Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Police probe after laser pen was shone at passenger plane as it flew in to Bristol Airport

Police are investigating a complaint from a pilot who saw someone shining a laser pen in to his cockpit as he came in to land at Bristol Airport.

The passenger plane was in its descent over Wiltshire when the potentially dangerous incident happened.

At about 9.24pm on Sunday, a Thomas Cook Airbus 321 was over the Calne area of north Wiltshire when the pilot and co-pilot were distracted by a green beam of light.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "Shining any form of powerful light in the direction of a flying aircraft is foolish at best and fatal at worst.

"Fortunately, on this occasion, the pilot was still able to land the plane safely at Bristol Airport but it could have been a very different story.”[/textarea]

Full story at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Police-inv ... story.html

Yet another idiot or idiots. Those convicted should be banged up - they aren't always.

 

[Aviador]

Are these laser pens not outlawed here in the UK yet? I suppose even if they were it would be easy enough for those intent on causing havoc or harm to order them by mail from other countries. There must be numerous items that are shipped into the UK from overseas that remain undetected by customs. :s_scratchhead

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Are these laser pens not outlawed here in the UK yet?

Not so far as I know. The snag is that they have many useful applications when used properly and to ban them could be counter productive.

That's why I believe that when morons use them to try to blind pilots (morons are actually more intelligent so I withdraw that description of these pin brains) they should be given lengthy prison sentences no matter that they may have no previous convictions.

Catching them can be difficult but those who are caught should be made examples of to deter others.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Laser pen distraction

Re the recent post concerning a TCX A321 flight crew being distracted by a laser beam, it transpires that the culprit is a seven year old boy who was out in his garden at nearly half past nine at night playing with a laser pen.

It came to light because a motorist had suffered a similar experience in this area.

Some parents.............................

http://www.bathchronicle.co.uk/Laser-pe ... story.html

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Ownership

Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund has now sold its 50% holding in the airport for a reported £250 million to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan that already held 49%.

Full story at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Australian ... story.html

 

[superking]

Ownership

Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund has now sold its 50% holding in the airport for a reported £250 million to the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan that already held 49%.

Full story at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Australian ... story.html

With the airport sorted out now with who owns it. it does wonder if the expansion plans are to be carried forward with the plans as they are, or scaled down on things, or plans to be boosted with a new masterplan.
it sure is interesting times ahead to see what will happen overall.
its speculate to accumalate, as we know any new owners of anything, always puts money on the table for what ever.
You never know the hotel saga might get the go ahead to start now.
on a closing note exciting times hope fully,and wonders how things will work out. hopefully with expansion.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

With the airport sorted out now with who owns it. it does wonder if the expansion plans are to be carried forward with the plans as they are, or scaled down on things, or plans to be boosted with a new masterplan.
it sure is interesting times ahead to see what will happen overall.
its speculate to accumalate, as we know any new owners of anything, always puts money on the table for what ever.
You never know the hotel saga might get the go ahead to start now.
on a closing note exciting times hope fully,and wonders how things will work out. hopefully with expansion.

It's a valid point. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan has gradually been increasing its share of the airport in recent years to the point where it now owns the whole thing. The hope must be that the new sole owner is satisfied with the way matters are progressing and won't be tempted to interfere in the day to day running and will leave it to the extremely capable management team.

I doubt that they would try to stick their oar in. They seem committed to the expansion plans.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Airport teams up with Tourism experts to promote West to the world

Bristol Airport has joined forces with Destination Bristol and Bath Tourism Plus to promote the West of England to airlines from across the globe at the world’s largest commercial aviation event.

The World Route Development Forum takes place in Chicago from 20-23 September and gives airports and tourism organisations the chance to meet with airlines to discuss new route opportunities.

As well as attending face-to-face meetings with airlines, Bristol and Bath will be represented on the VisitEngland stand in the international exhibition hall, showcasing iconic images of the West of England to 3,000 delegates, including representatives of 300 airlines.

This is the second year running that Destination Bristol has attended World Routes. Meetings at last year’s event in Las Vegas were instrumental in securing this summer’s twice-weekly Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) service from Stockholm which brought hundreds of high-spending Swedish visitors to the city. Bath Tourism Plus has attended the Routes Europe event in the past, but Chicago will be the first time the World Heritage City will be represented at the global event.

Shaun Browne, Aviation Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“World Routes is an important date in our calendar because it gives us the opportunity to meet with key decision-makers to make the case for new routes. Inbound tourism is a vital part of the passenger mix for airlines, so having the support of Destination Bristol and Bath Tourism Plus helps us to demonstrate the strong tourism offer we have for visitors to the West of England. We are confident we will be able to work together to secure new routes which will benefit the region and expect to announce details in the weeks following the Chicago event.”

John Hirst, Chief Executive of Destination Bristol, said:
“We are delighted to be able to continue this partnership with Bristol Airport. World Routes offers an unrivalled opportunity to network with airlines, travel trade and airports from across the globe and we are working closely with the Airport and VisitEngland to ensure that the potential of regional airports to deliver new routes and visitor markets is achieved. International visits to Bristol grew by 8.5% last year, making Bristol the 8th most visited city or town in the UK and this partnership is critical to continuing growth.”

The number of foreign residents using Bristol Airport has almost trebled in the last decade, with over a million journeys made by overseas visitors from 82 different countries in 2012.[/textarea]

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

Let's hope they come back with something good.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I reproduce a post my alter ego made in another aviation forum today in response to the question whether BRS's main scheduled airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, would expand significantly at the airport to drive the passenger growth even higher.........................

easyJet is now responsible for about half the BRS passenger numbers and Ryanair about a fifth. In any business it's not normally a good thing to rely on a tiny number of major customers; only this week we've seen what this approach has done to a mobile phone company. However, in the regional airport business, especially the medium size and smaller ones, it's so often the only way if sufficient footfall is to be achieved to make the airport viable.

In 2001 Go recognised the potential of an under served region that possessed both a vibrant and substantial business market as well as a large pool of comfortably off people, often older and retired, who had the means and desire to fly frequently for leisure. easyJet continued to expand the Go network when it purchased the former BA low-cost airline and built up a based fleet of 12 A319s by 2008. The recession then intervened and without downsizing much easyJet marked time at BRS in terms of overall rotations, although winters began to see more parked up aircraft for parts of most days and still do. The same applies to Ryanair. From 2010 airport passenger numbers have risen slowly but consistently every year and easyJet now bases five A 320s and six A319s which is broadly the same number of available seats as in 2008.

The point was made about Cdg. easyJet does regularly sell out on this route early; already four inbound and three outbound rotations are 'sold' out' in the next six days - a common occurrence this summer on BRS-CDG-BRS. Furthermore, easyJet operates mainly 319s to Cdg although two days each week now seem to be A320-operated as against one day each week earlier in the summer. The fares in GBP that are available for next week are mostly into three figures per sector, well into three figures in many cases. It must be presumed that the airline is very satisfied with this yield and has no wish to dilute it by adding extra flights, although it did operate 2 x daily on some days a few years back, then in competition with AF ATRS that ran up to 3 x daily. The only acknowledgement that easyJet is currently making to the pull-out of AF last spring is to operate daily next January instead of 4 x weekly as has been the case in recent Januarys.

Ryanair set up shop at BRS at the beginning of winter 2007/2008 although it had flown three routes (Dublin, Girona and Shannon) for several years beforehand with aircraft from other bases. The base fairly soon became five aircraft but last year it was reduced to two, reportedly because of a failure to agree various charges with the airport. Ryanair maintained its schedule last summer using aircraft from other bases. This summer there are three based aircraft with other rotations operated by aircraft not based at BRS. Ryanair has reduced the number of summer and winter rotations at BRS from the high point of three or four years ago and more than easyJet will axe routes and begin new ones at the airport. On many of its routes it commands extremely high load factors, eg this summer the months of May, June, July and August have seen load factors of 94% and above each month on all the Polish, Lithuanian and Hungarian routes, frequently between 96% and 99% per month. This of course doesn't necessarily guarantee airline approval in terms of yield and there are recent examples of FR routes being withdrawn at BRS despite very high load factors.

At present then it's hard to suggest that easyJet and/or Ryanair will step up to the plate more substantially at BRS. If they don't who will drive the passenger figures forward as has inexorably been the case for the past 50 years?

Coupled with the apparent stagnation of easyjet and Ryanair is the fact that BRS's annual increasing passenger figures since the recession have been achieved against gradually diminishing flight numbers through a combination of larger aircraft and higher load factors but there will come a time – soon I suspect – when rotations will have to increase markedly for the growth to continue.

History suggests that BRS will somehow find a way of keeping the momentum going. Since 1961 CAA stats tell us that there have been only eight years where passenger numbers have fallen against the previous year, invariably at a time of recession or other significant negative event such as the collapse of Court Line - 1967, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1985, 1990, 1996 and 2009. Even in the days of the 70s and 80s when BRS was city council-owned and a drain on the rate payers' pockets the passenger numbers generally increased year on year although they were then counted by abacus as 300,000 per annum was not reached until 1983.

It will be extremely interesting for BRS aficionados to look back in ten years' time to see if the growth was maintained and how it was done. One thing seems certain: it won't be a walk in the park.

 

[Aviador]

Like many other airports around the UK, Bristol airport suffers from the old "having all it's eggs in one basket" syndrome. Both Ryanair and Easyjet seem to co exist together to the point where they feel they have developed as much as they feel they can from Bristol airport without diminishing their own yield. Do you think the airport should therefore look to attract a third operator into the equation, one that might consider operating some of the routes Ryanair and Easyjet shy away from?

 

[Ray Finkle]

Bristol Airport hired a hospitality suite at Chicago's Wrigley stadium to showcase their plans,

Ahead of the formal programme at this year's World Routes a number of airports arranged special social events for airline partners. Bristol Airport was one of the more innovative airports about and snapped up a hospitality suite at the historic Wrigley Stadium.

Full article: http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... gn=the-hub

and an interesting chat with the Aviation Director Shaun Browne.

Already the only UK airport to see passenger numbers grow every year since the height of the recession in 2009, Bristol is bucking the trend again by forecasting strong performance in 2015 after revealing passenger numbers are expected to hit an all time annual high of 6.3 million this calendar year.

Full article: http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/bre ... kout-year/

 

[superking]

thanks for yr last post about routes and also the added interview. it was posative about every aspect of the routes and airport. it looks very posative with new buisness for the year 2015 onwards.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

.....and an interesting chat with the Aviation Director Shaun Browne.

S B seems very confident about BRS experiencing a 'breakout' year in 2015 with passenger volume heading towards 6.6 million and beyond.

It's a very interesting read for those interested in the fortunes the airport.

Like many other airports around the UK, Bristol airport suffers from the old "having all it's eggs in one basket" syndrome. Both Ryanair and Easyjet seem to co exist together to the point where they feel they have developed as much as they feel they can from Bristol airport without diminishing their own yield. Do you think the airport should therefore look to attract a third operator into the equation, one that might consider operating some of the routes Ryanair and Easyjet shy away from?

In the linked report Ray put up in his last post it seems that an enhanced easyJet programme is expected to be announced soon which will be part of the drive towards the 6.6 million mooted for 2015.

A third low-cost airline would obviously spread the 'risk' of relying on two main customers but it's difficult to see who would be brave enough to set up and challenge the entrenched easyJet and Ryanair. There might be some routes operated by another airline (Wizz for example) but I would have thought a third major presence is unlikely.

 

[superking]

with easy expected to enhance things at brs,perhaps they will add another cdg at some good times for a day return .
roumer that bmi dropping milan, perhaps they will look at cdg,can always hope, as it seems the easy offering is mostly fully booked.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

with easy expected to enhance things at brs,perhaps they will add another cdg at some good times for a day return .
roumer that bmi dropping milan, perhaps they will look at cdg,can always hope, as it seems the easy offering is mostly fully booked.

Cdg is an odd one. I can understand easyJet not wanting to dilute what must be (if the fares and almost daily 'sell-outs' are anything to go by) a high yelding route but they could still carry a few more passengers each day by using a daily 320 instead of a 319 five times a week (it was six times a week until recently but the 320 now seems regularly on the Sunday and Monday rotations) without doing damage to the yield.

According to a poster today in another forum bmi regional's MXP will be back next summer although it's still not currently bookable at all after the end of next month.

 

[forest1979]

With the airport sorted out now with who owns it. it does wonder if the expansion plans are to be carried forward with the plans as they are, or scaled down on things, or plans to be boosted with a new masterplan.
it sure is interesting times ahead to see what will happen overall.
its speculate to accumalate, as we know any new owners of anything, always puts money on the table for what ever.
You never know the hotel saga might get the go ahead to start now.
on a closing note exciting times hope fully,and wonders how things will work out. hopefully with expansion.

Interesting news on the sale... I wonder if a Canadian owned airport would like to see a Canadian leisure or business route to the southwest?? Probably more wishful thinking but a discussion point nevertheless... I’m sure, (but might be wrong) that air Transat used to fly a summer schedule into Exeter? If true I’m not sure what the attraction was with Exeter as a route...? I would think Bristol could accommodate a route if there was demand? Maybe Air Canada Rouge or west jet who appear to be branching out on a few European routes...??

Looking forward to hear what falls out of the routes discussions for 2015 and onwards...

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Interesting news on the sale... I wonder if a Canadian owned airport would like to see a Canadian leisure or business route to the southwest?? Probably more wishful thinking but a discussion point nevertheless... I’m sure, (but might be wrong) that air Transat used to fly a summer schedule into Exeter? If true I’m not sure what the attraction was with Exeter as a route...? I would think Bristol could accommodate a route if there was demand? Maybe Air Canada Rouge or west jet who appear to be branching out on a few European routes...?

Looking forward to hear what falls out of the routes discussions for 2015 and onwards...

I don't think a Canadian-owned airport will make it more or less likely that a Canadian route will follow. The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is a massive investment vehicle that part owns Birmingham Airport amongst many other infrastructure holdings in its portfolio.

Exeter's summer Toronto route was one of those things that began many years ago (probably 20 if not more) and remained fairly constant until a couple of years ago when it was axed. In 2007 EXT actually had two summer Toronto routes - the Transat to Toronto Pearson and Globespan to the Ryanairesque 'Toronto' at Hamilton. The following year the Hamilton route was switched to BRS but fared very poorly, not least because Hamilton is not Toronto and Globespan at the time was experiencing a lot of negative publicity nationally because of its poor service. It went out of business the following year. The BRS route operated via Dublin both ways.

BRS has been unlucky with its Toronto ventures. About 25 years ago Odyssey International began a summer route via Newcastle with B 757s but then went out of business. Some years later Royal Air began a route with A 310 aircraft but were then taken over by Canada 3000 who persisted with the route with B 757s via Glasgow. Then Canada 3000 ceased to trade.

BRS's services to Toronto have always been via another UK or Irish airport outbound but so too were EXT's.

Canada is not the destination it once was when many UK regional airports had routes to Toronto.

Fingers crossed that the apparent very good grounds for optimism next year re the airport's fortunes are well founded.

Incidentally, the quote in your post was not mine but superking's.

 

[Aviador]

Canada is an oddball. These days it doesn't seem to attract anywhere near the sort of interest it did back in the 1980's when the likes of Wardair were operating Boeing 747 charters to Toronto from many regional airports such as Newcastle, Leeds and Birmingham. Soon after the millennium Zoom airlines introduced flights from many regional airports bringing low cost travel and a fresh interest in travel to Canada but sadly the airline went out of business back in 2008. Since then there has been little interest in starting new services to Canada. Hopefully this might soon change, not just at Bristol but at other UK regional airports as well.

 

[superking]

routes fair chicago.
did anyone see the brs stand at the fair.
heard there was lots of meetings with airlines. i know after these things it takes a fair time for something to come out of it,just wondered if anyone had heard any thing

 

[TheLocalYokel]

routes fair chicago.
did anyone see the brs stand at the fair.
heard there was lots of meetings with airlines. i know after these things it takes a fair time for something to come out of it,just wondered if anyone had heard any thing

Nothing specific in terms of emanating from the conference itself although the BRS team that included tourism representatives from Bristol and Bath managed to get itself a lot of publicity out there not least by hiring a hospitality suite at Wrigley Field for a Chicago Cubs baseball game.

http://www.eturbonews.com/50572/nice-da ... e-pictures

Innovation has been a hallmark of the BRS management for many years and is one of the reasons why the airport punches above its weight.

There seems to be a lot of optimism for 2015 and rumours are floating around about a number of things. I note that the Bath tourism people are especially keen on the return of a NYC service - Bath seems like a mini USA at times with American accents everywhere in its tourist hot spots - and there are adverts for the city all along the road outside the terminal and on the back of at least one Flyer bus.

Thomson has already announced a larger programme for next summer and it's been posted in the bmi regional thread that the airline is recruiting flight and cabin crew at BRS with a suggestion that there might be eight aircraft based next year - currently it's five although one operates the Airbus corporate shuttle and another for Brussels Airlines on the BRU route.

Ryanair seems to be four based aircraft next summer, up from three this summer, although there is nothing to suggest their network will expand. They've been keeping it together this summer and last by using lots of aircraft from other bases.

Then there is the reported easyJet enhancement for next summer already discussed in the easyJet thread.

So it does seem the 6.6 mppa for 2015 mentioned in the routes conference article might well be realistic.That would be a rise of between 4% and 5% which is slightly up on the current figures for this year.*

* I'm sure you're already aware of a number of things I've included in this post superking but there will be some readers who won't be so please forgive me if it seems a bit like teaching granny to suck eggs..