Infrastructure, Construction & Developments

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks Jono. Looks like a kid's giant building game.

They do look a bit like shipping containers. On the Wapping Wharf development site in part of Bristol Harbourside they really are using shipping containers for retail outlets.

http://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog...es-shape-with-arrival-of-shipping-containters

The arrivals area footprint is going to almost double or triple in size. The completed customs arrivals area is now huge. Looks like Gatwick or Manchester in size. Soon the immigration area is going to be increased in size. Already the place looks like a building site. Pasengers will have to walk through narrow boarded corridors for the next few months. Completion date is said to be april 2017.

Let's hope all the disruption is worth it. Sounds a very impressive area for arriving passengers to pass through.

 

[Ornsack]

Was there last week. Hotel has come on a lot. Starting to look mostly there from the outside.

Security search area is much better. Waited in line for about a minute even though things seemed busy (was easily a 20 minute wait when I used the older one a few weeks back). Even the bigger trays to chuck your stuff in made life easier. Big TV screen wasn't working, boo. I imagine it'll keep breaking until they just ditch it.

Arrivals was much bigger but I don't think many would even notice (my wife only noticed that the toilets had moved, haha!).

Quite liked the little Duty Free shop as you exit, although nobody came to the till to assist us so had to ditch the chocolates that would have only made us fat anyway.

In general it's all looking quite nice there.

 

[Aviador]

OMG this is a giant meccano set. Amazing film!

 

[superking]

i see te airport has got planning passed for extra car paking for 3,650 cars on agricultural land as well as the silver zone expansion. this is in addition to the multi story car park to be built.thats a lot of parking spaces to fill.i did read some where that the council is going to shut off airport parking,if they can.

 

[BRSregular]

Good news. The sooner that multi storey is built, the better. The site is crying out for decent car parking, a level walkway from the car park to the terminal and the removal of the pot-hole ridden gravel car park. For all the amazing work going on in the terminal, most customer's first impression of the place is the terrible
car park and the long uphill walk to Departures

 

[tpm]

Don't mind the uphill walk so much, but it would be nice to be able to get from car park to terminal without getting soaked if the weather is bad! I'd pay extra for that (and do so at LHR/LGW).

(Addendum: not that it makes any difference, since then you'll get soaked later when boarding the plane anyway )

 

[Aviador]

Isn't there a multi storey car park in the planning?

 

[superking]

Isn't there a multi storey car park in the planning?

you are correct in saying a multi story car park is planned.
the multi stork was to be built first as plans state. but with pax numbers much higher than forecasted for 2016, the airport applied to extend the pax car park on the south side,also move staff car park as well. so as these 2 are being done the multi story will be built as well. also on top of the multi story is a bus/coach terminal and taxi ranks.so in short change things round as what was stated on planning.it was all passed at planning with no problems.

 

[kraktoa]

The multi storey car park and the bus station on top of it is due to be completed by May 2018. Boy is that going to change the look of the airport!!

 

[BRSregular]

I'd say there is zero chance of that being competed by May 2018

 

[Jerry]

Excuse my ignorance as i've not being to BRS for a very long time but how are they going to build a bus terminal on top of a car park? Unless it's on some sort of slope?

 

[superking]

Excuse my ignorance as i've not being to BRS for a very long time but how are they going to build a bus terminal on top of a car park? Unless it's on some sort of slope?

they will put multi car park out front of terminal where the ground falls away and dig down a little then you have a multi story with a bus/coach park. if you look back a few posts on this forum you will see the plans and video with all the expansion shows and multi story as well.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Was there last week. Hotel has come on a lot. Starting to look mostly there from the outside.

Security search area is much better. Waited in line for about a minute even though things seemed busy (was easily a 20 minute wait when I used the older one a few weeks back). Even the bigger trays to chuck your stuff in made life easier. Big TV screen wasn't working, boo. I imagine it'll keep breaking until they just ditch it.

Arrivals was much bigger but I don't think many would even notice (my wife only noticed that the toilets had moved, haha!).

Quite liked the little Duty Free shop as you exit, although nobody came to the till to assist us so had to ditch the chocolates that would have only made us fat anyway.

In general it's all looking quite nice there.

I haven't been to BRS for a couple of months but I looked in today to pick up something. The much expanded landside arrivals area looks very minimalist (not a criticism) with light colours on the walls and just a few chairs for those waiting to meet incoming passengers. I used the gents which looks very modern but doubtless will soon deteriorate following contact by some members of the public.

Still a lot of work going on behind the boards in the terminal - the much extended immigration area?

As Ornsack wrote the hotel looks pretty well complete - on the outside anyway. To me it's a functional design but most people would be hard-pressed to believe that it started life as a collection of what looked like shipping containers.

 

[BRSregular]

I don't know if it's already been said here but the hotel is accepting bookings starting from 1 April according to their website which you can link to from the airport website.

I don't know how far the entrance of the hotel is to the terminal but the website says there is a shuttle bus! Surely that's not worth it is it?

 

[Jerry]

I don't know if it's already been said here but the hotel is accepting bookings starting from 1 April according to their website which you can link to from the airport website.

I don't know how far the entrance of the hotel is to the terminal but the website says there is a shuttle bus! Surely that's not worth it is it?

Yes as it would be part of the service the hotel provides. I do generally favour hotels at or near airports with a shuttle service and i doubt i'm the only one. If it's close to the terminal then it will probably be used more by the disabled and elderly guests.

 

[tpm]

It's not very far to the terminal, but if you have a bit of luggage you might prefer to wait a few minutes and take the bus rather than lug it all the way uphill to the terminal. Especially in bad weather. I suspect it's just the normal car park shuttle anyway.

 

[kraktoa]

The hotel is right outside the terminal. About 2 mins walk. Assuming the entrance/exit from the hotel has direct access to the main road and you are not made to traverse the entire car park to gain access to the main terminal road.

The car parkshuttle is once every 20 mins. The same bus goes around the long stay, short stay, hotel and old terminal building to serve the saff car park.

£99 for day 1 booking. Profit from the go!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BlipTrack - queue and flow management

BRS press release today at https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/news-and-media/news-and-media-centre/2016/12/bliptrack

A pity they resort to using the American spelling for traveller and I doubt that the people at Dublin Airport would be amused to know that the Bristol Airport management believes that the Republic of Ireland's capital city airport is located in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

If this does help to ease passengers' journeys through the airport then fine. I wonder how much benefit accrues at airports such as Manchester and Birmingham that already have this system.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bristol Airport Adopts BlipTrack to Streamline Operations and Boost Traveler Experience
Created: 22nd Dec 2016

Bristol Airport, one of UK´s fastest growing airports, is implementing a queue and flow management solution from Denmark-based BLIP Systems to help enhance the passenger experience and improve operational efficiency. The solution, called BlipTrack, measures passenger flow and dwell times, which enables the airport to understand how travellers move through and use the airport.

Passenger numbers exceeded the seven million milestone for the first time in Bristol Airport´s history in 2016. To ensure the passenger experience remains positive as volumes increase, the airport has enlisted the expertise of software specialists Gentrack to implement BLIP Systems´ BlipTrack Kerb-to-Gate Solution. The technology will provide the airport with a cohesive picture of guest experiences—from the moment they arrive, to when they leave, and everywhere in between.


It will enable Bristol Airport management to retrieve both live and historical information about specific patterns, such as walking routes, entrance and exit usage and time spent in specific areas—such as car parks, check-in, security, lounges, gates and more. Managers will be provided with an understanding of how disruptions or changes affect standard behaviour, and how to optimise each and every area to operate optimally.

Accurate wait times ease travelers´ minds.

As the solution collects data in real-time, it is able to provide early warning if congestion occurs. This rapid information allows the airport to take fast, proactive measures before the situation escalates.

From a traveler’s perspective, when the last phase of the central search development is complete the airport will be able to provide a positive travel experience by displaying accurate queue times on screens. This will allow passengers to reduce frustration by creating realistic wait time expectations.

The solution consists of dedicated WiFi/Bluetooth sensors and a sophisticated analysis platform. Bristol Airport is able to extract any combination of data, both real-time and historically, to provide the desired output. For example, management can review how long a typical customer spends in the check-in area. This pattern can be averaged over a day, a week, a month, as well as for a specific carrier, destination, time of day and more.

Paul Davies, Operations Director, Bristol Airport said: “We wanted to introduce a state-of-the-art technical solution to the challenges airports face in improving customer flow management in the terminal. We had very high expectations prior to the introduction of the system, and I am very happy to say that the outcome has proved very successful. The system has capabilities of further enhancements which will provide other long term solutions in the future.”

“To understand and improve individual areas of airport operations, it is important that the traveler’s journey is seen as a single process, rather than as a string of isolated events. The understanding that all individual events influence each other is key to unlocking potential gains. Accurate flow and dwell time information, to help understand, optimize and improve airport process, and to maintain acceptable waiting times” says Christian Bugislaus Carstens, Marketing Manager at BLIP Systems.

“Airport queues are amongst the most frustrating passenger experiences during a journey. By implementing BlipTrack, Bristol Airport will be able to analyse the situation in real-time as well as predict any potential issues and act accordingly," says Ilya Burkin, Business Development Manager at Gentrack.

Bristol Airport joins a host of other UK airports, including Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin and Edinburgh, who are using the solution in optimisation efforts. BlipTrack is also deployed in the city of Portsmouth and the Port of Dover to help ease traffic woes. Internationally, more than 30 international airports use the Danish technology, including Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, JFK Airport in New York, Copenhagen, Oslo, Brussels, and Auckland. The solution is also implemented in road traffic in Switzerland, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada and Ireland. In recent years, is has been rolled out in train stations, ski resorts, amusement parks, and at events all over the world.

 

[Aviador]

LBA has been using this for a number of years. If it's the same system it's done using passengers mobile phones. Basically, a number of bluetooth readers are placed around the terminal and as people pass the readers a computer records their movements and times them between the readers.

Big brother at work!

 

[Aviador]

Sorry, I've just read the article again and it does actually explain how it works.

I wouldn't call it state of the art though. LBA started using it 4 or 5 years ago.