If I said that a BAA car park had too few lifts and payment machines, most would say that the old facilities have been overtaken by demand ...
I was delivering a pax to T3 today and had not been through T3 for a while. I was pleased to see a new car park and it was very well laid out with good markings. But ... you then found that there were not enough lifts. There are two lifts each at the North and South ends of the park, essentially North for Arrivals and South for Departures.
In the middle of the afternoon, the park was half full (I looked at all the floors and noted that the roof was not yet open for service) floors 1 + 2 were full, 3 had about 50% and 4 had half a dozen (and me!). Yet, the lifts to Departures were full and people waiting in the floor lobbies to get in. The lift cars state "Maximum 36 persons" OK and how many persons + trolley????
After delivering nephew to VS, I walked up the stairs as it was quicker. I then found the second deliberate error in their planning. That the only payment machines are on the 1st floor at the Arrivals end! So I walked down three floors (lifts too busy) and down the length of the building to find that the four payment machines had long queues and one of them was out of order - although it was being worked on.
Whilst in the queue, I asked an NCP attendant who was helping people to use the machines, if the machines took the BAA Worldpoints card (in my hand). He replied, "No, they only take Visa, Mastercard, American ..."
The machine made no reference to Worldpoints cards only 'follow up or discount cards'. I did give the machine the card but will have to check the account in a week, experience says that, although NCP do give Worldpoints, they only do so after a fight. (Yes, I know Worldpoints is pants but it's the onyl thing I get back from BAA)
So, a spanking new car park that has four lifts instead of six and four payment machines at one end, instead of four at each end. The park might be run by NCP but it is BAA that specify and this is a classic example of saving money on construction cost. A brand new park - and only half full - it was already generating queues for pax arriving, don't worry about the queues for check in and security. The departing pax take longer to get away and so detract further from their experience and encourage them not to use the airport again.
BAA really make it so difficult to say nice things about them.
