Bristol Airport - General Thread

[TheLocalYokel]

Press release today's date.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...3/noise-action-plan-formally-adopted-by-defra

Bristol Airport’s Noise Action Plan formally adopted by DEFRA
Created: 25th Mar 2019

Bristol Airport’s Noise action Plan has been formally adopted by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Noise Action Plans set out how airports plan, manage and where possible reduce the adverse effects of aviation noise. Under the EU Environmental Noise Directive they must be updated every five years.

This latest plan is the third produced by Bristol Airport and covers the period 2019 to 2024. Consultation on the plan took place between July and October last year, and the final publication has been updated based on feedback received.

James Shearman, Head of Sustainability at Bristol Airport, said:

“The stretching targets in this Noise Action Plan demonstrate we take our responsibility seriously when it comes to managing the impacts of aviation noise through closer collaboration with airlines and air navigation services providers, improved operating procedures and implementation of new technology.”

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS press release today.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...media-centre/2019/3/selfpass-biometrics-trial

New SelfPass biometrics solution from Collins Aerospace among the first to connect multiple airlines, airports and countries
Created: 27th Mar 2019

Passengers travelling through Bristol Airport can look forward to a new streamlined journey with Collins Aerospace’s SelfPass biometric solution.

The solution, now being trialed at Bristol Airport and Dublin Airport, is believed to be the first biometric solution that enables passengers to use a single enrollment in multiple countries. SelfPass will be available for demonstration at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in London, England this week in Collins Aerospace’s booth — number 6030.

Passengers are already taking advantage of a streamlined journey at Bristol Airport with multiple biometric checkpoints, making the process easier from the time they check-in for their flight to the time they board. When SelfPass launches in Dublin next month, passengers will be the first to take advantage of the multi-country solution.

“Dublin and Bristol Airports are changing the way passengers travel and making the process easier and more efficient. For example, it takes less than one second to capture and process a passenger’s facial image and eliminates the need to repeatedly present travel documents,” said Christopher Forrest, vice president of Global Airport Systems for Collins Aerospace. “We see this as another major leap forward for our biometric technology to play a key role in making the connected aviation ecosystem a reality.”

At Bristol, the new trial will biometrically enable multiple touchpoints, including:

• Check-in
• Self-bag drop
• Security
• Boarding gates

The initial trial will be extended to include:

• Website and mobile enrollment
• Lounge access

“The passenger growth at Bristol Airport is increasing and we are looking at using technology like the Collins Aerospace biometric solution set to help make our airport a high-quality experience for our customers,” said Graeme Gamble, chief operating officer for Bristol Airport. “The cooperation of Collins and the Bristol Airport team is making Bristol a leader in Airport innovation and customer service.”

“We are really pleased to be an early adopter of this new technology designed to further enhance the experience for both our passengers and our airline customers at Dublin Airport,” said Frances O’Brien, vice president of PMO for daa. “We are delighted with the progress of the trial so far and look forward to extending the offering to a wider audience, including those travelling to the U.S. in the coming months.”

 

[Marko1]

Summer season starts today. Let’s hope it’s a very successful one. 1 mill in August a tall ask 9 mill for the year hopefully it’s still possible . New routes this year to Thessaloniki and Montpellier plus the first summer season to marrakech. Sadly no Reus with Ryanair - maybe easyJet may pick this up in summer 2020 ?

 

[Kingshat]

Internally BRS are forecasting 9.1million pax for 2019 with high hopes of re-establishing a number of the former Flybmi routes later in the year through to spring 2020.

 

[kraktoa]

Bristol Airport have published today some gimmicky calculations about 157000 tonnes of carbon that is leaked due to journeys made to London airports by passengers from the southwest and wales. Cant find the link sorry.

Can someone also advise them that a lot of carbon could be saved if Bristol did not oppose Welsh APD cancellation so that CWL could flourish and the welsh people who make a large percentage of Bristols passenger numbers could fly out from Cardiff and save carbon emissions

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Bristol Airport have published today some gimmicky calculations about 157000 tonnes of carbon that is leaked due to journeys made to London airports by passengers from the southwest and wales. Cant find the link sorry.

Can someone also advise them that a lot of carbon could be saved if Bristol did not oppose Welsh APD cancellation so that CWL could flourish and the welsh people who make a large percentage of Bristols passenger numbers could fly out from Cardiff and save carbon emissions

This the link to the airport's press release.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/news-and-media/news-and-media-centre

I doubt that BRS passengers to/from Wales generate that much carbon in the overall picture, but your point is a valid one in the context of the airport's argument in the press release.

Wales originating/terminating passengers broadly account for 12%-18% of that part of BRS's carbon footprint caused by journeys to/from the airport. That's based on the percentage of passengers from/to Wales who use BRS and even that number is disputed, hence the wide percentage range I've shown.

Obviously more factors would be involved that make unreliable a simple transfer of the percentage of 'Welsh' passengers using the airport to the same percentage of airport journey carbon emissions.

 

[Seasider]

I did't think it deserved a comment, as it is typical airport spin.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS press release:

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...2019/4/busy-easter-getaway-at-bristol-airport

Busy Easter Getaway at Bristol Airport
Created: 12th Apr 2019

More than 400,000 passengers (an average of 27,000 passengers per day) will be using Bristol Airport this Easter holiday (Saturday 6 April until Sunday 21 April).

Top destinations this Easter are Canary Islands, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia with the hub airports such as Amsterdam and Paris remaining popular offering world-wide connections. City breaks to Gerona, Seville, Bilbao and Porto are seeing an increase in demand.

The long-haul destinations of Cancun (Mexico) and Orlando (Florida) continue to attract high passenger volumes and flights started earlier this year ahead of previous years to meet passenger demand.

But it’s not all one-way traffic. Bristol Airport is expecting an influx of visitors from around the UK and overseas as travellers head for the South West to catch up with friends and family or enjoy the region’s attractions.

Nigel Scott, Business Development Director at Bristol Airport, said:

“We are seeing a strong increase in passengers wishing to go away for a weekend city break or to enjoy some early sunshine, and the Easter holiday period is a great opportunity for this. We have been busy over the winter season preparing for the summer getaway and various development projects in the terminal have been completed ahead of the summer season. The work includes opening new restaurants, refurbishment of existing restaurants and improvements in the car parks including completion of the multi-storey car park due to open shortly. We are not standing still and are continuing to look at passenger enhancements in the terminal and car parks in the coming months.”

Passengers are advised to arrive at least two hours ahead of their flight’s scheduled departure to ensure they have time to check in, clear security and board their flight. Passengers are also advised to check roadworks or travel congestion and plan their journey accordingly over the busy Easter getaway.

 

[BRSregular]

Strange how the press release states CDG is a popular hub airport for BRS when there are no flights from BRS to Paris that can offer onward worldwide connections.

 

[Jerry]

Strange how the press release states CDG is a popular hub airport for BRS when there are no flights from BRS to Paris that can offer onward worldwide connections.

Just airport spin.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Self-explanatory press release from BRS today.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...9/4/universities-team-up-with-bristol-airport

Universities Team Up with Bristol Airportto Welcome International Students
Created: 18th Apr 2019

Universities from across South West England and South Wales met at Bristol Airport on the 16 April as part of a partnership to provide an improved welcome to international students arriving at the region’s major international gateway.

Representatives of the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Bath Spa, Cardiff, Exeter and the West of England teamed up with Bristol Airport to discuss a joint approach to ensure the growing number of international students receive the best possible start to their overseas study experience.

According to figures from the UK Council for International Student Affairs, more than 400,000 international students attend universities in the UK, with institutions in South West England and South Wales accounting for more than one tenth of the total.

The default choice for many international students is to fly to London airports due to a lack of awareness of the frequent daily flights between Bristol and Amsterdam which provide connections to hundreds of destinations worldwide.

Research from the Higher Education Policy Institute found that international students contribute more than £20 billion to the UK economy. This includes tuition fees, knock-on effects across the economy, and spending by visiting friends and relatives. Other benefits include future investment, business and trade links, and the wider cultural and societal benefits associated with a more diverse population.

Nigel Scott, Business Development Director at Bristol Airport, said:
“We recognise the value international students bring to our region, so it is important that we offer a warm welcome. By working with the universities, we can make sure that first impressions are positive for students when they arrive in the UK for the first time.”

Kelly Cotter, Head of Global Centre at the University of the West of England, said:
“Travelling to another country to study can be daunting, so we are delighted to be working with Bristol Airport to extend a very warm welcome to our city to international students as soon as they touch down. Working in collaboration with Bristol Airport and the region’s universities, we want to encourage more students to use the fantastic facilities and links the airport has to offer, helping to make the international student journey as stress free as possible.”

 

[TheLocalYokel]

BRS press release today regarding the latest 'litter pick - see below'. Well done to all concerned.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...-centre/2019/4/bristol-airport-litter-pickers

Not all the litter deposited on local roadsides is airport related. As someone who regularly walks in the area of the aiport the sight of litter strewn along the A38 for example is so disappointing.

In this country there are far too many people who could not care less about chucking down their rubbish whether in the street or in parks or other areas of public resort. In Bristol, as in other cities and towns, pavements are festooned with dog ends and all sorts of other litter.

In a rural area such as that in which the airport sits, it's not just the look. Plastic rubbish and the like could easily blow into fields and cause distress, injury or even death to animals.


Bristol Airport litter pickers in local community spring clean-up
Created: 24th Apr 2019

On Friday 12 April volunteers from the Bristol Airport team completed a litter pick of local roads and public areas neighbouring the Airport. Staff took a couple of hours out from their normal day jobs to clear litter from around the perimeter of the 196 hectare site.

Teams from Planning, Development, Terminal Operations, Marketing, Finance, Engineering, Maintenance, Ground Transportation, Motor Transport and others joined forces and collected over 30 bags of waste. Some of the more unusual items included old wellington boots, towels, and even tyres were found on the grass verges and in lay-bys! Further litter pick collections will be arranged throughout the year by the Bristol Airport team.

Dave Lees, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, said:

“It was a great effort by everyone who joined in with the litter pick, the team spirit was fantastic. It was my first litter pick since joining Bristol Airport and it was incredible to see the amount of waste collected in such a short space of time. Knowing that we were helping to remove litter was a very worthwhile activity and an invaluable way of spending two hours in the local community.”

Bristol Airport is committed to waste management and in 2018 the airport remained a zero-landfill airport recycling and waste management improvements on site continue. This recently included installing an extra water refill station in the departure lounge, bringing the total of three water refill stations in the terminal. This is supported by all catering outlets in the terminal providing ‘fill up for free’ water top-ups for passengers using their own bottles.

Bristol Airport continues to reduce carbon emissions across the airport site in order to achieve its objective to be carbon neutral by 2030 by measuring its energy use across the site and seeking to limit emissions. A range of actions are taking place to reduce the carbon intensity of the airport infrastructure by measuring its success by reducing per passenger carbon emissions.

Further information on Bristol Airport’s sustainability principles can be found on the website.

 

[Jerry]

So I'm now at Bristol for my flight to Madrid and first impressions are generally good. It took about 80 minutes to get here from the house and felt slightly weird going over the bridge to catch a flight.
Used the Express drop off area which didn't feel to far of a walk to the departures entrance. Walked straight through to security which didn't seem quick but not slow either but they were thorough which is always good.
The departures area I'm surprised about as i was expecting it too be much bigger the way quite a few people have spoken about it on social media but it is a nice area with good selection of eateries and shops. I just got a late lunch at the Brunel bar and was decent but pricey! £20.00 for what is in the photo.
The airport seems busy but not overly busy with 7 aircraft on the ground at the moment according to FR24 not that I can see many as the runway view is poor! One thing I've noticed is no boarding announcements!
Definitely enjoying the experience so far of flying through Bristol.
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[Red Flyer]

Most busier airports now operate a quiet airport policy.This is due to continual announcements being found to be counterproductive as pax stop listening to them and tend to miss their flights.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Did you find the outdoor viewing terrace? There are some more shops down that end. The terrace only gives a partial view of the eastern apron and the runway at that end, but at least it's something. You can also see across to the south side from the terrace.

Mid afternoons are invariably quiet with most of BRS's flights operated by based aircraft. Most will be away during the middle part of the afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday are the quietest days even in summer and at the moment only a portion of the summer timetable is operating. It gets busier in the next couple of weeks but peak summer is the busiest time as with most regional airports.

Are you returning to CWL tomorrow via CDG or AMS, Jerry? Have a great trip. At least the sky has cleared a bit and the rain stopped, so you might see Cardiff if you are sitting on the right-hand side and runway 27 is active.

 

[Jerry]

Did you find the outdoor viewing terrace?

Yes but it is closed until summer but I was able to take a few photos from by there.
Flying from Madrid to Frankfurt with latam tomorrow then on Friday Frankfurt to Heathrow with Lufthansa and back to Cardiff on the national Express coach. Unfortunately no CWL in this trip which is probably a first! Next trip should include CWL.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Yes but it is closed until summer but I was able to take a few photos from by there.
Flying from Madrid to Frankfurt with latam tomorrow then on Friday Frankfurt to Heathrow with Lufthansa and back to Cardiff on the national Express coach. Unfortunately no CWL in this trip which is probably a first! Next trip should include CWL.

Oh yes, I remember now. Latam rang the bell. I don't think I'd heard of them until you mentioned the name when you first gave details of your trip.

Enjoy your days in Spain and Germany.

 

[Jerry]

Oh yes, I remember now. Latam rang the bell. I don't think I'd heard of them until you mentioned the name when you first gave details of your trip.

Enjoy your days in Spain and Germany.

Thanks just got into my hotel after a great flight with Easyjet.

 

[Jerry]

First flight from Bristol Airport
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Yesterday (25th April) i took my first flight from Bristol Airport since i was a child and from the new terminal building.
Arriving after about an hour and 20 minutes drive from my home in Cardiff i was dropped off at the Express drop off point down at the end of the terminal building by the arrivals end which necessitated a couple of minutes walk along the front of the terminal building to the departures entrance. The check in area was busy but not overly busy but i'd already checked in online and had my boarding pass and was had luggage only so went straight through upstairs to security which altough wasn't fast didn't take too long and the security staff seemed quite thorough as well and they weren't shouting at people either which made for a pleasant experience.
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After security i went through the ubiquitious walk through of the duty free shop into the departures lounge which is split over 2 floors with shops like WH Smith and JD Sport and a Starbucks on the ground level with restaurants like the Brunel bar and kitchen and Burger King and Frankie and Bennys on the top floor. I was surprised about the departures area in that i expected it to be bigger but it is a pretty decent sized space and didn't feel crowded at all though it was a little bit warm for my liking.
Food wise i decided to get something to eat at the Brunel bar and kitchen and was surprised by the prices as they weren't cheap. In the end i settled for the Chicken club sandwich with chips and a pint of Thatchers cider which cost £20. The food was nice enough but i felt a bit over priced. The one big criticism i have is that due to the layout there isn't very good apron views and outside terrace was sadly not open though i was able to get some photos from just outside the terrace.
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At 17.10 my gate number came up for boarding and i didn't have far to go as it was Gate 25. Boarding was pretty quick and after having to wait about 5 minutes the aircraft, an Easyjet A319, was pushed back and i was off to Madrid. The flight was a good one and pretty uneventful though the approach on landing was a bit rocky. This is my 2nd flight with Easyjet now and i found them good both times with friendly crew, ok legroom and ok seats. I was also able to purchase my inflight food online, which i found handy. It cost £7 for a Ham and Cheese toastie, a small tub of pringles and a can of coke.

In conclusion i had a good experience flying from Bristol, it wasn't stressful and the departures lounge had a good selection of shops and eateries and the staff were friendly. I look forward to flying from there again one day!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

First flight from Bristol Airport
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Yesterday (25th April) i took my first flight from Bristol Airport since i was a child and from the new terminal building.
Arriving after about an hour and 20 minutes drive from my home in Cardiff i was dropped off at the Express drop off point down at the end of the terminal building by the arrivals end which necessitated a couple of minutes walk along the front of the terminal building to the departures entrance. The check in area was busy but not overly busy but i'd already checked in online and had my boarding pass and was had luggage only so went straight through upstairs to security which altough wasn't fast didn't take too long and the security staff seemed quite thorough as well and they weren't shouting at people either which made for a pleasant experience.
View media item 8887
After security i went through the ubiquitious walk through of the duty free shop into the departures lounge which is split over 2 floors with shops like WH Smith and JD Sport and a Starbucks on the ground level with restaurants like the Brunel bar and kitchen and Burger King and Frankie and Bennys on the top floor. I was surprised about the departures area in that i expected it to be bigger but it is a pretty decent sized space and didn't feel crowded at all though it was a little bit warm for my liking.
Food wise i decided to get something to eat at the Brunel bar and kitchen and was surprised by the prices as they weren't cheap. In the end i settled for the Chicken club sandwich with chips and a pint of Thatchers cider which cost £20. The food was nice enough but i felt a bit over priced. The one big criticism i have is that due to the layout there isn't very good apron views and outside terrace was sadly not open though i was able to get some photos from just outside the terrace.
View media item 8896
At 17.10 my gate number came up for boarding and i didn't have far to go as it was Gate 25. Boarding was pretty quick and after having to wait about 5 minutes the aircraft, an Easyjet A319, was pushed back and i was off to Madrid. The flight was a good one and pretty uneventful though the approach on landing was a bit rocky. This is my 2nd flight with Easyjet now and i found them good both times with friendly crew, ok legroom and ok seats. I was also able to purchase my inflight food online, which i found handy. It cost £7 for a Ham and Cheese toastie, a small tub of pringles and a can of coke.

In conclusion i had a good experience flying from Bristol, it wasn't stressful and the departures lounge had a good selection of shops and eateries and the staff were friendly. I look forward to flying from there again one day!

Thank you for that descriptive post, Jerry.

You seemed to have picked one of the better times to transit BRS and your gate was not one of those 400 metres away at the end of the western walkway that people somtimes complain about. Furthermore, had you been on an early flight, especially in the main summer period,
you would have found the situation a touch more hectic with around 5,000 people looking to board the first 30 flights of the day btween 6 and 8.

My wife and I don't fly as often as we once did and nowadays we try to avoid the early starts, not only because of getting up at stupid o'clock but also because if it's at BRS there are likely to be queues that time of day. We've got a couple of departures booked in the next few months with one departing at lunchtime and the other around 0730, but the latter is on a Sunday, although the number of early flights isn't likely to be much less than weekdays. We had to break our rule for this flight as we wanted the particular holiday.

If I sound a bit anti BRS with this, I'm not really. It can be a bit of a hassle with crowding for some passengers at times in the busy periods, but that's a penalty that has to be paid if they want a decent network.

It's very useful to hear from someone who is new to the airport looking at it from a fresh eye. I've been using it for 40 years and it's certainly grown a bit since then. It isn't perfect by any means but I've never found anything that I can seriously complain about there. Some niggles at times but generally in my experience it does its job very satisfactorily. The same goes for the staff. I treat them politely and respectfully and invariably receive the same approach from them.

I know I'm going to regret saying this but in all the years I've used BRS I've been diverted only once and that was on an outbound where the inbound Britannia Airways Boeing 737-200 had been diverted to CWL because of the weather at BRS. We were taken by coach to CWL to fly from there to Palma. It was a day in February and the mention of Britannia and B737-200s shows how long ago it was.