Tag Archives: aviation

TUI Airways introduces new routes and increases aircraft capacity at Bristol Airport

TUI Airways has announced that during the winter 2019/20 season (November 2019 – April 2020) they plan to increase capacity on selected long-haul routes, where the Boeing 787-9 will be operating alongside or replacing the previously used Boeing 787-8.

Bristol – Cancun eff 03APR20 1 weekly (until 24APR20)
Bristol – Orlando Sanford eff 02APR20 1 weekly (until 30APR20)

As well as these changes TUI Airways is also introducing new short haul routes to Memmingen and Keflavik in Winter 2019/2020.

Bristol – Memmingen eff 21DEC19 1 weekly 737-800
Bristol – Reykjavik Keflavik 26JAN20 – 04MAR20 2 weekly 737-800

Bristol Airport reports on its 10 years of transformation

A newly published report has highlighted a decade of transformational change at Bristol Airport. The Annual Monitoring Report shows that while passenger numbers have continued to increase, the number of flights in 2018 was only marginally above the 2008 total.

During the same period, the number of destinations served has significantly increased to nearly 130 across 30 countries, connecting people from our region across the globe. This has enabled over 30% more passengers to fly today from their local Airport to visit friends and family, undertake educational trips, travel on business as well as supporting individuals to broaden their experiences including visiting new destinations as well as taking a break or holiday. The Airport now represents the key aviation gateway for visitors to the region for business, education or leisure. The passenger experience has been transformed through a significant investment in new facilities at the Airport which have culminated in Bristol becoming a European leader for its Airport.

At the same time the Airport has actively worked towards improvements in reducing its environmental footprint including halving the CO2 emissions per passenger, reduction in waste, with zero waste going into landfill and waste recycling doubling. Public transport has seen a 5% share increase in passengers use with a million passengers alone using the upgraded A1 Flyer service (between Bristol Airport and the city) each year, and 500 bus services operating to and from the Airport each day.

A phased development programme to meet passenger demand, has taken place over the last ten years and Bristol Airport in 2018 experienced nine consecutive years of growth. This demand is forecast to continue in 2019, with passenger numbers expected to exceed more than nine million for the first time in the Airport’s history. Since 2010 over £225 million has been invested in terminal passenger facilities.

In December 2018 Bristol Airport submitted a planning application to North Somerset Council seeking permission to increase capacity to handle up to 12 million passengers a year by the mid-2020s.

The proposed development includes new infrastructure, improvements to existing terminal and road facilities, and operational changes to ensure the airport can continue to meet demand for air travel to and from the South West of the UK well into the next decade. Annual traffic through the terminal is currently limited to 10 million passengers under the current planning permission.

The proposals represent the first practical step towards an exciting vision to develop the region’s international gateway and working towards becoming a carbon neutral airport.

easyJet launches flights to Montpellier and Rhodes from Bristol Airport

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline and Bristol’s largest airline, has launched its first flights from Bristol Airport to Montpellier in France and to the Greek island of Rhodes.

The flights took off on the 2nd June 2019 and are the first of five new easyJet routes launching at Bristol Airport this Summer. This growth will be supported by the arrival of a 17th based aircraft at Bristol Airport, meaning that easyJet will offer 10% more flights from Bristol compared to summer 2018.

easyJet expects to carry out more than 28,000 passengers across the two new routes. Both routes will operate twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout the summer season and are expected to prove popular with travellers looking for a stylish south of France city break or a Greek island getaway that offers both rich culture and lively night life.

easyJet celebrates flying 55 million passengers from Bristol Airport

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline, is celebrating carrying 55 million passengers from Bristol Airport since launching operations there in 2002.

The airline now operates 74 routes and up to 740 flights a week out of Bristol – that’s 10% more flights compared to summer 2018 – making it the airline’s largest UK base outside of London.

In what is set to be an important summer of expansion for easyJet at the airport, the airline will base a 17th aircraft at Bristol and launches flights on five new routes to Rhodes in Greece, Montpellier and Biarritz, France as well as to Brindisi and Milan, Italy.

The airline has also recently added even more flights from Bristol to popular destinations such as Lyon, Zakynthos, Belfast, Glasgow and Paris Charles de Gaulle. Adding an additional daily flight to and from the French capital provides even more opportunity for customers to enjoy a city getaway or a great value day trip for commuters from businesses across the South West.

easyJet is now the largest airline at Bristol offering almost 6 million seats per year to some of the UK’s favourite destinations.

TUI to base Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Bristol Airport for Summer 2020

TUI UK, the UK’s largest holiday company, has announced a new destination to Enfidha (Tunisia) and one additional flight to Reus (Spain), for its summer 2020 programme from Bristol Airport. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be based at Bristol Airport throughout the summer offering the variety of short and long haul flights to customers from the South West.

The new flights from Bristol Airport to Enfidha and Reus give holidaymakers more choice and flexibility when booking next year’s summer holiday. The first TUI flight from Bristol to Enfidha departs on 4th May 2020 and operates once a week on a Monday. For Reus, the first additional flight takes-off on 26th May 2020 departing on a Tuesday, with the other flight on a Saturday.

As an important regional base for TUI, holidaymakers now have over 17,000 additional seats to choose from to over 35 destinations when booking their summer holiday from Bristol Airport.

easyJet extends Bristol to Lyon route to operate throughout Summer 2019

The flights will commence on 1 July and will operate twice a week on Monday and Friday. They will be operated on an A320 aircraft.

The extension of the route to Lyon will provide an additional 10,044 seats on 54 flights and is expected to be popular amongst those looking to enjoy the cuisine on offer in the gastronomic capital of the world, the stunning architecture on display in its old town and its perfectly manicured parks.

The airline will also position its 17th aircraft at Bristol this summer as well as launching three brand new routes from the airport this July –  Milan and Brindisi in Italy and Biarritz in France.

easyJet now operates up to 770 flights a week from Bristol across 74 routes –  10% more flights compared to summer 2018.

In the coming weeks, easyJet will also celebrate flying 55m passengers since it launched operations from Bristol over 18 years ago and expects to fly over 5.2m passengers this year alone.

KLM upgrades weekday flights to Boeing 737 aircraft

KLM has added 10,000 additional seats between Bristol and Amsterdam this summer, commencing from Monday 24th June. The extra capacity will be provided by upgrading the aircraft operating on the weekday service to a Boeing 737 aircraft, which will provide an additional 32 seats per flight.

KLM currently operates four daily flights to Amsterdam from Bristol and the introduction of the Boeing 737 jet service will increase the overall seat capacity by 6.2% compared to the same period last summer.

The extra capacity will create new opportunities for customers to visit the stunning city of Amsterdam for a short break or take advantage of quick and convenient connections to 162 KLM destinations worldwide, via its award winning hub at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Benedicte Duval, General Manager for Air France-KLM in the UK & Ireland said

“Due to strong passenger numbers and positive commercial performance on our Bristol to Amsterdam route, we are pleased to be in a position to increase route capacity for the summer 2019 season.

“The addition of a larger Boeing 737 aircraft will provide almost 10,000 additional seats across the period, giving people in the West of England more opportunity to fly with KLM, and take advantage of our worldwide connections from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

easyJet further expands it Bristol Airport base

easyJet has announced a number of expansion developments at its Bristol Airport base. The airline will position a 17th aircraft at its South West base and has added three brand new routes to the Bristol network. easyJet will also provide even more frequent flights to some of Bristol’s most in demand destinations, providing great value summer breaks or low-fared commutes for even more passengers.

A further 186-seat Airbus A320 aircraft will now be based in Bristol and joins seven 156-seat Airbus A319 and nine 186-seat A320 aircraft currently serving the airline’s customers in the South West. The additional aircraft will provide 93,000 additional seats for customers looking to travel to and from Bristol this summer.

Three brand new routes have joined the easyJet Bristol network, bringing the total routes now available to 74, with seats on sale from today.

A route between Bristol and Milan Malpensa will operate four times a week throughout the year on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, with first flights taking off on 1st July. Flights between Bristol and Brindisi in Southern Italy will operate twice a week on Wednesdays and Sundays and will launch on the 3rd July and flights between Bristol and Biarritz in the South of France will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays with flights launching on 2nd July, both operating throughout the summer season.

easyJet will also increase its Bristol – Paris Charles de Gaulle frequency, adding an additional daily flight to and from the French capital, providing even more opportunity for customers to enjoy a city getaway and a convenient schedule will allow for great value day trips for commuters from businesses across the South West.
This news follows last week’s announcement that easyJet has put seats on sale for even more frequent flights from Bristol to Belfast, Glasgow and Zakynthos. Glasgow is one of easyJet’s most popular domestic routes at Bristol and in the coming weeks easyJet will celebrate flying a milestone 5 million passengers between the two cities since the route was launched in 2001.

easyJet now operates up to 770 flights a week from Bristol across 74 routes – that’s 10% more flights compared to summer 2018.

In the coming weeks, easyJet will also celebrate flying 55m passengers since it launched operations from Bristol over 18 years ago and expects to fly over 5.2m passengers  this year alone.

  • easyJet will position a 17th aircraft at its Bristol base from summer 2019
  • Brand new routes to Milan and Brindisi in Italy and Biarritz in France will launch in July
  • easyJet will add a second daily flight between Bristol and Paris to allow day trips for business travellers from July
  • easyJet summer flights from Bristol will increase by 10% to 770 flights a week in peak summer
  • easyJet will this year fly 55 million passengers since launching operations in Bristol over 18 years ago

easyJet launches more flights and Winter flight schedule

easyJet has announced even more frequent flights from Bristol Airport to Belfast, Glasgow and Zakynthos, with seats on sale from today. The airline has added two more weekly flights to Belfast on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, meaning the airline will now operate the route up to 20 times a week throughout the summer. Flights launch from 4th July.

An additional weekly flight to Glasgow on Thursdays will mean that easyJet will now operate this route up to 23 times a week from the 6th July and throughout the summer. Glasgow continues to prove to be one of easyJet’s most popular domestic routes from Bristol and over 50 easyJet flights every week connect Bristol with Scotland.

The airline will also offer an additional flight to popular holiday destination, the Greek Island Zakynthos throughout the summer, with the first flight taking off from 8th July.

easyJet has also today put its flights for winter 2019/20 on sale this morning (11 April). Thousands of flights across Europe are now on sale until 28 March 2020. 11,610 flights will operate to and from Bristol between 27 October 2019 and 28 March 2020 providing more than 2,000,000 seats.

During this period 214,796 flights are set to take place across easyJet’s network, providing around 37 million seats for passengers to enjoy their winter breaks or low-fared commutes.

Thousands of tonnes of carbon can be saved by using Bristol Airport

Road journeys to London airports by passengers travelling to and from South West England and South Wales generated an estimated 157,000 tonnes of carbon in 2018 (up from around 140,000 tonnes the previous year) – similar to the amount generated by charging 17.7 billion smartphones or powering a 42” LCD TV for over 94,000 years.

The analysis by York Aviation for Bristol Airport builds on previous work highlighting time and cost savings available to passengers by flying from within their home region. Updated figures show that 7.8 million journeys a year are made using London airports by passengers travelling to and from South West England and South Wales, resulting in total time lost of more than 500 million minutes and incurring more than £50 in additional travel costs per passenger.

Image courtesy of Bristol Airport

Heathrow (43 per cent) attracts the most ‘leaked’ passengers from South West England and South Wales, followed by Gatwick (31 per cent), with the rest making even longer journeys to Stansted and Luton. Short-haul flights account for more passenger journeys and greater additional carbon costs than long-haul, suggesting higher frequency and more convenient flight times could be a factor in the choice of departure airport.

The potential carbon savings which could be made if these passengers used Bristol is equal to the domestic carbon emissions of nearly half the population of North Somerset , in which the airport is located.

Better serving passengers within its catchment area is a key objective in Bristol Airport’s proposals to increase capacity to 12 million passengers a year by 2026. More than nine million passengers are expected to use the airport in 2019, closing in on the current cap of 10 million passengers a year.

New fire station handed over to Bristol Airport

Mechanical and electrical engineering consultancy McCann and Partners completed the MEP design for a £5m state of the art fire station at Bristol Airport, which has now been handed over.

This is the latest in a series of developments that McCann and Partners have and will be undertaking at Bristol Airport, which has planning approvals in place to handle 10 million passengers per annum.

As well as the new fire station, which is located next to the runway and the existing fire training ground, the upcoming developments will include an immigration hall and new airline building, the first of which has recently commenced.

Announcing Bristol Airport Spotters Day 2018

Bristol Airport Spotting are pleased to announce that we will be holding a spotters day at Bristol Airport on Sunday 10th June, the event will be held within the Bristol Room located in the Admin Building. Previous aviation fairs have been held in this great room and we are holding this event before the building is removed over the next couple of years, for exciting airport developments.

The event will be held between 11am and 3pm and open to all members of Bristol Airport Spotting, the event will be a ticketed event on a first come first served basis limited to 100 places, the cost for entry will be £2 which will go to the airport charity of the year, which is Children’s Hospice South West. All visitors to the event must have a pre-booked ticket.

During the spotters day there will also be an informative talk from Bristol Airport Police and the opportunity to purchase some Bristol Airport Spotting branded merchandise. Free parking will also be available on the day and Wings Café will be open for light refreshments. Visitors will benefit from great views across the apron, taxiway and runway including close up views of taxiing and departing aircraft.

To book your tickets please visit our ticketing website, the entry fee of £2 will be payable on the door. We hope to see many of our members at the event which is certainly one not to be missed!

Further information and updates can be found on our website event page by visiting https://www.bristolairportspotting.co.uk/bas-events/bristol-airport-spotters-day-2018/