BRISTOL - 4
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bristol
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
AF Fares
I just had a quick look. AF offered one-way fares for GBP7 and GBP27 (excluding taxes/fee/surcharges) in V-class (very limited availability) if you booked 40 days in advance. Otherwise the cheapest one way was GBP275.
From 01APR14, the cheapest one-way BRS-PAR fare on AF is GBP275 - plus taxes, fares, surcharges. So probably about GBP320 all in, and you have to travel via AMS.
From 01APR14, the cheapest one-way BRS-PAR fare on AF is GBP275 - plus taxes, fares, surcharges. So probably about GBP320 all in, and you have to travel via AMS.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 332
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Are there enough people in the BRS catchment area who would pay a premium to be able to have the facility of a day return schedule to Paris (bearing in mind the flexibility of schedules available for business travellers to Paris ex-LHR?
If "yes" then perhaps this could work on a double daily frequency with a bmi E145 (assuming they can get any half decent slots into CDG)...
If "yes" then perhaps this could work on a double daily frequency with a bmi E145 (assuming they can get any half decent slots into CDG)...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SOUTH WEST
Posts: 257
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
announced on local radion earlier this morning, code share aggreement with BMI and Lufthansa stating that this will open up hundreds of new destinations to the southwest with many thousands of extra pax per year,
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,175
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It is effectively a thrice daily feeder into the Lufthansa network as you can connect to a lot of international destinations at either FRA or MUC (with the exception of most African and South American destinations which are FRA only). So you could route outbound via FRA and inbound via MUC or vice versa. Timings are of course not exactly tailored to the lufthansa hub waves, but reasonable connections should be possible.
Bristol to Germany
BM1821/LH5301 MTWTFSS BRS 06:40 FRA 09:20
BM1845/LH5309 MTWTFSS BRS 12:05 MUC 15:0
BM1827/LH5307 MTWTFSS BRS 16:30 FRA 19:15
Germany to Bristol
BM1822/LH5302 MTWTFSS FRA 09:50 BRS 10:30
BM1846/LH5310 MTWTFSS MUC 16:10 BRS 17:10
BM1828/LH5308 MTWTFSS FRA 20:05 BRS 20:45
LH longhaul destinations served from both destinations: Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Dubai-International, Hong Kong, Houston–Intercontinental Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Montréal-Trudeau, Mumbai, New York-JFK, Newark, Riyadh, San Francisco, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tokyo-Haneda, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Dulles,
BMI Regional agrees codeshare with Lufthansa - www.travelweekly.co.uk
Bristol to Germany
BM1821/LH5301 MTWTFSS BRS 06:40 FRA 09:20
BM1845/LH5309 MTWTFSS BRS 12:05 MUC 15:0
BM1827/LH5307 MTWTFSS BRS 16:30 FRA 19:15
Germany to Bristol
BM1822/LH5302 MTWTFSS FRA 09:50 BRS 10:30
BM1846/LH5310 MTWTFSS MUC 16:10 BRS 17:10
BM1828/LH5308 MTWTFSS FRA 20:05 BRS 20:45
LH longhaul destinations served from both destinations: Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing-Capital, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Delhi, Dubai-International, Hong Kong, Houston–Intercontinental Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Montréal-Trudeau, Mumbai, New York-JFK, Newark, Riyadh, San Francisco, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Singapore, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tokyo-Haneda, Toronto-Pearson, Washington-Dulles,
BMI Regional agrees codeshare with Lufthansa - www.travelweekly.co.uk
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bristol
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The BM/LH codeshare is great news, and well done to BM for sorting that out. (Annoyingly, not quite fast enough for my trip to LAS/LAX starting on Friday).
There's some very good, time-effective, routings to Asia via FRA using the afternoon flight outbound, and coming back on the morning one. MUC is actually my fallback hub - it's not quite as well timed, but the long-haul flights out of MUC tend not to be quite so heavily booked (aka - cheaper), and the MUC based crews seem a bit happier with their world than the FRA based ones.
Congrats to BM.
There's some very good, time-effective, routings to Asia via FRA using the afternoon flight outbound, and coming back on the morning one. MUC is actually my fallback hub - it's not quite as well timed, but the long-haul flights out of MUC tend not to be quite so heavily booked (aka - cheaper), and the MUC based crews seem a bit happier with their world than the FRA based ones.
Congrats to BM.
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Europe
Posts: 2,175
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wonder if this could be a way forward for bmi given Lufthansa's/Star Alliance's relatively poor feed from the UK regions (despite at least adding EDI and ABZ from FRA in addition to MAN and BHX over the last couple of years). Places like NCL and GLA with a strong oneworld/Skyteam presence have a once daily DUS-service, but no feed into FRA or MUC. Probably too small a market for Lufthansa's 100 seaters, but maybe just right for a BDcodeshare. They are also feeding Star's secondary Brussels hub from NCL and EMA, fitting the overall picture.
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bristol
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I wonder if Silver/Gold *A passengers will get lounge access at BRS if flying on a LH issued/coded ticket?
You won't earn any miles in any *A mileage scheme for the BRS-FRA/MUC segments either.
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The Nether Region
Posts: 231
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
That's a shame; although had I thought about it I guess that would have been the case. I guess for someone like me who has status with both *A and SkyTeam it makes KL still slightly more tempting. I quite like my post long haul lounge access.. but that is negligible!
It's good news anyway.
It's good news anyway.
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Bristol
Posts: 433
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'd be very surprised if all the relevant ticketing/interline agreements are in place yet
What was missing was the ability to book using an LH flight number, and visibility on the LH website. (I had to piece the itin together and get a TA to ticket it). That's what the codeshare actually brings - a presence back on LH's network, without the convolution of going BRS-(LH)-BRU-(LH)-FRA.
That said, LH haven't loaded the codeshared flights to the GDSes yet. And it doesn't look like you'll be able to book BRS-FRA/MUC by itself via LH, as there's no LH fare been filed as of yet.
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: South Wales
Posts: 463
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
TOM will offer Dubrovnik as a cruise package for Summer 2015. Remains to be seen whether these flights will be purely cruise orientated, or whether Dubrovnik will become a 'full-time' Summer destination when they release the schedule.
Brunel to Concorde
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Virtute et Industria, et Sumorsaete Ealle
Posts: 2,283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No plans whatsoever and it's extremely unlikely that any new road of such magnitude would escape the vice-like grip of the well-heeled and well-connected who come out of the cardboard in vociferous numbers, if not in actual ones, whenever their perceived idyllic, chocolate box cover surroundings are threatened. They were in overdrive as a loosely connected group of disparate objectors when the major expansion plans for the airport first saw the light of day and managed to delay the proceedings for several years, albeit they did lose that one in the end.
It's physically possible to extend the runway over the A 38 to the east but that would entail taking full possession of a common for the extension to be worthwhile and the airport, understandably, has decided that's one battle it wouldn't win.
The only slight bit of sunlight on the horizon, and it's not much, is that funding and planning approval are in place for a link road to be built between the A 370 and the A 38 on the south-western outskirts of Bristol itself which will at least remove the tedious drive around the one way streets in south Bristol for those approaching the airport from the M 5 at Avonmouth via the A 4 Portway. The road ought to be built within the next couple of years unless Bristol's notorious predilection for zapping major projects at the last moment comes into play yet again.
The airport is only 3-4 miles from the main Bristol-Exeter railway line but apart from the questionable economics of operating a spur to the airport the 600 foot-plus elevation of BRS means that extensive civil engineering would be required to reach it.................and of course the rural guardians wouldn't like a railway line any more than a road or an expanded airport.
For a city region that is so well connected on the surface - at the crossroads of two major motorways from Midlands-North/South West and London-South Wales and at the centre of major rail lines running in all the important directions - it's supremely perverse that the last few miles to the region's airport is such a challenge.
I often thought that the usually excellent BRS management missed a trick when they had the Continental service to Newark. They could have told the American travellers that they would be landing at a miniature airport smack bang in the middle of Little Old England's fields and hedges with cows looking over the gate at them.
The fact that this lilliputian airport with all its physical difficulties including murk and mist, not to mention strong winds, has performed so well in attracting passengers leads to the obvious question of how busy it would be if it was larger with a longer runway and better connected on the surface.
There was a place that ticked most of these boxes, all of them really, but the F-word has ceased to be mentioned as it no longer has a runway.
BRS is tied to a maximum of 10 mppa through the planning consents mentioned in my first paragraph. It's certain if that is reached at some point, and the airport management tries to increase the numbers, the protestors will be out of their chocolate boxes quicker than you can say J S Fry.
It's physically possible to extend the runway over the A 38 to the east but that would entail taking full possession of a common for the extension to be worthwhile and the airport, understandably, has decided that's one battle it wouldn't win.
The only slight bit of sunlight on the horizon, and it's not much, is that funding and planning approval are in place for a link road to be built between the A 370 and the A 38 on the south-western outskirts of Bristol itself which will at least remove the tedious drive around the one way streets in south Bristol for those approaching the airport from the M 5 at Avonmouth via the A 4 Portway. The road ought to be built within the next couple of years unless Bristol's notorious predilection for zapping major projects at the last moment comes into play yet again.
The airport is only 3-4 miles from the main Bristol-Exeter railway line but apart from the questionable economics of operating a spur to the airport the 600 foot-plus elevation of BRS means that extensive civil engineering would be required to reach it.................and of course the rural guardians wouldn't like a railway line any more than a road or an expanded airport.
For a city region that is so well connected on the surface - at the crossroads of two major motorways from Midlands-North/South West and London-South Wales and at the centre of major rail lines running in all the important directions - it's supremely perverse that the last few miles to the region's airport is such a challenge.
I often thought that the usually excellent BRS management missed a trick when they had the Continental service to Newark. They could have told the American travellers that they would be landing at a miniature airport smack bang in the middle of Little Old England's fields and hedges with cows looking over the gate at them.
The fact that this lilliputian airport with all its physical difficulties including murk and mist, not to mention strong winds, has performed so well in attracting passengers leads to the obvious question of how busy it would be if it was larger with a longer runway and better connected on the surface.
There was a place that ticked most of these boxes, all of them really, but the F-word has ceased to be mentioned as it no longer has a runway.
BRS is tied to a maximum of 10 mppa through the planning consents mentioned in my first paragraph. It's certain if that is reached at some point, and the airport management tries to increase the numbers, the protestors will be out of their chocolate boxes quicker than you can say J S Fry.
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The Nether Region
Posts: 231
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think you whacked the nail on the head there, good post. I think BRS have played their cards well, albeit with the mediocre set they were handed, to produce an airport which has a solid collection of year-round destinations and decent passenger numbers.
In an ideal world "Bristol Airport" would be at Filton, with it's pre-existing rail link and it's own junction off the M5.. but as you infer, that ship sailed a long time ago. However, as ever a long runway doesn't mean prosperity and I think BRS would struggle with LHR just up the road.. or indeed just up the motorway had FZO been developed. But c'est la vie.
In an ideal world "Bristol Airport" would be at Filton, with it's pre-existing rail link and it's own junction off the M5.. but as you infer, that ship sailed a long time ago. However, as ever a long runway doesn't mean prosperity and I think BRS would struggle with LHR just up the road.. or indeed just up the motorway had FZO been developed. But c'est la vie.
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Up where the air is clear... ish
Posts: 500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As an operator at Brissle Drizzle Int'l, a long time user of Filton for the weekend job and a resident of Somerset, BRS is a complete and utter anachronism in the world of major airport interconnectivity. Jasper Carrot used to joke that East Mids was an airport so rural it had a cattle grid at each end of the runway, I think that description better fits Bristol 20 years after it was probably observed!
The location and terrain make decent roads and rails almost impossible to engineer for a reasonable cost/benefit, let alone the concern of local (and frankly barking) citizens coming into play. As MV says, the link road will help but it has to be built first...
Filton was a blatant and outstanding candidate for an airport to serve Bristol and the surrounding area into the future and even after all the years it was formally ruled out, it breaks my heart when I fly over that strip of concrete, particularly when I'm busy preparing for (yet another) low viz approach to BRS.
Simply stated, I cannot believe how outrageously narrow-minded, improvident and egregiously stupid it was not to develop Filton in the 1990s.
The location and terrain make decent roads and rails almost impossible to engineer for a reasonable cost/benefit, let alone the concern of local (and frankly barking) citizens coming into play. As MV says, the link road will help but it has to be built first...
Filton was a blatant and outstanding candidate for an airport to serve Bristol and the surrounding area into the future and even after all the years it was formally ruled out, it breaks my heart when I fly over that strip of concrete, particularly when I'm busy preparing for (yet another) low viz approach to BRS.
Simply stated, I cannot believe how outrageously narrow-minded, improvident and egregiously stupid it was not to develop Filton in the 1990s.
Brunel to Concorde
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Virtute et Industria, et Sumorsaete Ealle
Posts: 2,283
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
JC, you're probably aware that BAE tried to develop Filton as a city airport in the mid 1990s. The application led to a planning enquiry following which the relevant government minister - I think Selwyn Gummer but humble apologies to him if I'm wrong - rejected the application.
Unsurprisingly, the application attracted numerous objections including one from the then owners of BRS, Bristol City Council. In the mid 1990s much of BRS's traffic was charter/inclusive tour and from their point of view a business airport across the city leaving them with mainly charter work was not something that they could contemplate with equanimity.
In fact, having one airport for scheduled business traffic, almost certainly turbo-prop/ small jet because the low-cost rush across the regionals had not yet begun, and another for holiday inclusive tours may not have worked either, given that the BRS catchment size is not the West Midlands, the North West or the South East.
When the celebrated wartime airport at Whitchurch was deemed too small for future development the city council opted for the former RAF Lulsgate Bottom (sounds vaguely Shakespearean) when legend/myth/possibly fact has it that they could have moved to Filton as tenants of the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1957 when the council closed Whitchurch.
That's all in the past and realistically cannot be overcome now. As the Americans say, Lulsgate is now the only game in town and it's that or nothing.
It does seem the money people can see something in it because they've not been slow in investing scores of millions of pounds over the past decade and a half with much more in the pipeline.
I've been using the place as a passenger since the 1970s and I do admit to having a soft spot for it. I can't honestly recall ever having had a major problem there or been seriously discomfited in many hundreds of flights through it. I shall whisper it with the wooden desk gripped firmly but in all that time I've been diverted only once.
Unsurprisingly, the application attracted numerous objections including one from the then owners of BRS, Bristol City Council. In the mid 1990s much of BRS's traffic was charter/inclusive tour and from their point of view a business airport across the city leaving them with mainly charter work was not something that they could contemplate with equanimity.
In fact, having one airport for scheduled business traffic, almost certainly turbo-prop/ small jet because the low-cost rush across the regionals had not yet begun, and another for holiday inclusive tours may not have worked either, given that the BRS catchment size is not the West Midlands, the North West or the South East.
When the celebrated wartime airport at Whitchurch was deemed too small for future development the city council opted for the former RAF Lulsgate Bottom (sounds vaguely Shakespearean) when legend/myth/possibly fact has it that they could have moved to Filton as tenants of the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1957 when the council closed Whitchurch.
That's all in the past and realistically cannot be overcome now. As the Americans say, Lulsgate is now the only game in town and it's that or nothing.
It does seem the money people can see something in it because they've not been slow in investing scores of millions of pounds over the past decade and a half with much more in the pipeline.
I've been using the place as a passenger since the 1970s and I do admit to having a soft spot for it. I can't honestly recall ever having had a major problem there or been seriously discomfited in many hundreds of flights through it. I shall whisper it with the wooden desk gripped firmly but in all that time I've been diverted only once.