- Phileas
Bristol was actually reasonably useful if you were flying onward out of Bristol and didn't want to drive, I'm sure it wasn't profitable later in its life, but it still saw a smattering of passengers.
The reason it existed as a stop however was to serve BRS-MAN (3 daily) and BRS-PLH-JER (daily). This was back when Bristol to Manchester by train meant a change in New Street and took 4-5 hours. Once trains became direct, frequent and faster the demand for flights fell away.
The scissors hub in Bristol came later. On routes like that people didn't mind the stop though, not when the alternative was a long time on a train or driving to Exeter