Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

Press release https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...entre/2018/2/asq-customer-satisfaction-survey

BRS always seems to do well in these surveys - something of a contrast to the opinions often given on the likes of Skytrax and social media. I'm not being cynical, merely stating what appears to be a truth. Perhaps the ASQ surveys are more scientifically based than lone wolves sounding off in social media and Skytrax. Worthy of congratulation not least because this is not a one-off recognition by ASQ. Standards seem to be maintained from year to year.

Bristol Airport ranks highly in customer satisfaction survey
Created: 8th Feb 2018

Bristol Airport gains the top spot for overall satisfaction, courtesy of airport staff in the ACI ASQ Survey in UK airports, an international airport passenger experience benchmarking programme.

The programme measures passenger satisfaction at leading UK airports, as well as airports from over 80 countries. The latest results (quarter 4: October – December 2017) also rank Bristol Airport number one for terminal cleanliness, comfort of gate and wait areas as well as for ambience.

The annual ASQ results (January – December 2017) ranked Bristol Airport first for cleanliness, comfort of gate and wait areas and ambience.

Airport Service Quality (ASQ) is the industry standard for airports across the world for monitoring airport customer experience. Airports taking part in the ASQ survey handle a total of 7.7 billion passengers between them – more than half of all annual air journeys.

As well as measuring overall customer satisfaction, ASQ rates airports against 34 different indicators, covering all parts of the passenger process, from check-in on departure to baggage reclaim when returning home. Overall satisfaction is also split by journey purpose, enabling airports to assess how well they meet the needs of business and leisure passengers.

Bristol Airport’s success was achieved in a record-breaking year with over 8 million passengers forecast in 2017.

Tom McEwen, Customer Service Delivery Manager at Bristol Airport, said:

“We are delighted to continue to receive such strong feedback from our passengers and to have achieved this whilst handling over 8 million passengers. We are not standing still and continue to invest in the passenger experience and develop world leading facilities. We have recently been awarded Autism Friendly Airport status and development work continues in improving the facilities for passengers, including a state-of-the-art baggage sortation system and a multi storey car park. ”

Having invested more than £160 million in new infrastructure and facilities since 2010, Bristol Airport is well positioned to serve passengers across the South West of the UK, and also provides a gateway to the region for international visitors.

In 2017, Bristol Airport celebrated 60 years at its current site. As well as looking back on a rich aviation history, work has begun on updating the Master Plan which will consider how best to meet growing demand for air travel to and from the South West and South Wales over the next two decades. The views of customers, employees, neighbours and others stakeholders will be vital in helping to shape the Airport’s vision for the future.

 

[Marko1]

I would say that the sky trax survey relies on input from users with those who are unsatisfied more likely to post than those who are satisfied. The asq survey whilst includes customer satisfaction also includes many other markers so would reflect a more accurate picture

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I would say that the sky trax survey relies on input from users with those who are unsatisfied more likely to post than those who are satisfied. The asq survey whilst includes customer satisfaction also includes many other markers so would reflect a more accurate picture

I agree. Most of the UK airports average 3/10 including BRS. One or two are even lower than that.

 

[kraktoa]

I feel sorry for the attendants at the job fairs. They are all excited about working at the airport but the realities of day to day work are very different to the picture painted. The security personnel have a huge issue with staff turnaround losses due to crippling shift work. Most other stakeholders get rid off staff around Nov as they need staff mainly for summer periods. Its quite sad to see how new entrants leave around Christmas drained and dejected

 

[Jerry]

That sounds like a lot of job's!

 

[superking]

Terminal evacuated this morning due to fire alarm sounding. All was well with no emergency as a fault with the system.All getting back to normal now.

 

[kraktoa]

I hear that Qatar airways are dropping some scheduled flights into Cardiff for a few months. Is this true? reasons?

found report here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-42959775

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I hear that Qatar airways are dropping some scheduled flights into Cardiff for a few months. Is this true? reasons?

found report here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-42959775

It's only a small reduction for about a month. It's been discussed in the CWL Qatar thread at some length over recent weeks.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Terminal evacuated this morning due to fire alarm sounding. All was well with no emergency as a fault with the system.All getting back to normal now.

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/live-flight-delays-bristol-airport-1260496

Lots of complaints about the way it was handled. I know some people will complain about anything but if passengers missed their flight, as at least one person alleges, then that really should be looked into seriously by the airport and airline.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Press release from BRS.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...nd-media-centre/2018/3/vodafone-4g-technology

Bristol Airport and the city get latest Vodafone 4G technology
Created: 5th Mar 2018

Bristol Airport, as part of its drive to create a leading regional Airport as well as stimulate employment and economic growth, has turned to Vodafone UK to install the most reliable mobile network ever, including faster 4G speeds and more reliable voice coverage throughout the complex.

Under the new agreement, Vodafone will upgrade and expand its network across the Airport over the next few months to ensure the Vodafone customers who make up the eight million travellers who use the airport each year receive fast mobile connections in departures, arrivals and on all transport links. Around 3,000 people who work at Bristol Airport will also benefit from the improved communications.

Tom Marks, Head of Vodafone UK’s South West region, said:

“Bristol Airport connects to over 120 direct destinations and we are delighted to be able to provide the world-class mobile connectivity it needs to support the economy of Bristol and the surrounding area. And our network improvements don’t stop at the airport. Whether its sightseeing at the local docks, visiting the Bedminster art scene or studying at Bristol University, we will continue to invest to offer our customers a great mobile experience indoor and out, throughout the South West region.”

Sarah Trewella, Head of IT at Bristol Airport said:

“By working with Vodafone we will be able to provide our passengers with much better coverage for both voice and data services across the whole Airport. Our staff will also have access to much more reliable communications, improving efficiencies and enabling us to utilise more effective communication tools.”

This Bristol Airport upgrade plan forms part of Vodafone’s multi-million pound investment programme in the South West region which has already resulted in 4G being made available to around 99% of Bristol*. Local residents and businesses are now using their mobile devices more than before to access the internet, send and receive emails and stream videos, with 4G mobile data traffic increasing by around 78% compared to this time last year.
 
Vodafone is also laying the foundations for 5G – the next generation mobile network expected to arrive over the next couple of years to coincide with compatible smartphones and devices. Using a 5G-like network technology called Massive MIMO located just outside Bristol Temple Meads railway station, Vodafone is able to boost capacity and speeds in an area where lots of people connect to the network at the same time. The company expects to roll out this service to additional sites, including busy transport hubs, in the area throughout 2018.

 

[Jono577]

What if you are not with Vodafone say ee or 02, how well do they cover the airport?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

What if you are not with Vodafone say ee or 02, how well do they cover the airport?

A good question but I'm afraid I can't supply a good answer because I have no idea.

 

[kraktoa]

Last year around jan 2017 all EE and Vodafone services went down at the basement and Some other areas of the airport. This was due to a cable being cut by some builders.

No one agreed liability.

For one year nothing was done.

We got Vodafone coverage back in March this year. Stillnothing from EE in the part of the airport where i work.

So bit amused by this report. It took them a year to resume full services.

O2 was not affected and is quite good.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Power problem at the airport early this afternoon apparently. There was a queue of buses and taxis waiting to pass through the security barriers to the front of the terminal. A bus driver told me he'd heard it was a power surge.

The screens in the arrivals were out and there appeared to be passengers and staff standing around at the easyJet bag drops presumably awaiting for whatever problem the power surge (if that is what it was) had caused to be rectified.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Litter

I was outside the airport terminal yesterday and I could not believe the state of one litter bin. It was chock full of litter with numerous cigarette ends on the top. Apart from a dedicated area at the eastern end of the outside of the terminal the remainder of the frontage is supposed to be non-smoking. There are prominent notices to this effect but they are routinely ignored and no-one seems to do much about it.

In the past I've frequently seen an employee on almost permanent patrol at the front of the terminal sweeping up litter. I haven't seen this so much in recent months (I'm often there because I use the airport-bound buses to get into the country for my walks). I can't believe the airport would allow a litter bin to reach the state I saw. It's not as if it was tucked away somewhere but that would still be no excuse. This one is next to the main arrivals entrance. It creates a very poor impression.

 

[superking]

First impression of any where always stick.

 

[big g]

What if you are not with Vodafone say ee or 02, how well do they cover the airport?

EE, o2 and 3 have all had 4G for a few years now at the airport, o2’s coverage was a bit hit and miss at the far end of the walk way.

Vodafone late to the party again!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Ownership

I was updating the BRS Overview thread and checked the airport's website re ownership to find that Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is still shown as the sole shareholder.

In the latter half of 2017 it was reported that OTPP had agreed to 15% of its stake to TCorp as trustee of TCorpIM Direct Investment Fund E and 15% of its stake to Sunsuper Pty Limited as trustee of Sunsuper. The deal was to be completed by the end of November last year.

Does anyone know the current situation?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Annual Operations Monitoring Report

I was having a look through the airport website recently and came across the above report. It's for 2016 - presumably the one for 2017 is still being prepared.

It can be accessed by clicking on this link then on the Annual Monitoring Report link that appears on the linked page.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/environment

There is lots of information about the various operational aspects of the airport in 2016.

For example the average passenger load per flight was 78 in 2002 and 121 in 2016. This reflects generally larger aircraft these days and higher load factors.

The runway usage split averaged 78% on 27 and 22% on 09 in the years 2001-2016 with the largest variations being in 2012 and 2016 when the figures were 86% and 14% and in 2005 when they were 71% and 29%. This does have operational significance as Cat3b is only installed on 27.

However, I wonder how accurate some of the stats are when looking at the breakdown of aircraft types that used BRS in 2016. As would be expected, by far the highest number of movements in the year were by A319/320 and B737 aircraft but A321s are shown only as 76 movements in the year, when TCX had two based for much of the year. Furthermore, the report cites 24 movements by A330 aircraft, 6 by A340 and 16 by A350 in the year. Where did they come from?

 

[andrewgreen]

They do sound very suspicious! I’m pretty sure an A340 or A350 have never landed at Bristol