Bristol Airport has been awarded the title ‘Best UK Airport’ at the 2012 Business Travel Awards.

The awards, which took place in London, saw the airport take the title ahead of London City, Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester Airports.

The awards are decided by a panel of judges, which include travel managers from major organizations, such as Tesco, HSBC and E.ON.

Around 15% of Bristol Airport passengers are business travellers.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a new price comparison tool to enable travellers to see a summary of optional charges levied by the top airlines in the UK.

The tool details information of costs of hold luggage, in flight meal charges, seat reservation and other optional airline fees.

Andrew Haines, Chief Executive of the CAA said: “The diversity of UK aviation offers excellent choice and value to UK consumers with airlines adopting various business models. To really benefit from that choice consumers want to know the full price picture. For some passengers and airlines the headline ticket price will be the most expensive part of the booking, whilst for others the impact of optional fees and charges can change their view of the best overall price.

“Our table allows passengers to easily compare the optional fees that airlines charge and it’s important to consider those charges alongside the ticket price and the extra charges that could be applied before making their booking.”

To view the fees and charges comparison table click here: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/2200/Comparing_airline_charges_1st_Feb_2012_.pdf

The CAA plans to update the charges table on a quarterly basis.

Ryanair has announced it will operate flights to three new destinations from Bristol Airport.

Launching in March 2012, the new services will operate to Budapest, Dinard and Lodz.

Flybe can now offer passengers an even greater choice of routes to France through its Air France codeshare agreement.

With the addition of new routes from Aberdeen, Bristol and Newcastle to Paris Charles de Gaulle and from Birmingham Airport to Lyon. In addition to Flybe’s 11 UK departure points serving the French capital, passengers can now connect seamlessly to a selection of 19 new European destinations.

The new codeshare routes onward from Paris, and operated by Air France, are available for booking in conjunction with a connecting Flybe flight between the UK and Paris. They are as follows:

• Paris Charles de Gaulle to Budapest, Geneva, Ljubljana, Lyon, Madrid, Munich, Nice, Nuremburg, Prague, Sofia, Vienna, Warsaw, Zagreb and Zurich
• Paris Orly Ouest to Bordeaux, Marseille, Nice, Perpignan and Toulouse.

Andrew Strong, Flybe UK’s Managing Director, comments: “Flybe is once again opening up the UK regions by providing new and better travel options. For example, a customer from Newcastle can now book in one simple transaction a flight to Paris and onward to Madrid. Similarly, someone booking a flight to Paris from Bristol can now choose to fly seamlessly to Budapest, Vienna or a number of other attractive destinations. This is an exciting step forward in the relationship between Flybe and Air France.”

Ryanair is to add 18 extra flights to the Six Nation rugby matches.

The extra flights will operate on the following routes as follows:

• Bristol – Dublin – two extra flights on 5 February for Ireland vs. Wales
• London – Rome – two extra flights on 10 and 12 February for Italy vs. England
• Dublin – Paris – six extra flights on 10/11/12 February for France vs. Ireland
• Paris – Edinburgh – four extra flights on 25 and 27 February for Scotland vs. France
• Dublin – Edinburgh – four extra flights on 9 and 11 March for Scotland vs. Ireland

Due to expansion at Bristol Airport, security provider ICTS is launching a recruitment drive to appoint an additional 75 permanent staff to join its workforce.

ICTS provides security services at more than 70 airports worldwide and was awarded the contract to provide security services at Bristol Airport from January 2010. ICTS currently employs 200 people at Bristol.

The company will be holding two recruitment open days this Friday and Saturday, 6 and 7 January 2012, from 10:00 to 15:00.

Sarah Croll, Station Manager for ICTS at Bristol Airport, said: “We are delighted that, due to the busy year ahead and improvements to the security search facilities at Bristol Airport, we are in a position to recruit an additional 75 staff. The new x-ray channels will improve the customer experience and also gives us the opportunity to provide more jobs for local people.

“Candidates who wish to go through the interview and assessment should confirm their intention of participating in the Recruitment Day by telephoning Mrs Pat Brown on 01275 473439 and be prepared to arrive at 10am on either day. Those who solely wish to get more information before applying should arrive at 2pm, and will be able to complete the application process at a later date.”

For more information on the airport jobs open day click here.

The war of words over border control strike action continues in the press and it is unknown how badly affected airport passengers are going to be by the action – reports vary from minor disruption to significant.

Border control will be affected from the evening of Tuesday 29 November until midnight on Wednesday 30 November – strike action start times will depend on shift patterns.

Any delays will affect passengers arriving into the UK that need to pass through passport control – outgoing flights should not be affected.

Tips to help avoid delays:

• Use e-Passport gates where available
• Have travel documents, including passports, ready
• Fully complete landing cards
• Stay in family groups.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has said that it has robust arrangements in place to maintain the security of the border and that it has

• trained managers, staff and contractors to carry out border checks
• requested overseas staff to provide cover
• asked airlines and ports to identify potential pressure points.

Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: ‘Securing the border is our priority and over the last weeks and months we have considered all options to ensure we are prepared for union action.

‘We always aim to minimise any disruption caused by the decision of unions to strike, but travellers could see longer waiting times at some ports and airports.’

For up-to-date UKBA information visit  http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/

easyJet is set to trial allocated seating on selected routes.

The trial, which will be introduced in the spring of 2012, will mean each passenger will be allocated a specific seat, however, if they wish to sit in a specific seat, such as in the front row they can pay to reserve them.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet CEO, said, “This is another example of easyJet trying to do all it can to make travel easy and affordable for our passengers. We look forward to seeing how our passengers respond and how the trial works.

We will roll it out further only if it works operationally, from a revenue perspective and increases passenger satisfaction. If it doesn’t, we won’t.”

Helvetic Airways has announced it will launch a new service between Bristol and Zurich.

Flights will commence on 5 December 2011 and operate three times per week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) using a Fokker 100.

Bruno Jans, Chief Executive Officer of Helvetic Airways, said: “With flights to Bristol we are developing our service in an economically strong region of the British Isles, providing business travellers with a fast link to Zurich. For Swiss tourists, Bristol is an ideal starting point for leisure trips.”

Robert Sinclair, Chief Executive Officer at Bristol Airport, said: “Zurich is a key business destination, and this direct flight means that the South West is once again connected to this globally important financial centre. It also enables the region to market its attractions to Swiss tourists, for whom the UK currently represents great value for money.”

Helvetic Airways becomes the 12th scheduled airline operating from Bristol Airport.

easyJet has unveiled its latest new service from Bristol Airport to Naples.

The new Bristol flights will commence on 12 May 2012 and operate three times per week until 1 September 2012.