Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

I've been a bit disappointed with the airport's Internet public communication recently.

I realise the apron website is no more than a public relations gesture towards those who are interested in the operations at the airport but the consultative committee pages have been deficient in recent months.

The minutes of the January meeting took a long time to appear and I emailed the airport, whereupon within a day or so they appeared.

Those minutes stated that the next meeting would be on 1 May. Normally the agenda for the next meeting appears on the website well in advance of the meeting. Not only did the agenda not appear - it's still not there - but the minutes of that meeting (I presume it took place) have yet to be published on the website.

Whereas the apron website is pure PR the consultative committee is not. It's the airport's method of satisfying its legal obligations (as such committees are at most airports) under section 35 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982 as amended.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It was a beautiful day today in the West Country after the early cloud had got itself out of the way.

I enjoyed a long walk around the slopes and combes not so far from Bristol Airport and I looked in on the airport on my return.

On days like this BRS's rural setting comes into its own. Dozens of people, presumably awaiting flights, were savouring the rare treat of a warm and sunny day seated on the grassy slopes that run along the front of the terminal building beyond the immediate terminal access road (restricted anyway).

They could not have failed to take pleasure from the panorama of fields and wooded hills, with the Severn estuary away to their left and several hundred feet below. This is one advantage that BRS does have over airports like LHR.

I wonder if anyone had the foresight to bring a picnic.

 

[Aviador]

You can almost feel the rays of the sun reading your post TLY.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

You can almost feel the rays of the sun reading your post TLY.

I admit to engaging in some poetic licence as a sprawling surface car park lay between the reposing figures and the more distant panorama but it is an extremely pleasant spot as airports go when the weather behaves itself.

Even better is the view from the western end of the airfield that gives a wider and more comprehensive view of the Severn estuary 600 feet below, the Welsh hills beyond and further around the Mendips and glimpses of the edge of the Quantocks close by Exmoor - so long as rain or mist doesn't intrude.

I always thought that the CO EWR route should have been marketed as operating straight into rural 'Liddle England'. :s_cool

 

[alphagolf]

Greetings,
I have this afternoon received a response from Alan Davies at Bristol Airport with reference to my email I sent regarding the Apron Website, please see below:-

Hi Andrew,

Robert Sinclair has asked me to respond to your email dated 29 May 2013 about the Apron website. I’m afraid it has not proved possible to reinstate the live apron layout so regrettably we have had no alternative but to remove this part of the website. I apologise for any inconvenience this causes but I hope your members will still be able to keep up with our operations using other published sources.

We share your disappointment about the cut to Thomson long haul operations but we are hopeful that they will return in the not too distant future.

Kind regards,


Alan Davies
Planning & Environment Director
Bristol Airport
Bristol, BS48 3DY

T:+44(0)1275 473603
M:+44(0)7775 748797
http://www.bristolairport.co.uk

I would welcome any responses from you all, and I will of course pass these on to Alan Davies.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I would welcome any responses from you all, and I will of course pass these on to Alan Davies.

Not surprised though it's disappointing because when it was working (nearly) correctly the apron website was a useful source of information.

The other 'published sources' that Alan Davies mentions could be more helpful.

For example, on the airport's own website the arrivals board is fairly comprehensive (except for aircraft type and number but to expect that would be unreasonable) in that it has adjacent columns against each flight headed 'Scheduled' (time of arrival), 'Expected' and 'Notes' with the last mentioned showing the actual time of arrival.

However, the departures board merely shows 'Scheduled' (time of departure) and 'Notes' against each flight with the last mentioned merely showing 'Departed' after the aircraft has left, with no indication of the time it left. The exception is a delay when this evening, for example, the EI 3287 that was schedued to depart to DUB at 1745 is shown under 'Notes' as 'Delayed until 1955'. However, when it's finally gone it will revert to 'Departed' with no time shown.

This might seem picky and only of interest to spotters. It's not - I'm not a spotter anyway - but I've found it frustrating when a family member or close friend has flown from BRS and I've checked the departures board a bit later in the day to see if there was a delay only to be met by the bland 'Departed'.

If the actual time of arrival can be shown is it too difficult to show the actual time of departure? They used to do so on the previous BRS websites.

The consultative committee section of the website is still out of date. In recent years they have shown the agenda for the next meeting in good time and later the minutes.

The last minutes shown on the website are those for the meeting of 30 January this year which end by saying the next meeting would be on 1 May. No agenda was shown for the 1 May meeting nor have any minutes for it appeared.

I've sent a message today to the relevant consultative committee email address and am awaiting a reply. The last time I did this the minutes appeared on the website in short order.

The comment from AD about TOM and long haul is somewhat nebulous and really sheds no light on the conundrum of TOM pulling out after their MD Chris Browne categorically stated that BRS would be one of the first UK airports from which the B 787 would operate when the type first landed in Britain at Farnborough in 2010.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Following my email re the non-appearance of latest consultative meeting agenda and minutes on BRS website, they've now appeared.

It's gratifying that to see such a rapid response to an email but it's the second time I've had to do it in recent months. It would be more satisfactory if those responsible were able to carry out these tasks without prompting.

Actually, I've noticed that the minutes of recent meetings seem to be less detailed than was once the case. Nothing much of general interest was discussed at the last meeting. I'm in the process of mentioning one or two infrastructure updates in the relevant BRS thread on this forum.

 

[Skywatcher]

I would welcome any responses from you all, and I will of course pass these on to Alan Davies.

Sadly, the Apron website as we knew it is no more, and I feel a little guilty that I may have been instrumental in its early demise by raising the topic again. Perhaps some people did find find some value in what was showing after all.

I say the apron website is no more. What I mean is that the title 'Welcome to Bristol International Airport's APRON' is a bit misleading now that it contains only Mayflys, don't you think? Perhaps the airport can find an alternative title by dropping the word 'apron' if there's no prospect of bringing apron information back again.

Thanks for raising my previous concern with the airport anyway.

EDIT: Incidentally, I was never able to get the apron stands and aircraft arrivals/departures on my iPad - only the Mayflys. Something to do with there being no flash on the iPad, perhaps?

 

[superking]

when trying to find out news or anything to do with the airport,i always think back to the late great les wilson. If any news regarding airport or connected with it,he was first to know and every body else was second to know.
It looks to me that any news or what ever is happening is like the secret service to find out.
My thoughts are that any news etc,does not make money for airport.
regarding the airport web site it was intended for ground staff etc,so was put on public viewing. so does this mean they are getting imformation from another scource and this not being extended to the general public,
I would have thought seeing its been on line for a number ofr years that if something similar is around then put it on for public viewing. Also in a way it makes for good pr in my book.
sorry its so long,but i had to put my thoughts on here.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Not long at all, superking - a concise summary of something with which I empathise to a considerable degree.

Les was Mr Bristol Airport and it's not fanciful to suggest that without his seemingly inexhaustible energy; his ability to get his airport in the local, sometimes national and occasionally international news; his nose for a sound bite (before the term became common currency); his contacts within the industry, there might not even be a Bristol Airport today.

Les was appointed as airport MD in 1980 at a time when the airport was second fiddle to Cardiff, although annual passenger numbers at both airports were well under 300,000 per year, and there was a not inconsiderable weight of opinion within Bristol's council corridors that a serious option would be closure as the airport was a drain on city rate payers' money.

I've never been sure if Les's appointment was a calculated and inspired move by a council not normally known for such acts of foresight or whether it was a last chance public gesture in the hope that they could say they'd done everything possible but the airport was still a burden.

Although he was experienced in the aviation industry having been an air traffic controller in the RAF and later in civilian life (he was also briefly a professional footballer before a serious injury ended his career) he had no serious track record actually running an airport apart for a briefish period at Lusaka, Zambia, and came to Bristol from Luton Airport where he held a senior marketing role.

Les operated when the airport was council-owned. In today's environment of ownership by major international funds, professionally managed, he might have had to toe the 'party line' more closely but I'm sure his ability to get his airport regularly 'on the front page' for positive reasons would not have been lost.

I always remember the time in the early 1990s when Les announced to the local press that his airport was now handling more passengers each year than the combined totals of Cardiff and Exeter airports. That was typical Les - a simple but easily-understood sound bite. What would he make of things today with BRS handling three and a half times as many passengers each year as CWL and EXT combined?

It was a tragic day when he was killed in a car accident in 1995. He was about to be invested with the OBE for services to aviation.

 

[kraktoa]

Heard on the grape vine that the red arrows are coming to Bristol airport soon. Anyone have any specific details

 

[superking]

red arrows in weston on sat the 22 june.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

In an article about the change of ownership at Exeter Airport the MD of Flybe, Andrew Strang, is reported as having made this rather strange remark about Bristol Airport.

Flybe welcomes the sale of Exeter airport to the Rigby Group Plc and looks forward to working with the new owners to develop services from Exeter and improve the passenger experience at the airport. Given the recent fare increases at Bristol Airport, Exeter should be able to capitalise on its position as the premier airport in the South West and the next few years at the airport look set to be an exciting period.

Full article at this link: http://www.travel-news.co.uk/8511/2013/ ... port-sale/

I've not been able to find out what he's talking about in regard to fare increases at BRS. I thought that airlines set fares, not airports. Is he talking about all airlines at BRS or just his own which operates only two routes neither of which is daily?

I was at the airport this afternoon and used the Flyer to get there. Temple Meads was solid with returning Glastonbury festival goers, as usual, and a fair number used the Flyers this afternoon. The Flyer I used had a number of young Germans travelling home - let's hope they used bmi regional as loads could do with a boost - and was rammed full of passengers, as seemed to be the case with most of the Flyers this afternoon.

I spent a few days in Ireland last week using Aer Lingus Regional to/from Cork. The oubound ATR72 on Tuesday was almost full and the return on Saturday had no empty seats, with a lot of Irish accents around the boarding gate which is always a good thing as it suggests a healthy inbound market.

The previous site of the business lounge at BRS is now a general waiting area with a good view of the eastern apron and the eastern end of the runway.

 

[kraktoa]

Maybe he is referring to the landing charges and other charges that airports make on airlines (which eventually gets passed on to the pax). Dont know if it is true that airport fees have been hiked.

I do know that Cardiff raised charges and Ryan Air called their bluff and moved out.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Maybe he is referring to the landing charges and other charges that airports make on airlines (which eventually gets passed on to the pax). Dont know if it is true that airport fees have been hiked.

I do know that Cardiff raised charges and Ryan Air called their bluff and moved out.

A poster on another forum suggests that the passenger fee element of the taxes and charges in the fare may have gone up since March. Can't say I've noticed it but I only check the total fare usually.

It's possible I suppose that if this is the case it might have been part of Ryanair's reasoning to reduce its BRS base size this summer (although the airline is flying more weekly rotaions this summer than last), albeit the popular reason was that the peak hour and possibly overight parking charges had gone up.

Interestingly, and unusally for Ryanair, the base was reduced in size with no public acrimony or even an announcement as is often the case when FR does this sort of thing.

 

[alphagolf]

Bristol Airport - reporting a record June with over 625,000 pax.......

Record June at Bristol Airport

News Release (08/07/13)

Bristol Airport
Passenger numbers surpass previous peak in 2008

Bristol Airport recorded its busiest ever June last month, with over 625,000* passengers travelling through the terminal. This surpassed the previous record, set back in 2008, by 15,000 and represented a 3.4 per cent increase on the same month last year - despite the 2012 figure being boosted by a late Whitsun Bank Holiday and the Queen’s Jubilee.

Growth was recorded across all airline sectors, with bmi regional’s new services to Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg performing particularly well. KLM’s four-times daily service to Amsterdam also carried 12 per cent more passengers than in the previous year, benefiting from the introduction of a larger Embraer 190 aircraft on the route.

Forecasts for the peak summer holiday season are positive, with new or additional services to Corsica, Chania (Crete), Zurich and Dalaman (Turkey) expected to prove popular.

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“We are delighted with June’s results, which demonstrate returning confidence in both the business and leisure travel markets. We will look to build on this successful first half of the year, and are already working hard on new initiatives for 2014, with new or additional services likely to be announced in the coming months.”

In 2012, Bristol Airport’s passenger numbers rose for the third successive year, up 2.8 per cent to 5.9 million, making Bristol the only airport in the UK’s top ten to see growth each year since the end of 2009.

Source: Bristol Airport
http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media-c ... -june.aspx

 

[TheLocalYokel]

When the CAA stats are published later this month the 12-month rolling figure should be in excess of 5,980,000 which means that by August (possibly even July although it's an outside chance) the 6 million barrier should be broken for the 12-month rolling period.

Short of something completely unforeseen 2013 should turn out to be the fourth consecutive calendar year of passenger growth and the second to see more than 6 million passengers after 2008's 6.228 mppa.

BRS has been one of the most resilient airports through the recession, being one of the last to be affected and one of the first to see recovery kick in. It lost nearly 10% of its passenger numbers in 2009 with the annual figure dropping to 5.615 mppa which was the first drop in annual passenger figures since 1990.

In fact, looking back to 1968, which is as far back as my CAA BRS stats go, BRS has seen passenger falls in only five of the 45 years, viz 1969, 1974, 1985, 1990 and 2009.

Good also to hear that some of the bmi regional routes did well in June.

It does seem that this summer is seeing a number of airports doing well which bodes well for the UK aviation market as a whole.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Bristol Flying Centre gains DFT approval to extend handling capabilities

DFT grants FBO Bristol Flying Centre approval to extend capabilities.

The FBO has been awarded approval to handle all charter flights directly from its new facility and the DFT removed the restriction of it not being able to handle flights over 10 tonnes unless privately owned or derogated flights.

The FBO was redeveloped earlier this year and is now capable of handling private and charter flights though its two lounges. The in-facility UK Border Force check-point, which is available whenever required, means customers never have to leave the FBO at any part of their journey.

BFC Group CEO, Phil Brockwell said “It has been our plan to create a world leading business aviation site at Bristol Airport and the Airport management team have been instrumental in helping to make this happen. Our FBO is only a short taxi to the runway and 10 yards from our ramp. This, combined with a dedicated security gate to enable direct access for vehicles to the aircraft, ensures that our continued development of the BFC FBO makes perfect sense for passengers, operators and the airport”.[/textarea]
Full report at: http://corporatejetinvestor.com/article ... proval-138

The Bristol Flying Centre complex is on the south side of the airfield and on the opposite side of the runway from BRS's main terminal and airliner aprons which all lie on the northside.

It's gained a huge amount of business this year following the closure of the Filton runway and the Airbus Corporate Shuttle (up to eight or nine flights on weekdays operated by bmi regional to Toulouse and Hawarden) transferring to BRS. There is also an operation through the BFC each weekday to Walney Island for Vickers.

On top of that the BFC is an important provider of a full range of general aviation services, from engineering and handling to private air charter and aircraft management.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Concorde flies in at Bristol Airport

Lighting feature based on iconic ‘delta’ wing of Bristol-built aircraft

A lighting feature based on the iconic ‘delta’ wing shape of Concorde has been unveiled in the departure lounge at Bristol Airport. Passengers can now take a trip down memory lane and marvel at this much loved, locally built aircraft while waiting to board their flights.

Local businesses, Lighting Services and SSE Contracting, were tasked with designing and installing the lighting feature based on an initial idea from Bristol Airport’s Head of Engineering, Fraser Dury, who commented:

“We wanted to enhance the passenger experience within the departure lounge by increasing the lighting levels. The location we chose is above the main seating area and visible from both the first floor and mezzanine level, so the idea of doing something a bit different and creating a talking point for passengers developed. Taking the iconic shape of Concorde for inspiration made sense because of the strong links between the aircraft and Bristol.”

The lighting feature measures 9.2 metres by 3.7 metres and weighs 120kgs, with LED coloured lighting following the distinctive style and shape of Concorde. The feature is suspended from the ceiling in the departure lounge and all departing passengers will be able to relax and enjoy the lighting concept prior to boarding their flight.

Mike Littleton, Bristol Airport’s Community Relations Manager and former Chairman of the Concorde Trust, said:

“We are very proud of Bristol’s aviation history and the new lighting feature emphasises the links between design, manufacturing and commercial aviation. Not only will the lighting feature be practical, it will also remind passengers of the wealth of aviation history attached to the city of Bristol.”

Another visual enhancement for summer 2013 has been made in the walkway linking the terminal to a number of departure gates where new artwork showcases various visitor attractions in the region. This new imagery complements a 57m mural which aims to capture the spirit of the South West for inbound visitors, and a 40m long display showcasing Airbus aircraft and local employees involved in their design and manufacture.

Bristol Airport is preparing for a busy summer holiday season and has already recorded its busiest June ever last month, with over 625,000* passengers travelling through the terminal. This surpassed the previous record, set in 2008, by 15,000 and with a 3.4 per cent increase on the same month last year.

Passengers are reminded to allow plenty of time for their journey to the Airport, arriving at least two hours ahead of the scheduled departure time of their flight.

*Due to differences in the way some flights are recorded, Bristol Airport figures may contain small variances when compared to those reported by the CAA.

Bristol Airport Press Release [/textarea]

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Ryanair shines in Bristol Airport's inaugural Tracker Awards

Ryanair took the plaudits at Bristol Airport’s inaugural Tracker Awards, having achieved 100 per cent compliance with departure routes set up to minimise noise disturbance for local residents.

In addition the Irish airline, which flies to 31 destinations from Bristol, topped the table for Continuous Descent Approaches (or CDAs) – a procedure which reduces fuel burn and noise from arriving aircraft. Ryanair’s Base Captain, Jonathan Moss, was presented with a certificate to mark the achievement and a large cake to share with his fellow flight crew.

Bmi regional, which has introduced six new routes from Bristol Airport since last October, also received a certificate in recognition of outstanding performance for its operation of the Brussels Airlines service to the Belgian capital during 2012. One hundred per cent departure track compliance was achieved, with a 92 percent CDA rate. Aurigny, easyJet, Flybe, Thomas Cook and KLM also received a letter of thanks from Bristol Airport’s Chief Executive Officer, Robert Sinclair, for achieving 100 per cent departure track compliance.

The Tracker Awards have been introduced to recognise outstanding operational performance by airlines at Bristol Airport, based on monitoring of compliance with noise preferential routings (NPRs) and the rate of CDAs achieved.

CDAs are becoming more widespread for aircraft arriving at UK airports, with advances in navigational technology likely to further increase their use in future. When flying a CDA procedure, aircraft stay higher for longer, descending continuously and avoiding any level segments of flying which would require additional engine power to be applied. This reduces the noise impact on the ground under certain areas of the flight path (between around 10 and 25 miles from the runway) by up to about 5 decibels, saves fuel and reduces emissions.

Alan Davies, Planning and Environment Director at Bristol Airport, said:

“We are delighted with the enthusiasm and interest shown by airlines in our track-keeping data. Considering there were over 50,000 air transport movements to and from Bristol Airport last year, the high rate of compliance achieved is particularly impressive. The Tracker Awards are designed to reward the best performers and encourage even better performance levels, with associated benefits in the shape of noise and emissions reduction.”[/textarea]
Bristol Airport release: http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/media-c ... wards.aspx

Well done Ryanair. I'm not a big fan of their customer relations but I've never doubted their professionalism when it comes to actually operating aircraft.