Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

Consultative Committee

The minutes for the last meeting in January have now been published - 16 pages but I will just highlight a few of the items discussed.

1. The airport is to construct a new free drop-off and pick-up area. The existing rapid pick-up and drop-off car park is to be upgraded and a small fee charged (will be interesting to see what they regard as small). The airport CEO commented that this may attract 'media attention'.

2. The airport performed extremely well during the severe winter - it was closed just twice and both times for no more than two hours. The CEO says it wasn't coincidence the airport performed so well because recent icy/snowy winters had caused them to purchase extra snow-clearing equipment last summer as well as laying in extra stocks of de-icing fluid. They had also made prior arrangements with local contractors to remove the snow from the airport.

3. The CEO anticipates 'incremental passenger growth' in 2011. Not quite sure whether this is different from overall passenger growth and, if it is, how the two vary. The airport, like most airports, sees incremental growth month by month as each summer unfolds, so the CEO might be engaging in semantics if he is unsure whether there really will be more passengers in 2011 than in 2010.

4. The person in charge of the contracted company that assists passengers with reduced mobility gave a presentation. They have two ambilifts and two wheelchair-accessible mini buses. Last year 46,000 people were assisted at the airport by a staff of 26 people. She admitted that some passengers 'try it on' in order to secure priority boarding.

Your Airport

The airport has recently published the first edition of its new airport magazine Your Airport - there have been newspapers and magazines in the past but they never seem to last more than a couple of years.

Your Airport is quite informative and can be visited online at:

http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-u ... rport.ashx

 

[Aviador]

All sound good stuff. The airport did exceptionally well during the cold snap but I seem to remember you saying the airport had missed most of the heavy snow?

4. The person in charge of the contracted company that assists passengers with reduced mobility gave a presentation. They have two ambilifts and two wheelchair-accessible mini buses. Last year 46,000 people were assisted at the airport by a staff of 26 people. She admitted that some passengers 'try it on' in order to secure priority boarding.

I can vouch for that. You often see passengers walking to the terminal from distant carparks only to then ask for special assistance. This enables them to jump the security queue and then board the aircraft first. Its a super service for genuinely disabled passengers but unfortunately it is open to abuse.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The airport did exceptionally well during the cold snap but I seem to remember you saying the airport had missed most of the heavy snow?

Certainly didn't have the amount of snow seen in Scotland, parts of Ireland, the north of England and south-east England, though there was still far more than normally seen.

I was surprised at the time how quickly the airport re-opened. I had expected, say, half a day closure at the least on the worst days.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Bristol Airport backs ‘fair tax on flying’ campaign

The Chief Executive of Bristol Airport has backed a campaign by the UK travel industry to stop the Government adding further rises to air passenger duty, claiming it is a passenger ‘stealth’ tax. The 'fair tax on flying' campaign, led by travel organisation ABTA and supported by 25 companies including British Airways and airport operator BAA, has contacted Chancellor George Osborne to say that aviation taxes should not be increased in the coming budget. The campaigners are also inviting people to add pressure by joining a page on Facebook.

Bristol Airport CEO Robert Sinclair, said further taxes on aviation would make flying the ‘preserve of the wealthy few. Increases in the tax on flying risk setting back the region’s recovery by making it more expensive to visit the South West, as a holiday destination or on business.'

‘Aviation already pays its way, and is addressing its environmental responsibilities. Increasing the tax burden will have a disproportionate impact on regional airports such as Bristol, making it more difficult to establish vital new routes.’

Source[/textarea]

 

[Aviador]

A similar article appeared in the North East Echo today. Similarly to my response there, the APD has done nothing to help the aviation industry or the UK economy. This ridiculous APD tax needs to go if airports are to stand a chance in the future. The cost of fuel and the tax burden only serve to make the aviation industry less attractive.

Bristol Airport CEO Robert Sinclair, said further taxes on aviation would make flying the ‘preserve of the wealthy few.

I would say this is already starting to happen to a degree.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The government is supposed to be considering an alternative to directly taxing each passenger fare by spreading the load to aircraft where the 'cleaner' and more full they are the less the airline will pay.

The punter will still pay in the end though, if not quite so obviously.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Airport to play vital role in getting race fans to festival

Thousands of horse racing fans are expected to travel through Bristol next week for the Cheltenham Festival.

Around 200,000 punters and 500 horses plus their jockeys and grooms are expected to descend on the Gloucestershire town next week.

The four-day event, which gets under way on Tuesday, has always been a favourite with Irish fans but there have been fears that many would stay away this year because of the economic problems facing the country.

However, budget airline Ryanair has launched a special operation which will see an estimated 10,000 race goers flying to the event – with many travelling through Bristol Airport.

In the past as much as a quarter of the crowd was from Ireland but that number has fallen over the last two years as a result of the economic problems faced by the country.

However, the organisers are still expecting the ever popular event to be sold-out on all four days of the festival.

According to the organisers the number of people taking advantage of corporate entertainment packages is almost back to the level it was before the recession.

There is also a large influx of Irish sporting fans expected at the airport this weekend.

The Irish rugby team is taking on Wales at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in the Six Nations tournament. Many of the Irish contingent are expected to use Bristol thanks to its close links to Dublin Airport. The Irish airline has added 22 extra flights during the week-long festival including four extra flights on St Patrick's Day for the Ryanair Chase, the feature event on Thursday, March 17.

Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said: "This year's Cheltenham Festival looks set to be a bumper one with Ryanair bookings on routes to Bristol already ahead of the corresponding period last year.

"Most passengers snapped up early deals, so to respond to this enormous demand Ryanair has added 22 extra flights to maximise the availability of low fares to the Cheltenham Festival.

"We hope that 2011 will see an Irish winner of the Ryanair Chase and Ryanair will be working closely with the Cheltenham Festival to ensure that the St Patrick's Day Grade 1 Ryanair Chase is the highlight of another great Festival."

Extra trains are also being laid on from Temple Meads station to Cheltenham Spa for the many race goers based in Bristol and the South West planning to go to the festival.

A spokesperson for CrossCountry Trains, which operates service between Bristol and Cheltenham, said: "We are adding extra services between Bristol and Cheltenham every day during the four-day meet to ensure race-goers can arrive quickly and stress free.

"We are also increasing the capacity on several of the 94 services which stop at Cheltenham Spa each day."

People buying tickets online can add a bus ticket which means passengers can step straight onto the dedicated shuttle bus which runs directly from Cheltenham train station to the race course every 10 minutes.

There is talk of extending the festival by another day but the racecourse is planning to complete a £30 million redevelopment first.

There are also early warnings of delays on the M5 motorway and drivers are being warned to avoid the area if possible.[/textarea]
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Air ... ticle.html

Bristol Airport is fortunate in that it picks up a lot of traffic from events on the fringe of its area such as Cheltenham and rugby matches at Cardiff.

This season the Heineken European rugby cup final is to take place at the Millennium Stadium and both CWL and BRS managements are hoping the contestants will be a French team and an Irish team. In the past when teams from these countries have contested the final at the Millennium dozens of aircraft have flown in for the match, with BRS seeing a huge overspill of those displaced from CWL. In fact, this year for the first time the number two European rugby cup competition has its final at Cardiff in the same weekend as the Heineken final.

Bristol also enjoys significant extra passenger numbers for events closer to home each year such as the Glastonbury Festival, Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (the hot air variety, not kiddies' party amusements) and Bristol Harbourside Festival, all of which draw in considerable numbers of people from overseas.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

More optimistic outlook

Minutes of the recent consultative committee meeting have now been published and BRS CEO Robert Sinclair is bullish about the airport's prospects.

He said he expects 2011 to be busier than 2010, which itself was up nearly 2% on 2009. A resurgence in business traffic is evident and the outlook is more optimistic than at any time since the recession began in 2009.

He also said that positive enquiries had been received from full-service airlines to fly from the airport next year and he expects to make a postive announcement in the next 3-6 months.

Today a news item has appeared on the airport's website saying that following this weeks 'successful' attendance at the Routes Europe Conference in Sardinia the airport is confident that new destinations are 'in the pipeline', and several new route announcements are expected in the coming months as a result.

I wouldn't like to even guess which full-service carrier or carriers is/are showing interest.

It was half hinted when Lufthansa axed the Frankfurt route in 2009 that it would return when economic conditons were right. The airport believed the decision was taken to prevent dilution of LH's nearby and more established routes to FRA from LHR and BHX in what was obviously an approaching major world recession. LH had actually told BRS management shortly before the axing was announced that the route was ahead of the airline's business plan for it.

Then again, I note the same LH chief saying recently they won't use LBA because of the proximity of their MAN routes, so who knows if LH really will return to BRS? The route was flown by LH subsidiary, Eurowings, using Bae 146-300 aircraft - perhaps a bit too large for the original schedule of 3 x daily 7 days per week?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Making money

The Bristol Evening Post did a piece on the airport yesterday that was largely supportive for once.

What caught my eye was the bit about the airport making £23.6 million profit last year from a turnover of £57.6 million.

Only the bald figures were quoted with no breakdown. However, I don't think there were any exceptionals last year that would have distorted the profits hugely which means the figures are pretty impressive.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Bristol Airport welcomes Glastonbury festivalgoers

People travel from all over the world each year to visit the festival, many of whom fly into the travel hub before making the onwards journey.

Efforts have been stepped up by Bristol Airport to help passengers on their way after a YouGov study found that 11 per cent of individuals would head outside their home country to watch their favourite band in action.

Indeed, around 175,000 individuals are expected to attend the famous festival this year.

Some may decide to take the National Express from Bristol bus station, or the Flyer express bus, which connects Bristol Temple Meads railway station to the airport.

The 2011 festival line-up includes Coldplay, U2, Beyonce, Tinie Tempah, Pendulum and Jessie J, as well as dozens more.

Glastonbury is held at Worthy Farm in Pilton. It kicked off this week and finishes on Sunday, when many people will then pack up their muddy tents and prepare to head back to Bristol Airport and other parts of the UK.
http://www.fhr-net.co.uk/travel_news/33 ... ivalgoers/

Beyonce Could Fly Into Bristol Ahead of Glastonbury

We have been exclusively told that international singer Beyonce could be flying into Bristol Airport ahead of the Glastonbury Festival.

The 'Single Ladies' singer will headline the final day of the festival at Worthy Farm.

Bosses at the Lulsgate Terminal are not sure when that will be. But they say at some point they are expecting her private jet to fly in this weekend.

Airport spokesman James Gore told us nothing has been fully confirmed yet: "We are quite excited about the prospect of seeing her, I am sure there will be some more acts using the airport. But Beyonce is the big one we are expecting.

He says the Glastonbury time of year always creates a buzz at the airport: "In the past, we have had Snoop Dogg, and Bruce Springsteen.

"Bruce's wife flew in on a separate aircraft, because they never travel together. So it is interesting to see how these big celebrities operate, and fly in for these big events."
http://www.jackbristol.com/news/bristol ... bury-6279/[/textarea]

I was at Bristol's main railway station at Temple Meads and at the country bus and coach station on Wednesday and, as usual, there were fleets of coaches and buses taking festival goers onwards from Bristol to Glastonbury. The airport also does pretty well out of the festival with a lot of people flying in on scheduled routes from around the UK and from further afield.

The festival actually takes place at the small village of Pilton (it was originally known locally as the Pilton Pop Festival) and the nearest large town is Shepton Mallet, not Glastonbury, but I suppose that Shepton Mallet, though an ancient market town, hasn't the same cachet and mystical ring of Glastonbury.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Glastonbury Festival

Further to my last post parts of south Bristol were brought to a standstill today with the tens of thousands returning from Glastonbury. The main road from the area in to the city (A37) was nose to tail all day long.

I was at Temple Meads railway station again this afternoon and the place was almost overwhelmed, with shuttle bus after shuttle bus coming to the station approach road and many more arriving by train from Castle Cary (nearest rail station to the site) either to connect to trains going further afield or travel to the airport.

In the half hour I was there the Flyer buses that run at ten-minute frequencies were leaving for the airport packed with passengers and I was told it was going on like this all day.

I don't know how many Glastonbury punters use BRS but by the look of things today it must be in the thousands.

 

[alphagolf]

Bristol Airport has now joined the ranks on Twitter!

@OfficialBRS

I emailed the marketing department last year about joining the social networking sites, but got no reply!

Maybe better late than never!

alphagolf

 

[Aviador]

Bristol Airport has now joined the ranks on Twitter!

@OfficialBRS

I emailed the marketing department last year about joining the social networking sites, but got no reply!

Maybe better late than never!

alphagolf

Forums4airports has finally got around to it as well!

 

[alphagolf]

Thanks Aviador, I have been following forums4airports for a couple of days!

 

[Aviador]

Thanks Aviador, I have been following forums4airports for a couple of days!

Ah yes gotcha leasantry:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS apron website

Does anyone know why the apron site seems to have been down for a week or two? I can still get the Mayflys from the site.

alphagolf, big g - any ideas?

 

[big g]

It's working fine for me, not sure whats wrong your end?

 

[alphagolf]

Mine deffo not working, tried it on Google Chrome, Opera and IE! I can access it, but had no aircraft on it for a few days now! Apart the EZY433 which has been on stand 9 since 15th April and the ghost aircraft on stand 32!

big g, are you using a different operating system to the rest of us!

alphagolf

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Apron website

I've tried Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and IE and still can't get the current apron.

Like alphagolf I can only bring up the apron with the single EZY aircraft that's been there since April. On the plan that is, I don't think it's remained on stand since April. :shok:

 

[Aviador]

Apron website

I've tried Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and IE and still can't get the current apron.

Like alphagolf I can only bring up the apron with the single EZY aircraft that's been there since April. On the plan that is, I don't think it's remained on stand since April. :shok:

I've just tried loading the Bristol apron plan and the same goes for me. D-EZY443 parked on stand number 9 at the Eastern end and an unknown aircraft parked on stand 32 at the Western end.

They must have decided to stop updating the system.