BRS for Business
Thought I'd share this for discussion and information.
I've just hosted a 2-day conference in Bristol. 35 delegates, 17 of whom were overseas.
I managed to get 13 of them to use BRS, with the incentive that we would get people to pick them up / drop them off if they did. In the end and despite that, one used Heathrow + Coach to Bristol and another used Heathrow + Heathrow Express + First Great Western. Both used "cheaper fares" for their justification (although the guy on the HEX + Train actually spent more). 2 were already in the country.
Of the 13, the breakdown was:
4 KLM
4 LH
2 AF
2 EZY
1 SN
Various arrival times. 10 out this afternon on the AF/KL/LH flights. 3 going tomorrow on EZY and KL.
What Did They Experience?
Views of BRS were all totally positive. Ogranised, good size, well located, convenient. Loved the 20 minute drive into the city. Fares were reasonable, when taking into account the Heathrow Hassle.
We got caught in *dreadful* traffic getting out of Bristol this evening (around Redcliffe Way), and had a slightly panicky turn-up at the airport. But the way through security was clear, fast and (nearly) everyone made it.
The Airlines
Tuesday night arrivals were all fine. Punctual, and swiftly through the airport and into their hotels. 10/10.
Wednesday morning was bad. SN made it in on time, LH was 45 minutes late, AF was 68 minutes late... and no surprise, KL cancelled leaving 3 stranded in AMS, all of whom missed key sessions. EZY was punctual. Apart from the KL crowd, nobody was too annoyed. KL finally got them in around lunchtime. One of the LH flyers ended up taking the Airport Flyer (because he missed the driver), and was full of praise for it. Overall, 5/10. (Dragged down by KL)
Wednesday evening arrivals. All good.
Thursday evening departures. AF punctual, KL punctual, LH 25 minutes late. We (I) screwed up by leaving Central Bristol a little too late (due to a tawdry passenger), and getting royally stuck for 25 minutes on Redcliffe Way. The AF Passengers went earlier (20 minutes earlier, at 15:50) and were at the airport by 16:20. The KL passengers ran like wild through security and got their 17:25, and the LH passengers were fine, and well looked after and safely made their flight.
Why KL made no friends
So let's look at our KL crowd's experience.
Cancelled on the way inbound, and arrived 2.5 hours late, having missed key sessions.
The one of the party wasn't able to board at BRS on the way back, because he has been offloaded back in AMS due to the cancelled flight, and not re-checked. The other three were OK, but they closed the flight before they could sort this guy's ticket and BP out, and so he's currently enjoying the Holiday Inn. But I feel slightly less guilty, because his colleague rang me from AMS and told me that his onward flight from AMS was cancelled, so he would have been stranded anyway. Way to go, KLM. That's the way to look after people.
All the Bristol based team were courteous, polite, apologetic and as helpful as they could be. (I don't think it was too unreasonable to close the flight at 15 minutes before push-back, and I take some of the blame for not getting out the door earlier).
Next time?
This conference lands in Bristol about every 3 years on its world-tour, so I hope people will be more encouraged to fly into/out of BRS. However, I suspect word will get out that it's worth avoiding KL.
Overall though, people were really surprised at how much an improvement flying to BRS was over the Heathrow Hassle.
Strangest corporate travel booking. CDG-AMS-BRS-AMS-CDG???? Huh??? Was the AF really full both ways??