Bristol Airport - General Thread

[Aviador]

That is peculiar. I've seen that aircraft on the ramp at LBA many times. Up until BMI reduced their presence at Leeds, many of the Leeds based crews used to operate that particular flight. I always wondered what it was and now you've just explained it.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]French strike grounds 500 passengers at Bristol International Airport

More than 500 passengers flying in and out of Bristol Airport yesterday (Friday 26 February) had flights cancelled following industrial action in France.

Inbound flights from Nice and Toulouse were cancelled, as were departing flights to the same destinations as well as those to Murcia, Alicante and Paris.

Five unions of air traffic controllers called the four-day strike, which finished last night , in protest over plans to integrate European air traffic control.

The move meant some flights over French air space had to be re-routed.

The strike came as workers fear losses of jobs as well as civil servant benefits. France's civil aviation authority says the walkout has forced the cancellation of half the flights at Orly Airport south of Paris and 15 per cent of the flights at Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris.

Long-haul flights out of Europe made up most of the cancelled flights at Charles de Gaulle, while at Orly the strike mainly affected domestic and European flights, a spokesman for the airports authority said.

Air France operates three daily return flights from Bristol to Charles de Gaulle, and easyJet also has a daily return flight to the same airport.[/textarea]

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Fre ... ticle.html

If it's not weather it's industrial action that's putting a brake on airports' much-needed plans to begin to get passenger numbers increasing again.

I remember that in the 1970s Britain was dubbed 'The Sick Man of Europe' because of all the strikes that took place here.

France has well and truly won that crown now.

 

[Aviador]

It seems to have become an annual event with the these Air Traffic Control strikes and if it's not the French it's the Spanish. They're a bloody nuisance.

 

[backtrack]

It seems to have become an annual event with the these Air Traffic Control strikes and if it's not the French it's the Spanish. They're a bloody nuisance.

It seems to be more the annual to be honest. But as you say its either the French or Spanish, ive heard little of strike action from the italians, your first bet would always be on the French, usually causing havoc to operations to typical holiday spots from the UK.

 

[Aviador]

...and always during the UK holiday season as well so it's almost as if they target UK passengers to vent their anger.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The BISON website (Bristol International Supporters Online) has closed down through lack of support.

It ran for a couple of years and was the brainchild of two young men who were keen to harness support for their local airport - at its launch they got themselves some good publicity in the local evening paper.

It was a professional looking site (one of the founders is a web programmer) and had over 200 members but in recent months interest seems to have lessened and they have taken the understandable decision to close it.

Although BRS has performed exceptionally well for many years there doesn't seem the general interest in it on web sites that some airports engender. forums4 airports is an example of this.

As for the airport itself, there will an announcement tomorrow giving details of a re-branding and a name change. Although all sorts of fanciful rumours have circulated from Banksy International, to Wurzel International (its unofficial name already) to Cary Grant International, I understand the change may be more prosaic with the former name of 'Bristol Airport' returning.

I hope this is the case because Bristol International always seemed a touch over the top to me and the reduction to BIA that the management invariably resorted to could be confusing with BHX also styling itself BIA.

 

[Aviador]

That's a shame. Hopefully some of the former BISON members will join us on here. They're more than welcome. It has always been a problem with local forums which is why I came up with the idea of Forums4airports - A national forum with a local theme and a local knowledge base without the snipping seen on some of the other forums. (most of the time at least!)

 

[Aviador]

[textarea]Bristol Airport no longer ‘international’

Bristol Airport has unveiled a new brand 'identity' as it prepares to announce a series of infrastructure changes that will improve passengers’ experiences. As part of the move the airport is dropping the word ‘international’ from its title after 13 years and replacing it with the slogan ‘Amazing journeys start here’.

A spokesman said the name change reflected the confidence of the airport that the growth of its route network over the last decade meant it no longer needed to stress its international range. International services at the airport far outnumber domestic routes, and it has the third highest number of international customers outside London – behind only Manchester and Birmingham.

However, the airport captures only 35% of the 17 million air journeys the south-west region generates each year, with the rest lost to London. Aviation director Shaun Browne believes the rebrand, combined with the airport’s 80th anniversary in May and the opening of a series of infrastructure improvements from this spring, will help increase Bristol’s share.

Chief among them will be a £12 million walkway linking the terminal to eight more aircraft stands on the western apron. Other developments include a £2 million ‘walk-through’ duty free store, an upgraded fast-track security lane and a new fleet of buses operating an improved Flyer service between Bristol and the airport.

Source[/textarea]


I dread to think how the local nimbys will perceive the loss of the word 'international' from the airports name.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I anticipated this name change in my previous post and welcome it.

With the Newark and African routes I'm just glad they didn't call in Bristol Intercontinental.

 

[Aviador]

Sorry - my slapped wrists for not paying attention! :hatsoff:

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Spring flights point way to busy summer

The start of spring will see a range of new routes launched at Bristol Airport, with several new services taking off this weekend (27-28 March).

Flybe launches a three times weekly flight between Bristol and the Isle of Man this Sunday (28 March). The airline will also increase the frequency of its Jersey service, with a daily flight operating from 1 May throughout the summer. This new route will link two of the world’s most iconic motor cycle events – the Isle of Man TT Race and the Weston Beach Race.

Ryanair will launch four new destinations in the space of two days, starting with Palma, Faro and Gdansk on Sunday (28 March) and culminating with Venice-Treviso the following day. This will take the total number of routes operated by the airline at Bristol to 34.

Sunday will also see another well-known Irish airline return to Bristol Airport. Aer Lingus Regional will take over operation of the existing Cork service, increasing the frequency to six flights a week.

Bristol was the destination of Aer Lingus’ first international flight and the airline has a long history of serving the South West.

The final new flight to take off from Bristol Airport this month will be easyJet’s new service to Tenerife, which commences on Tuesday 30 March.

This month also saw Continental Airlines revert to its summer schedule, operating a daily flight from Bristol to New York.

Passenger numbers were up by 14.2 per cent in February, registering a second successive month of growth at Bristol Airport. Forecasts indicate that summer 2010 could be the busiest in the airport’s history.

Earlier this month Bristol Airport marked the tenth anniversary of its terminal building by unveiling a new brand identity to guide its business over the next decade. The new brand represents ‘people’, ‘place’ and ‘region’ – the three pillars on which the airport’s success rests – and promises ‘Amazing Journeys Start Here’.

The airport celebrates its 80th anniversary in May, while Continental Airlines will mark five years of transatlantic flights from Bristol in the same month. The terminal is expected to handle its 50 millionth passenger towards the end of the year.

A number of significant improvements to the airport will also be officially opened over the coming months. These include a 450m long walkway linking the terminal to aircraft stands on the western apron. The walkway will reduce the need for buses to transfer passengers between the terminal building and arriving and departing planes.

A state-of-the-art ‘walk through’ tax and duty free store will also open in the spring, with regional products showcased in a ‘Best of the West’ range. A new fleet of buses will also shortly begin operating an improved Flyer service between Bristol and the airport.[/textarea]

http://www.bristolairport.co.uk/news-an ... aunch.aspx

Bit of spin there: not sure the Weston-super-Mare beach race has quite the international appeal of the Isle of Man TT although I believe a hundred thousand spectators watch the two-day autumn event at Weston-super-Mud. That's a bit unkind really because when the tide is in and the sun shines the sands look really golden and I'd better be careful because I went to school at Weston.

Nevertheless, it does look like a busy summer at Bristol with both Ryanair and easyJet introducing several more new routes as the summer unfolds.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

[textarea]Fault prompts Bristol Airport helicopter landing

A military Chinook helicopter has landed safely at Bristol Airport after reporting technical issues.

An airport spokesman said the helicopter touched down safely at 1311 GMT on Friday.

"The fire service was in attendance as a precautionary measure and following normal procedure. Bristol Airport remained open throughout," he added.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said the Chinook was on a routine training exercise from RAF Odiham in Hampshire.

She said a number of airfields would have been identified as possible landing sites as part of its flight plan in case of any problems.

"Engineers have been dispatched to Bristol Airport to fix the helicopter and it's hoped it can be repaired by Saturday morning," she added.

It is not known how many people were on board at the time.

RAF Odiham, located near Basingstoke, Hampshire, is a front-line support helicopter base working within the Joint Helicopter Command.[/textarea]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8589693.stm

 

[Aviador]

Glad to hear it landed without any further ado.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Just looked at the BRS apron website and note that currently parked on stand 2 is Jet2 Boeing 733, G-CELU.

She arrived from Gatwick at 1335 and is due to take a Lourdes flight at 1445.

Jet2 has become a rare visitor since winter 08/09 when a B 757 parked for much of each week in order to operate a weekly Sharm el Sheikh, and a B 733 visited on Sundays to and from Chambery.

 

[Aviador]

CELU was the aircraft my wife flew on to Barcelona during January 2008.It's funny how I remember that considering I don't follow aircraft registrations.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Volcanic Ash Disruption

An enterprising family (mother, father and two children aged about 10 and 12) were interviewed on the local telly news outside Bristol Airport today.

They were due to fly back with easyJet from Geneva yesterday but received a text message from the airline saying the flight had been cancelled because of volcanic ash. At first they thought it was a spoof message but when they realised it was genuine determined to get home.

They hired a taxi to reach Geneva railway station, then travelled by train to the Channel coast -wasn't made clear where.

They then caught a ferry across the Channel followed by a train to London.

Their cross-London journey was by underground, carrying their cases, then a train to Bristol, a taxi to the airport, airport bus to remote car park and car home to Taunton in Somerset.

It cost them around £1,000 to get home, money they realise they will not be able to reclaim.

The local telly also showed unusual activity today on the closed BRS runway.

Numerous members of staff from all departments, including CEO Robert Sinclair, took the opportunity for a 'bonding session' (these are well beyond the knowledge of someone of my vintage) that involved such things as jogging on the runway and flying kites from it.

All shapes and sizes (and that was st the staff) were seen being gently rocked by the always present wind atop that Somerset mountain.

 

[Aviador]

I was watching the BBC news channel last night and I caught the clips of the staff walking their dogs on the runway and flying kites. I thought that was a really good bit of PR for the airport, making a bit of humour out of a bad situation.

LBA have used the time to do scheduled maintenance on the runway through the daytime instead of just through the night. This has included the excavation of complete concrete runway paving slabs.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS website arrivals page is showing TCX 512 from Arrecife due to land in just over an hour's time.

This would almost certainly be the Thomas Cook A320 that left Bristol for Arrecife last Thursday morning shortly before the airport was closed.

It would be the first to land since the airport was able to reopen.

Thus far no other arrivals are shown on the web arrivals page.

 

[Aviador]

It would seem that way. It must be a nightmare for the operations department of airlines. Thomas Cook will have six days worth of passengers to bring back to the UK. I can't see then being able to resume normal operations for some time. Presumably people booked on holidays over the next few days will probably have their holidays cancelled.

 

[News Guru]

[textarea]Bristol Airport reopens after ash cloud flight ban

Flights to and from the airport were halted on Thursday because of a cloud of volcanic ash

Bristol Airport has reopened with the first flight landing just before midnight on Tuesday.

The first plane to take off from the airport was an Easyjet flight to Palma at 0615 BST.

But many flights from Bristol remain cancelled and an airport spokesman said it would take "several days, maybe more" to clear the backlog.

Flights to and from the airport were halted six days ago because of a cloud of volcanic ash over the UK.

The airport spokesman said around 40 arrivals and 40 departures were scheduled for Wednesday - about half the usual number.

He said: "Clearly there are lots of people to be repatriated and lots of people whose travel plans have been disrupted.

"It's going to be a tough job and we ask passengers to bear with us while we get back to normal.

"At the moment we are just waiting for details of exactly what will fly and when. As soon as we can we will make that available via our website."

In the meantime, passengers are urged to contact their airline directly for the latest information before setting off.

UK airspace reopened at 2200 BST on Tuesday. The Civil Aviation Authority said there would be a phased reintroduction of flights.

Source[/textarea]