Re: BRISTOL
Harry,
Thanks for the clarification.
As you say First Choice, along with the other major tour operators, are keen to expand into routes that the locos would not find expedient to operate.
BRS has a decent clutch of mid-range charter/IT routes already with five flights to three Egyptian destinations at various times this winter, as well as the continuation of the seemingly successful twice a week to Banjul.
As an outsider I can only conclude that the runway prevents regular holiday flights to the likes of Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Tui seem to have decided to concentrate more of their efforts in this part of the world at CWL, with regular charters this coming summer to the destinations I mentioned in the last paragraph.
It seems the best hope for BRS in this sector might be First Choice, a company that is very strong out of BRS, although people who know more about technical matters than I do suggest that non-stop flights may have to await the Boeing 787, of which I believe FCA has ordered six at present with first deliveries expected in 2009. I don't know whether FCA's re-configured Boeing 767s (with more leg room and thus fewer passengers) would still be unable to use the BRS runway for Florida/Caribbean-type flights.
On another subject, it was announced this week that a government planning inspector has recommended that no incursion into the green belt at the south side of the airport be allowed in the next five years. This might impact on BRS's plans to expand car parking in this area as part of its master plan looking to 2015 and up to 9 million annual pax.
Better news is the same inspector recommended that the north side of the airport be removed from the green belt, which would allow the airport to develop such things in its draft master plan as an on-site hotel, multi-storey car parks, extended terminal building, office block and expanded eastern apron.
However, if the northside was taken out of the green belt, many of these things would still require planning permission of course but the planning inspector's recommendation is a step in the right direction, but no more than that: there will undoubtedly be opponents popping up every step of the way along the green belt and planning legal processes.