Ryanair
Ryanair has certainly wrung the changes since setting up its Bristol base in 2007.
Beginning with Poland, the airline flew Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice, Gdansk and Rzeszow in the first year with Scezcin added after the first 12 months. Katowice and Scezcin no longer operate and Gdansk was also axed but is returning in summer 10.
The load factors on the Polish routes in summer 09 were high - all 2 x weekly:
In the months May, June, July, August and September the loads factors were respectively (%):
Poznan 95, 94, 96, 95, 93
Rzeszow 89, 85, 95, 95, 92
Wroclaw 89, 90, 96, 93, 87
These routes also operate in the winter and November's load factors were
Poznan (78), Wroclaw (76), Rzeszow (70)
Of course we don't know the yields but we do know that Poznan has been increased to 3 x weekly in summer 10 and Gdansk and Bydgoszcz have been added, so perhaps Ryanair views Poland as a good bet from BRS, despite axing Katowice and Scezcin.
Riga (2 x weekly) is a summer route and summer 09, May to September, saw load factors of 75, 88, 94, 90 and 75 so perhaps Ryanair thinks another Baltic State might work.
Five of the summer routes that Ryanair commenced in July 09 have not re-appeared in summer 10 - Cagliari, Trieste, Montpellier, Perpignan and Toulon. Although they have now gone they did feature in the first 'edition' of the summer 10 timetable. Of the routes to France and Italy started last July only Limoges and Rimini are operating in summer 10. Pau has also gone leaving Bergerac and Beziers as the other French routes in summer 10.
Marrakesh continues into the summer for the first time.
Other routes that Ryanair has axed since starting its Bristol base are Eindhoven, Derry, Dinard, Grenoble and Salzburg (the last two winter only). Shannon also goes at the end of this winter but so it does from the other UK regional airports because of the airline's disagreement with the Irish airport.
I agree with cym's assessment that Ryanair is increasingly challenging easyJet at BRS on the summer bread and butter routes and the list of overall viable destinations is not infinite when two major players are operating from an airport such as BRS.
Summer 10 will also see FR operating Palma and Faro, as well as Alicante, Malaga and Tenerife directly against easyJet and, as cym points out, the FR versions of Barcelona to easyJet's Barcelona 'proper'. The two have flown to their respective versions of Milan and Belfast for a while.
Amongst all the chopping and changing that has occurred thus far at BRS I know there are many locals, including me, who are disappointed that no Scandinavian or German route has been tried.
Even so with easyJet currently showing 39 routes and Ryanair 32 in summer 10 it's good for the area to have the choice and one only hopes the airport and airlines will be supported.