Non Bristolian
Very Bristolian views on access to the airport. Many passengers actually live south of Bristol and certainly at the times I use it, (for 0700 dep/2200 arr) very easy to access by car (via A38 form the M5), but public transport is useless. I read that Bristol has more passengers than Birmingham and when I travel there are a lot welsh accents so travel time and access to the airport is clearly secondary to the quality and quantity of the schedule. I'm sure there are also a lot of Devon and Cornwall passengers, so Bristol actually has a huge catchment area.
As a former schedules planner, the schedule and pricing are what drives numbers. Many people now happy to arrive at 2200/2300 if the price is right. Parking at the airport is a joke with a monopoly and very high charges. The parking is often more expensive than the flight. Security has improved but I still purchase a priority ticket due to nearly missing a flight in the past due to awful queues. Maybe things will be more consistent if it has hit its planning limits and they can settle into a steady state routine.