The cancellation of their summer long-haul flights from BRS to Sanford and Cancun from summer 2014 has been confirmed by Thomson, reportedly 'due to reasons, including a change in fleet'. The report added that a spokesperson for Bristol Airport said the action was taken by the operator 'in order to add new destinations from other UK airports'.
Thomson axes long-haul services from Bristol
The change in fleet reference is interesting. The B787 has been long held as the saviour for long-haul from BRS's short runway. In the early draft of the BRS master plan the airport said that Boeing had told them the 787 would have a range in excess of 9,000 kilometres from the BRS runway. Even allowing for perhaps manufacturers' natural optimism when talking about new products it seems to have been felt that the type likely to be used by First Choice (as was the case at the time of the draft master plan), now Thomson, really would put destinations in reach of BRS never previously contemplated.
When the 787 turned up at Farnborough in 2010, Chris Browne, the Thomson MD, included BRS in the list of airports she said would be operating the 787, with press speculation that destinations beyond Florida and the Caribbean would feature in non-stop flights.
However, last winter the airport submitted a series of non-material amendments to the local authority in respect of the outline planning permissions for the major infrastructure already approved. One of the amendments related to B787 operations:
The planning application envisaged that the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350 would become the future first choice mid-sized aircraft for airlines operating medium to long haul routes out of Bristol Airport. When the planning application was prepared the Boeing 787 was still in the early stages of design and advice from Boeing at the time indicated that aircraft likely to use Bristol Airport would be configured to accommodate up to around 260 passengers. The gate lounges were therefore sized on this basis. However the design of the aircraft has developed since then and the aircraft being delivered to airlines likely to operate from Bristol Airport are now expected to be configured to accommodate between 290 and 310 passengers. The additional seating capacity has been achieved within the same airframe by increasing the number seats abreast the aircraft. Pending completion of the Eastern Walkway it is proposed that stand 5 will be made available for Boeing 787 use. A small increase in the width of the Central Gate Lounge is therefore proposed so that the increased aircraft load can be accommodated without jeopardising passenger service and comfort standards.
So could it be that the apparently larger, and presumably heavier, 787s than those originally anticipated will make the operation of such aircraft from the BRS runway unviable?
The draft master plan also recognised that an aircraft of the size of the 787 could not use the full length parallel taxiway as its wings would overhand the boundary fence. It would need to backtrack the runway with turning circles built to aid the manoeuvre, though consideration might have to be given in the future to moving the public lane that runs alongside the taxiway (
it would be an expensive and controversial move - my italics).
I have no technical expertise so cannot comment on the 787's performance but if the BRS runway remains a limiting factor for long-haul, even with the new design of aircraft, it will presumably have to re-focus on what it is very good at, namely short and medium haul routes.
Of course, the decision may have no relation to operational capabilities and might simply be a commercial one in repect of the two particular routes that are to be axed.
I would welcome views from those with more technical knowledge than I possess.