatised the airport, the owners at various periods have been Australian, Canadian and Spanish (Ferrovial through their subsidiary Cintra).

http://www.chewvalleygazette.co.uk/article.cfm?id=102821&headline=Sleepless nights for those on the Bristol flight path&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017

Residents reacting to news of night flights in 2018.

Bound to happen but comments made by a resident that the first time an inbound aircraft flew over her house after she'd moved in was so noisy that the house shook and she thought it was an earthquake are silly and do the cause of objectors no good. If she moves into a house near a growing airport what did she expect anyway?

As I posted previously the noise quota can be increased by up to 10% if the previous season's quota is not fully utilised. As winters are very quiet in the quota period (2230-0600) there would seem to be quota points available every year for carrying over into summer.

When I checked August 2017 (the busiest month) I found the night quota period with the most movements was Sunday with a total of 18 (14 after midnight and 4 before midnight, all arrivals). The quietest was Monday with 10 (7 after midnight and 3 before midnight, all arrivals plus a Thomas Cook departure to Mahon at 0520).

There were only three other departures in the night quota period: Thomas Cook to Zante at 0515 on Thursday; Thomson to Corfu at 0530 on Friday; Thomas Cook to Palma at 0530 on Saturday.

If BRS really is to grow night flights significantly next year what will they be?

Well that didn't take long did it ? Anyway I was thinking its very quiet on here at the moment again - I wonder when we will see the 'full' easyJet and Ryanair schedules ? Also tui still has to fill a fair few TBAs. I'm guessing jet2 not coming any time soon?

I don't believe that Jet2 will be coming any time soon now. Had Monarch not departed who knows? But even then it might not have been in summer 2018 given the extra growth being put in at STN and BHX even before the Monarch news.

 

[Jerry]

I think Jet2 themselves have been surprised by how well BHX and STN have done so if there were plans for BRS they are probably on hold now because of that success.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

An airport press release issued today has given further information on how the public can become involved in the new masterplan consultations.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...17/11/bristol-airport-to-seek-views-on-future

Bristol Airport to seek views on future as passenger numbers pass 8 million
Created: 1st Nov 2017

Following a record summer in which passenger numbers reached eight million in a 12 month period for the first time in its history, Bristol Airport will be seeking views later this month on how to meet demand for air travel over the next 30 years and more. Feedback will help shape Master Plan for 2050.

Currently the ninth busiest airport in the UK, and the fifth largest outside London, Bristol saw passenger numbers grow by more than 10 per cent in 2016. Passing the eight million milestone demonstrates continued strong demand for air travel to and from the South West of the UK, highlighting the need to begin investigating options for extending capacity beyond the current limit of 10 million passengers a year. A consultation document to be published later this month will set out initial considerations and concepts for meeting this challenge in a sustainable way.

Local communities, regional stakeholders and the general public will be invited to provide feedback through an online questionnaire, with a series of events to be held in local communities and across the West of England for those wishing to speak to members of the Airport management team first hand. Feedback will help to shape a more detailed Draft Master Plan which will be subject to further consultation in spring 2018.

Simon Earles, Planning and Sustainability Director at Bristol Airport, said:

“Bristol Airport has come a long way since the publication of its first Master Plan in 2006. Passenger numbers have increased by more than 50 per cent, yet the total number of flights remains lower than a decade ago as a result of higher load factors. A series of long term strategies are currently being developed to ensure the continued success of our Region. It is important the Airport plays its part, so we want to hear views on how we can best do this.”

The Government recommends that airports produce Master Plans to inform local planning and provide transparency for stakeholders. Master Plans do not have a statutory basis so any development requirements identified would be subject to approval through a subsequent planning process in the future.

 

[kraktoa]

Its first week in November and the early peak between 11 am and 1 pm still has 13 flights today.
Does this subside as weeks go by.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Its first week in November and the early peak between 11 am and 1 pm still has 13 flights today.
Does this subside as weeks go by.

15 arrivals, 12 departures between 11 and 1 today? Today as a whole there are 78 arrivals.

In January there were 74 arrivals on Thursdays. January is the quietest month and Saturday the quietest day in winter. Only 49 arrivals shown for this Saturday but once the ski season begins Saturdays become busier.