Bristol: Ryanair Routes News & Base Updates

[TheLocalYokel]

Interesting to know how whispers of jet2 heading to the southwest now become whispers of not.

Partly because of the Monarch situation. Partly because both STN and BHX have seen their networks increased very quickly after the initial programmes were announced. This means, as Sherburnflyer points out, that there would be difficulties in finding more aircraft given the current state of orders and future retirements. As regards BRS, it really does seem that they are lukewarm about adding significant new carrier presences.

If this policy changes in the next couple of years and someone like Jet2 is interested and a deal can be struck then the aviation business is very fluid and things can alter.

Apart from the current growth policy which some of us question, the other great surprise is the airport embarking on a fundamental look at its future with no CEO in place. When the new person is finally announced whoever it is might have different ideas about the means of future growth.

It would be the only part of the uk without a jet2 presence and they are advertising heavily in the media at the moment .

They are and in the West Country. On at least two occasions the West Country edition of the Metro free newspaper has carried double page wrap-around advertisements for Jet2's BHX routes.

This could be taken as a sign that they are going to come no further south than BHX for the time being, or equally it might be a way of getting the brand name known through West Country travellers using Jet2 at BHX before starting something closer to the area in the future.

As this is the Ryanair thread we'd better head back towards that airline. Perversely, given the BRS growth attitude, Ryanair seems the only one of the four main airlines at the airport that is showing little growth, particularly in the summer months.

 

[Jerry]

As this is the Ryanair thread we'd better head back towards that airline. Perversely, given the BRS growth attitude, Ryanair seems the only one of the four main airlines at the airport that is showing little growth, particularly in the summer months.

In a way that is probably because of the same situation. With the collapse of Monarch a lot of the focus seems to be on MAN and BHX and STN. If Ryanair were going to add new routes what would be the most likeliest destinations?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

In a way that is probably because of the same situation. With the collapse of Monarch a lot of the focus seems to be on MAN and BHX and STN. If Ryanair were going to add new routes what would be the most likeliest destinations?

Ryanair hasn't grown much in summer at BRS for several years.

I wouldn't even hazard a guess at what routes Ryanair might add if it was minded to increase its BRS operation.

In summer 2017 there were 31 routes. With Bergerac, Reus and Zadar not currently bookable for summer 2018 but with the addition of Cologne on last summer that would leave 29 routes for the coming summer.

Since opening its BRS base in 2007 Ryanair has axed 30 routes at various times (that doesn't include Bergerac, Reus or Zadar), 12 of which it either later restored or are now being operated by another airline.

Those routes that it once operated but are no longer flown by anyone at BRS are - some were seasonal: Derry, Dinard, Szczecin (Stettin), Shannon, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Pau, Perpignan, Montpellier, Toulon, Trieste, Bratislava, Bydgoszcz, Rimini, Belfast City, Riga, Lodz, Treviso.

Of these Riga might be an option. Bratislava always had very high loads but with easyJet now operating to Vienna that might rule it out. Treviso was moved to Venice MP to compete with easyJet. Several of the French routes were operated for one summer only - in 2009 at the height of the recession.

Then again I'd never have suggested Cologne, so who knows?

 

[Marko1]

Personally I think everything that was announced for Manchester would work at Bristol but I'm deeply sceptical that we will see anything to be honest. The number of requests via various media platforms asking when Bergerac is to be flown and the usual answer ( routes released 6 months before - if that's the case 6 months from now is almost august = not going to happen ). Personally I think Ryanair doesn't have much ambition for Bristol.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Personally I think everything that was announced for Manchester would work at Bristol but I'm deeply sceptical that we will see anything to be honest. The number of requests via various media platforms asking when Bergerac is to be flown and the usual answer ( routes released 6 months before - if that's the case 6 months from now is almost august = not going to happen ). Personally I think Ryanair doesn't have much ambition for Bristol.

Ryanair opened its Bristol base at the beginning of winter 2007-2008. Prior to that it had operated Dublin, Shannon and Girona routes for a number of years from those bases. The first based complement at BRS was two aircraft and after a couple of years 4 or 5 aircraft in summer, except for summer 2013 (see below). That summer is an interesting reflection on the fact that with Ryanair the size of the base isn't necessarily the determining factor as to the extent of the network.

I've looked back at each summer and winter since the base opened showing the number of routes operated and the number of weekly rotations in each season. Winter doesn't usually vary much apart from Christmas when for example this winter there were 12 additional rotations spread across a number of routes. I've not counted the Christmas additions in any winter period. Summer does vary from month to month with some routes in terms of weekly rotations, although not on all. I've shown the busiest month for each summer which is usually August.

I'll begin with the summer seasons:

2008 18 routes, 75 weekly rotations
2009 28 routes, 107 weekly rotations
2010 32 routes, 124 weekly rotations
2011 27 routes, 111 weekly rotations
2012 28 routes, 108 weekly rotations
2013 31 routes, 115 weekly rotations*
2014 28 routes 115 weekly rotations
2015 27 routes, 118 weekly rotations
2016 29 routes, 132 weekly rotations
2017 31 routes, 131 weekly rotations

* In summer 2013 following a disagreement with BRS over charges Ryanair reduced its based fleet from 5 to 2 aircraft, but in so doing added three routes and seven weekly rotations by using aircraft from some of its other bases.

It will be seen from the above that apart from 2008 the number of routes operated each season was in the range 27-32. The number of weekly rotations after 2008 was in the range 107-124 until the last two summers when they reached just over 130.

Now the winter seasons:

2007-2008 16 routes, 76 rotations
2008-2009 20 routes, 82 rotations
2009-2010 14 routes, 88 rotations
2010-2011 18 routes, 55 rotations
2011-2012 18 routes, 57 rotations
2012-2013 18 routes, 51 rotations
2013-2014 16 routes, 57 rotations
2014-2015 14 routes, 53 rotations
2016-2017 19 routes, 69 rotations
2017-2018 20 routes, 76 rotations

After the first three winters when Ryanair, like easyJet in its early years at BRS, tended to operate a higher winter frequency on some routes than is the case in recent years, the number of weekly rotations settled down in the 50s until the previous winter and the current winter when they've increased by over 40%.

Apart from this and a slight summer spurt in both 2016 and 2017 the BRS offering has been broadly fairly flat in terms of numbers of routes and weekly rotations since the base opened. Routes have come and gone with at times a bewildering rapidity, although in a number of cases axed routes have re-appeared a few years later - in some cases they were then axed for a second time.

I've not checked summer 2018 as I usually wait until just before a summer season begins given Ryanair's penchant for altering things almost up until the eleventh hour, although in recent years this has not been anything like as evident as was once the case.

Sorry for the abundance of figures but it's the only way to show that our gut reaction about Ryanair and its growth at BRS is not far from the mark.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Summer 2018

Having had a spare half hour I did look at summer 2018, having previously said I usually wait until just before a summer season begins given Ryanair's habit of altering things late on, albeit much less frequently than was once the case.

This is the current offering. Zadar, Bergerac and Reus are still not available for booking so it’s looking increasingly likely that they have been axed. Zadar was a new route last year and operated for the summer season; Bergerac has operated in summer since 2008, and for the past two summers has been increased to 3 x weekly in the main summer months from the previous 2 x weekly, although it didn't commence until June in 2016 and 2017; Reus has operated in summer since 2009 although it was dropped for summer 2015 before being restored in summer 2016 and 2017, albeit commencing in June in both years.

May 2018 is showing 118 weekly departures against 116 in May 2017. Minus Zadar 2 x w. Plus Cologne 4 x w.

June 2018 is showing 118 weekly departures against 115 in June 2017. Minus Zadar, Bergerac and Reus 6 x w in total. Plus Cologne 4 x w, Dublin increased from 14 x w to 19*.

* Dublin will be 19 x weekly for the entire summer

July 2018 is showing 118 weekly departures against 121 in July 2017. Minus Zadar, Bergerac and Reus 7 x w in total, Alicante reduced from 10 x w to 8, Gran Canaria reduced from 3 x w to 2, Tenerife reduced from 4 x w to 3, Chania reduced from 3 x w to 2. Plus Cologne 4 x w, Dublin increased from 14 x w to 19.

August 2018 is showing 121 weekly departures against 131 in August 2017. Minus Zadar, Bergerac and Reus 7 x w in total, Gran Canaria reduced from 3 x w to 2, Tenerife reduced from 4 x w to 3, Chania reduced from 3 x w to 2, Beziers reduced from 4 x w to 3, Faro reduced from 10 x w to 7. Plus Cologne 4 x w.

September 2018 is showing 121 weekly departures agains 121 in September 2017. Minus Zadar, Bergerac and Reus 7 x w in total. Plus Cologne 4 x w, Alicante increased from 8 x w to 10, Palma increased from 9 x w to 10.

• The only other change on summer 2017 is the replacement of Castellon with Valencia (rotations stay the same at 2 x weekly) which is a reversal of the switch made in 2015.

Apart from August the monthly totals of departures are broadly in line with summer 2017. Summer 2017 was broadly in line with summer 2016 including August that year. Faro continues to drop in August (in 2016 it was 12 x weekly, in 2017 10 x weekly, in 2018 7 x weekly) although in the other summer months it has seen a consistent number of weekly departures each month at 7 (daily).

easyJet operates at 16 x weekly to Faro throughout the summer (2 x daily with 3 x daily on Tue and Sat), and TUI begins a new Faro route of its own on 6 May. Perhaps understandable then Ryanair is cutting back a bit on this route.

Total number of routes is 29, against 31 in 2017 (minus Zadar, Bergerac and Reus, plus Cologne).

 

[jfy1999]

Seville is a new route for W18 at 2x weekly, returning after several years' absence I believe.

 

[alphagolf]

Seville is a new route for W18 at 2x weekly, returning after several years' absence I believe.

easyjet commence 2 x Weekly Seville from Bristol on 2nd June 2018, I can't see anything on ryanair's booking engine to suggest they are returning to Seville......

 

[jfy1999]

The announcement was in their news section.

Their W18/19 flights will go on sale sometime next week.

 

[Jerry]

New Bristol To Seville Route Launched
13 Feb 2018

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, today (13 Feb) launched a new Bristol to Seville route which will run twice weekly as part of its Winter 2018 schedule, which will go on sale on the Ryanair.com website next month.

British consumers and visitors can enjoy even lower fares and the latest “Always Getting Better” improvements including:

– Reduced checked-in bag fees – lower £25 fee, bigger 20kg bag allowance

– Connecting flights at Rome, Milan & Porto with more airports to follow

– Ryanair Rooms with 10% off Travel Credit

– Ryanair Transfers – wider choice of ground transport with new partner Car Trawler

– Punctuality Promise – 90% of our flights will be on time

– Price Promise – find a cheaper fare and we’ll refund the difference + £5 to your My Ryanair account

Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs said:

“We are pleased to launch our new route from Bristol to Seville with a twice weekly service, which will operate as part of our Winter 2018 schedule. This route which is part of our Winter 2018 schedule will go on sale next month, and British consumers and visitors can look forward to even lower fares and the latest “Always Getting Better” improvements.

To celebrate, we are releasing seats for sale from just £19.99 (subject to availability) for travel between March and May, which are available for booking until midnight Friday (16 Feb). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com now and avoid missing out.”
https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-launches-new-bristol-to-seville/

 

[Marko1]

I'm not being ungratefeful but we finally get an airline to fly to seville ( easyJet) and then Ryanair also launch . Not only does it not make much sense when there's Rome Madrid Berlin and countless others more suitable but it kind of goes against the airports own policy of no competition for competitions sake. However good news . If that's not the case where's jet 2 ? But what about the summer programme ?

 

[superking]

New route Valencia 2 flights a week.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

The press release for easyJet's route to Seville said it was a summer route - it doesn't actually begin until 2 June which might suggest that easyJet believes it's a peak summer route. If easyJet routes are to be year-round it's usually mentioned in the press release. It might be interesting to see easyJet's reaction to Ryanair beginning a winter route.

There is of course the Airbus connection between Bristol and Seville. The A400M wings are made at Filton and shipped to Spain for assembly at Seville - there was a local documentary on the telly recently showing the huge convoy that takes the wings from Filton to Bristol Port, I can't remember if it was Avonmouth or Royal Portbury. However, how much personnel connectivity there is I haven't a clue.

Ryanair previously operated Seville from BRS as a summer-only route in 2010 and 2011.

I wonder if Cologne will be reduced from its current 4 x weekly next winter. From the seat selector loads seem variable as do fares, from sell-outs to the low 100s.

As Marko points out, when there are other routes that seem to be crying out for additional rotations it appears a bit odd that Ryanair decided on a relatively untried route and one that another airline has recently announced it will be starting itself. There are other examples of Ryanair axing BRS routes then bringing them back a few years later - Szczecin (Stettin) and Katowice (now op by Wizz) were both axed, brought back and axed again, and Budapest was axed and then brought back a few years ago.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

New route Valencia 2 flights a week.

It is a new route but it's really just a switch back to Valencia from Castellon, a reversal of the move Ryanair made two and a half years ago. For whatever reason moving up the road to Castellon obviously didn't work.

 

[superking]

The convoy of wings were from Filton to portbury dock. There is a ship in every week bringing in new cars, which some times takes wings from portbury dock,other times it sails to Mostyn in north wales to pick wings up there. The ship has got big lettering on both sides which says A380 WINGS.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Thanks for that superking. When I'm out walking around Sand Bay or on the Clevedon-Weston coastal path I often see huge container ships going into or out of Royal Portbury or Avonmouth but I can't recall seeing the one you mentioned. I'll keep a look out from now on.

 

[Jerry]

There is a photo of it loading at Mostyn docks if you click on the link.
http://www.portofmostyn.co.uk/airbus-a380.php
It'll be interesting to see if with both Ryanair and EZY on the route if it's sustainable.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There is a photo of it loading at Mostyn docks if you click on the link.
http://www.portofmostyn.co.uk/airbus-a380.php
It'll be interesting to see if with both Ryanair and EZY on the route if it's sustainable.

The only two non-sun routes that Ryanair competes on with easyJet at BRS are Krakow and Venice MP, both year-round. On KRK it's up to 8 weekly between the two and with VCE it's up to 11 weekly between them. I thought this would be too much but so far they've both sustained their offerings. This will be the third summer.

SVQ seems a less likely candidate for competition especially in winter - if easyJet operates it in winter that is. Thus far it seems to be a summer-only route. I'd love to know Ryanair's thinking because they were clearly aware of the easyJet start-up.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

New route Valencia 2 flights a week.

Thinking about it, this is something new for Ryanair because previously they only operated Valencia then Castellon in summer. They return from operating Castellon to operate Valencia from the end of March and for the first time it will continue through the winter.

 

[Severn]

Winter 17/18
Ryanair has 13 UK bases.
During Jan-Mar 2018 there was only three bases that saw an increase in departures every week in comparison to the same weeks in Jan-Mar 2017. The rest of the bases saw a drop in the number of flights each week.

The figures below show the difference in departures every week during Jan-Mar 18 in comparison to Jan-Mar 2017:

STN - Did not calculate
BRS +10
EDI +4
LBA +4
PIK 0
BOH -1
LPL -2
GLA -3
BHX -5
MAN -9
EMA -10
BFS -11
LTN -22

So to clarify, BRS has 10 more departures every week over the period of Jan-Mar 2018 than in 2017 and EMA has 10 less departures each week.

This means that BRS has seen the largest increase in flights each week out of all UK RYR bases (making a total of around 120 more departures during Jan-Mar alone this year than last year!)
A pretty good stat I thought!