Route Development & Rumours

[Jerry]

So do I. easyJet already serves Geneva and Basel. I'm a bit concerned about bmir's Dusseldorf route which is not a LH code share when Ryanair begins Cologne-Bonn in the autumn at 4 x weekly.

Just had a quick look in November (out on the 6th and back on the 8th) and Ryanairs top Business Plus is £174 while BMI Classic which is there lowest price is £191. With Ryanair you get a fully flexible ticket which could make a difference for many business people.

 

[superking]

Crossair tried zrh for a while,it was their first route to the uk out side of London .I think it lasted 1 wint. that was wer and 1 summer season. It was back in the eighties.That was before the high rotations to gva as of now and they stopped the service through lack of pax. ZRH been 1 of these routes like a mine field.
If I remember correct the aircraft used was a saab 340.Lets hope some thing comes of zrh as a regular route in the future,with who ever and it works.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Crossair tried zrh for a while,it was their first route to the uk out side of London .I think it lasted 1 wint. that was wer and 1 summer season. It was back in the eighties.That was before the high rotations to gva as of now and they stopped the service through lack of pax. ZRH been 1 of these routes like a mine field.
If I remember correct the aircraft used was a saab 340.Lets hope some thing comes of zrh as a regular route in the future,with who ever and it works.

After that BAConnect operated a daily (or it might have been 6 x weekly, no Sats) Zurich until Flybe closed the 5-aircraft (E145) BRS base when it took over BAConnect in 2007.

 

[kraktoa]

Bristol airport have this week announced the appointment of a business development director. New face into the senior team.

Wonder if some of the established stalwarts who have worked so hard over the years to bring so many routes and passengers to the airport would be slightly miffed at being overlooked.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Bristol airport have this week announced the appointment of a business development director. New face into the senior team.

Wonder if some of the established stalwarts who have worked so hard over the years to bring so many routes and passengers to the airport would be slightly miffed at being overlooked.

Yes, although I'm not quite sure of the demarcation between the various roles.

Shaun Browne is the aviation director. He has the Les Wilson-type enthusiasm for BRS and is due much of the credit for BRS's wide range of flights. He's been at the airport it seems for ever, probably 30 years and straight from school so far as I'm aware, and knows as much about Bristol Airport as anyone. He got the top job in that sector when his previous boss, Tony Hallwood, moved to Leeds-Bradford Airport and is still there.

For the past year or so whenever there is route news Pete Downes, who has the title head of aviation, seems to be the person at the airport whose comments are published in press releases. I take it he is junior to Shaun Browne who used to be the 'commentator' in those new route press releases.

So how the new business development director relates to this I don't know. It may be that he or she (I don't know who got the job) has a general remit. In many ways getting new routes and airlines/persuading existing airlines to expand is quite a specialised function requiring a wide knowledge of that part of the business.

 

[Jerry]

The current team at the airport have no doubt done an excellent job but new ideas and new voices and maybe new contacts as well may help the airport in where it wants to go in the future.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/who-we-are/our-people

This is the airport's leadership team. It will be seen that most have been working at the airport for many years.

There is no mention of a business development director. It might be because the post is not at the leadership team level or, alternatively, the website has not yet been updated.

 

[Jerry]

Does anyone know the name of the new business director yet? Also could a business development director not actually be anything to do with routes but maybe how the airport can develop as a business overall?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Does anyone know the name of the new business director yet? Also could a business development director not actually be anything to do with routes but maybe how the airport can develop as a business overall?

I've found an airport press release, dated yesterday. I can't remember seeing it yesterday though. The post does seem to be a general one rather than having a primary responsibility for route development.

https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/ab...a-centre/2017/6/business-development-director

Bristol Airport Appoints Business Development Director
Created: 3rd Jun 2017

Bristol Airport has appointed Nigel Scott to the newly created position of Business Development Director.

Previously Sales and Marketing Director with cleaning technology company, Kärcher, and a former European Marketing Director for Dyson, Nigel brings a wealth of international business experience to the new role which will be instrumental in raising Bristol Airport’s profile as the major gateway for the South West of the UK.

As Business Development Director, Nigel will develop new opportunities, strengthen marketing capabilities and partnerships, and enhance Bristol Airport’s brand in the South West and beyond. The appointment comes as the Airport celebrates 60 years of flying from its current site and begins work on a long-term vision for the future.

Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, said:
“We are delighted to welcome Nigel to the team. He joins Bristol Airport at an exciting time, with passenger numbers and customer satisfaction ratings at record levels, and a range of new customer facilities in place across the Airport site. Nigel’s appointment will help us to build on this platform as we work towards our objective of becoming a world-class regional airport.”

Nigel Scott said:
“As a resident of the South West, I understand the important role Bristol Airport plays in connecting the region with the world. I look forward to using the insight and experience gained working with major global brands to further enhance the Airport’s profile and reputation with customers, business partners and other stakeholders.”

Completion of a second major terminal extension earlier this year took investment at Bristol Airport since 2010 to more than £160 million. Other recent developments include a £2.3 million upgrade of the immigration hall, the opening of a first on-site hotel, and a new customer reception centre for the Silver Zone car park.

The route network available from Bristol Airport is also growing, with direct flights to more than 120 destinations and frequent daily services to major hubs including Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin and Frankfurt. Earlier this month, Thomson Airways commenced flights to Florida and Mexico using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, highlighting the scope for more direct long-haul destinations in future.

Bristol Airport has been ranked number one in the UK by the customer satisfaction benchmarking programme, Airport Service Quality (ASQ), for the last three quarters running.

 

[Marko1]

All very quiet on here at the moment ...

 

[TheLocalYokel]

All very quiet on here at the moment ...

Yes, I think Conns was having us on the other day when he said that, "something is in the Air, that's for sure". Of course, he might have been alluding to the announcement that came shortly afterwards regarding the CEO moving on.

The fact that he posted this in the easyJet thread led me, and I suspect others, to believe that easyJet announcements were just around the corner. They still might be, especially bearing in mind the comments of the senior easyJet visitor to the airport at the time of the Lulsgate 60th anniversary celebrations who said she hoped to be announcing some new routes in the near future. I'm not aware of any easyJet new routes being officially announced in recent times for any airport.

I hope that any new easyJet routes are not more sun routes to destinations already flown by other airlines; at least, not just such routes.

Still plenty of time for something really dramatic (not necessarily with easyJet) to be announced for next summer.

 

[Jerry]

Haven't EZY announced an African route from MAN? Maybe they'll do the same for BRS? It's still early in the summer so plenty of time for announcements!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

User001 who is extremely well informed on MAN matters has said that MAN-Agadir by easyJet is yet to be announced officially by the airline. He says the details have appeared on some third party sites.

 

[Marko1]

Given that brs did not gain Qatar I wonder how likely we could get Turkish. Looking at the range of destinations that Turkish serves I say it's a perfect match for Bristol.

 

[Jerry]

The only thing Turkish would lack is the Australian and New Zealand connections and Qatar may have better India connections.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Given that brs did not gain Qatar I wonder how likely we could get Turkish. Looking at the range of destinations that Turkish serves I say it's a perfect match for Bristol.

Turkish Airlines have been cutting back on a number of routes in the past year or two. Although two or three years ago BRS was thought to be a leading candidate to be the next Turkish UK airport (even Simon Calder, not one who usually has a good word to say about BRS, thought they were in with a big shout), events in Turkey since have seen a contraction of Turkish Airlines frequencies.

I also wonder if Turkish had been looking at BRS whether the Qatar start-up at CWL might have spooked them. Would there be room for two services from Severnside might be a consideration. Turkish doesn't serve the Middle East, but it does offer the sort of onward connections operated by the MEB3.

Well almost, because as Jerry points out there is no Australasian connectivity, although a poster elsewhere on F4A said recently that Turkish was looking to put that right.

My gut feeling is that a Turkish connection is not close but then again my gut feeling was that BRS was nailed on if Qatar was going to operate from Severnside.

 

[alphagolf]

I have read something on twitter this morning about Emirates and FlyDubai working together on codeshares and feeding into each others networks.
Don't know whether there is an opportunity there for BRS to have a direct route in to DXB with FlyDubai, but with the network of Emirates. I will try and find the article and post a link.

 

[alphagolf]

Emirates and flydubai join forces, announce extensive partnership agreement

Monday, July 17, 2017

• Partnership includes an expansive codeshare agreement, schedule alignment and network optimisation
• Passenger benefits to include access to over 200 unique destinations, seamless travel experience and frequent flyer programmes alignment
• Both airlines to continue being managed independently

Emirates and flydubai today unveiled an extensive partnership which will see the two Dubai-based airlines join forces to offer customers unmatched travel options. Both airlines will continue to be managed independently, but will leverage each other’s network to scale up their operations and accelerate growth.

The innovative partnership goes beyond code-sharing and includes integrated network collaboration with coordinated scheduling. The new model will give flydubai customers seamless connectivity to Emirates’ worldwide destinations spanning six continents. For Emirates’ customers, it opens up flydubai’s robust regional network.

The two airlines will also further develop their hub at Dubai International, aligning their systems and operations to ensure a seamless travel experience through the ultra-modern airport; currently the world’s busiest for international passengers.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group and Chairman of flydubai, said: "This is an exciting and significant development for Emirates, flydubai, and Dubai aviation. Both airlines have grown independently and successfully over the years, and this new partnership will unlock the immense value that the complementary models of both companies can bring to consumers, each airline, and to Dubai.”

Emirates today has a wide-body fleet of 259 aircraft, flying to 157 destinations (including 16 cargo-only points). flydubai operates 58 New-Generation Boeing 737 aircraft to 95 destinations. The current combined network comprises 216 unique destination points.

The partnership is working to optimise the networks and schedules of both airlines, to open up new city-pair connections offering consumers greater choice. Additionally, this will help both airlines feed more traffic into each other’s complementary networks. By 2022, the combined network of Emirates and flydubai is expected to reach 240 destinations, served by a combined fleet of 380 aircraft.

The Emirates and flydubai teams are working together on a number of initiatives spanning commercial, network planning, airport operations, customer journey, and frequent flyer programmes alignment.

The partnership will be rolled out over the coming months, with the first enhanced code-sharing arrangements starting in the last quarter of 2017. Further details will be communicated as they become available.

Fully owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), both Emirates and flydubai are operated independently and under separate management teams.

https://news.flydubai.com/emirates-and-flydubai-join-forces-announce-extensive-partnership-agreement

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I believe that FlyDubai operates B 737-800s. I don't know what their performance is from the BRS runway. A Net search suggests they have 55 aircraft, 42 of which are configured with business class seats: 12 + 162 economy. The all-economy aircraft have 189 seats.

They apparently have orders for 75 B737 MAX8 aircraft with no delivery dates that I can ascertain. Again, I don't know the performance of these relative to the Lulsgate runway.

The plus is that business class is available but everything else might be a pipe dream, certainly for the time being so far as Bristol is concerned.

Despite talk of all this growth they are only targeting an increase of 24 destinations (bringing the total to 240) in the next five years. If BRS is able to operate the aircraft there might be an outside chance they could be one of the 24, but it might be a long shot. There is always hope.

 

[Marko1]

Wouldn't it be nice to see a few new airlines operating from brs. Bit jealous of bhx today