LIVERPOOL - 2
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Liverpool
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I have never flown through Liverpool when only two x-ray machines are working. There has alwaays been a minimum of 4 working and the search area always seems well staffed. Something the BAA at Heathrow's Terminal 4 could learn from
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Liverpool
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Wizz Air is increasing the Liverpool to Gdansk service from 5 per week to Daily from 15th March, at the same time the Liverpool to Bucharest service will increase from 3 to 4 flights a week
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: UK
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The local press are reporting that flyGlobespan are closing its Liverpool and Manchester bases from the end of October.
The airline is saying that “Our Liverpool and Manchester operations have not been able to achieve the financial viability of other flyglobespan bases and, regrettably, we have had to inform our staff that they will cease to be manned bases from the end of October.
“We are extremely sad that, despite the efforts and dedication of our staff at these bases, we are unable to sustain services from these airports through winter, but we fully intend to return with a 2008 programme next spring."
The airline is saying that “Our Liverpool and Manchester operations have not been able to achieve the financial viability of other flyglobespan bases and, regrettably, we have had to inform our staff that they will cease to be manned bases from the end of October.
“We are extremely sad that, despite the efforts and dedication of our staff at these bases, we are unable to sustain services from these airports through winter, but we fully intend to return with a 2008 programme next spring."
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Liverpool
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Liverpool Airport Executive Lounge
Posted on behalf of a friend. She has just written to Liverpool Airport as follows:
On Tuesday xxth September my colleague and I travelled on business to Madrid. We booked carparking and executive lounge under reference xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
The business lounge was totally unacceptable. In one word, it was squalid.
The carpets were disgusting, and I wouldn't even allow them in a pigsty. Numerous drinks had been spilt over them and no attempt made to clean them up. Curiously, there was no stained carpet anywhere else in the airport.
Snacks were advertised, but all that was appropriate to our time of day were the Danish pastries, which are extremely unhealthy. There were just a few biscuits, and the only fruit was a display of small oranges - I tried one but it was hard, pithy and bitter.
The milk jug stood empty for half an hour before being refilled - not too good if you drink tea, as I do.
Most of the drinks were cheap brands that nobody had ever heard of.
There was inadequate seating for the number of people in the room, and inadequate control over who was coming in. I suggest that several were freeloaders.
Nowhere in the room was there anywhere quiet for conducting business, which makes an executive lounge completely useless.
I will not allow you to charge honest people for such a deplorable service. You should be ashamed.
Any other feedback?
On Tuesday xxth September my colleague and I travelled on business to Madrid. We booked carparking and executive lounge under reference xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
The business lounge was totally unacceptable. In one word, it was squalid.
The carpets were disgusting, and I wouldn't even allow them in a pigsty. Numerous drinks had been spilt over them and no attempt made to clean them up. Curiously, there was no stained carpet anywhere else in the airport.
Snacks were advertised, but all that was appropriate to our time of day were the Danish pastries, which are extremely unhealthy. There were just a few biscuits, and the only fruit was a display of small oranges - I tried one but it was hard, pithy and bitter.
The milk jug stood empty for half an hour before being refilled - not too good if you drink tea, as I do.
Most of the drinks were cheap brands that nobody had ever heard of.
There was inadequate seating for the number of people in the room, and inadequate control over who was coming in. I suggest that several were freeloaders.
Nowhere in the room was there anywhere quiet for conducting business, which makes an executive lounge completely useless.
I will not allow you to charge honest people for such a deplorable service. You should be ashamed.
Any other feedback?
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Liverpool
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I often use the Executive Lounge at Liverpool Airport and, whilst it is not the best I have been in, I have found the food and drink on offer to be fine. They have Kenco Coffee, Tetley's Tea, Jacobs biscuits/crackers, various cakes/pastries, cheeses and various drinks including Fosters and Heineken. I think you will agree these are known brands.
The staff have always been helpful and courteous, if something is not available such as milk, which happens sometime, then just ask. It is not too hard.
The lounge is not operated by Liverpool Airport but by a company called
Halewood International.
I think the person involved is coming across as being a little snobbish. Everybody has a right to go into the lounge if they pay their money or invited to do so at someone else's expense. The lounge is not free to anyone. Perhaps your friend wants to vet all entrants into the Executive lounge first!
The staff have always been helpful and courteous, if something is not available such as milk, which happens sometime, then just ask. It is not too hard.
The lounge is not operated by Liverpool Airport but by a company called
Halewood International.
I think the person involved is coming across as being a little snobbish. Everybody has a right to go into the lounge if they pay their money or invited to do so at someone else's expense. The lounge is not free to anyone. Perhaps your friend wants to vet all entrants into the Executive lounge first!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: South Coast
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I've only ever used the Excutive lounge once (about 6 weeks ago) and can only agree with Ametyst1. The lounge was clean and well stocked with well know brands. The staff were welcoming. Well done to them.
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Liverpool
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Relaying (which isn't easy):
Sharing the lounge with other people, from whatever background, isn't an issue. Suggesting a snob attitude is unhelpful and insulting.
By definition as Executive Lounge is a place where business people can get things done that they can't elsewhere in the terminal. Overcrowding and noise are the opposite to what should be available.
So midmorning, I usually eat cheese and biscuits, do I? Fruit, I repeat, was inedible. All brand names except the ones you mention are cheapos. You seem to know them very well, do you work there?
Yes, you can ask for things, obviously, but you shouldn't have to when you've paid a lot for what is supposed to be excellent service.
One look at the carpet says everything about the place. Halewood would seem to be a cheapskate outfit who couldn't really give a fig. I urge Liverpool Airport to get rid of them ASAP, the aren't good for business.
Sharing the lounge with other people, from whatever background, isn't an issue. Suggesting a snob attitude is unhelpful and insulting.
By definition as Executive Lounge is a place where business people can get things done that they can't elsewhere in the terminal. Overcrowding and noise are the opposite to what should be available.
So midmorning, I usually eat cheese and biscuits, do I? Fruit, I repeat, was inedible. All brand names except the ones you mention are cheapos. You seem to know them very well, do you work there?
Yes, you can ask for things, obviously, but you shouldn't have to when you've paid a lot for what is supposed to be excellent service.
One look at the carpet says everything about the place. Halewood would seem to be a cheapskate outfit who couldn't really give a fig. I urge Liverpool Airport to get rid of them ASAP, the aren't good for business.
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Edinburgh
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Why didn't your friend complain at the time?
Personally I would have asked for a refund had it been that bad and if the staff within in the lounge were not forthcoming I would have asked to speak to the airport duty manager and made a complaint through that channel. They incidently would have been able to supply your friend with the business in questions particulars in order to make an official complaint to their head office.
Furthermore, if it were as bad as you are suggesting on behalf of your friend I would have about turned and walked out (after demanding refund) before I even got to the stage of checking whether it was Smirnoff or Tesco Value Vodka
Personally I would have asked for a refund had it been that bad and if the staff within in the lounge were not forthcoming I would have asked to speak to the airport duty manager and made a complaint through that channel. They incidently would have been able to supply your friend with the business in questions particulars in order to make an official complaint to their head office.
Furthermore, if it were as bad as you are suggesting on behalf of your friend I would have about turned and walked out (after demanding refund) before I even got to the stage of checking whether it was Smirnoff or Tesco Value Vodka
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Liverpool
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No, I do not work there i am just a frequent traveller who is very pleased with the service I receive at Liverpool Airport. I pay £17.50 to use the lounger (not what I would call expensive) and it is an Executive Lounge, not a Business Lounge.
Any passenger who pays can go in there, It is merely menat to be a lounge with more space plus complimentary products. There are no business service available in the lounge and nor are they advertised as being available. It is purely a place to relax. And yes, I don't mind Cheese and Biscuits mid-morning but then again that is down to personal taste. There are normally a good selection of snacks available and it is certainly comparable to any other Executive lounge that I have used but not comparable to the Business Lounges i have used.
Did your friend expect a 4-course brunch?
Any passenger who pays can go in there, It is merely menat to be a lounge with more space plus complimentary products. There are no business service available in the lounge and nor are they advertised as being available. It is purely a place to relax. And yes, I don't mind Cheese and Biscuits mid-morning but then again that is down to personal taste. There are normally a good selection of snacks available and it is certainly comparable to any other Executive lounge that I have used but not comparable to the Business Lounges i have used.
Did your friend expect a 4-course brunch?
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Isle of Man, man
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I visit the lounge regularly, but never pay because I have a Priority Pass card. It isnt the greatest lounge in the world; it is small and basic (like many lounges at smaller airports operated by airline support companies) and can't be compared to a BA terraces or Virgin club lounge, but I have never found it dirty, and the staff are always friendly.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Sorry to say it, but the follow-up relayed on behalf of the friend actually came across as very snobbish indeed, more so than the original letter of complaint. I haven't been to the Liverpool lounge, but the tone of the original letter isn't particularly condusive to getting a positive response out of the airport or Halewood.
The complaints may well all be very well and reasonable, but any goodwill will pretty much be lost by the tone of it in my opinion. (I've done my fair share of complaining in the past, so have had a bit of trial and error experience
)
As Chica says, the smaller airports are not a patch on the larger lounges at some airports, but they are adequate for the job and in-line with the airlines you are travelling in. If you want BA Lounge standards, fly with BA and pay top whack as well for a CE ticket.
Sorry your friend had a bad experience, especially as it seems much out of keeping with the experiences of others. Maybe just plain old bad luck to catch the place at a less than well serviced 30 minutes.
The complaints may well all be very well and reasonable, but any goodwill will pretty much be lost by the tone of it in my opinion. (I've done my fair share of complaining in the past, so have had a bit of trial and error experience
)As Chica says, the smaller airports are not a patch on the larger lounges at some airports, but they are adequate for the job and in-line with the airlines you are travelling in. If you want BA Lounge standards, fly with BA and pay top whack as well for a CE ticket.
Sorry your friend had a bad experience, especially as it seems much out of keeping with the experiences of others. Maybe just plain old bad luck to catch the place at a less than well serviced 30 minutes.
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Liverpool
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Relaying from "the snob", a final word:
(I'm not doing this relay stuff again)
Okay then, have it your way. The Liverpool Airport Executive Lounge is doing a great job, offering a clean and pleasant environment to have a bit of peace and quiet and maybe get some work done. The food and drinks are top quality and the service excellent.
I love my home city but sometimes we think we are doing a magnificent job when in fact the rest of the world has passed us by. I can only hope that enterprises like Halewood International see the light before Liverpool is on the world stage next year, otherwise we will be a laughing stock.
PS If you think that it's Kenco coffee coming out of that ten-year-old Kenco machine, your taste buds are sadly lacking.
(I'm not doing this relay stuff again)
Okay then, have it your way. The Liverpool Airport Executive Lounge is doing a great job, offering a clean and pleasant environment to have a bit of peace and quiet and maybe get some work done. The food and drinks are top quality and the service excellent.
I love my home city but sometimes we think we are doing a magnificent job when in fact the rest of the world has passed us by. I can only hope that enterprises like Halewood International see the light before Liverpool is on the world stage next year, otherwise we will be a laughing stock.
PS If you think that it's Kenco coffee coming out of that ten-year-old Kenco machine, your taste buds are sadly lacking.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Liverpool
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LPL has a great summer
Looks as though LPL has had a great summer - despite the coffee!
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/...4375-19912399/
http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/...4375-19912399/
Disappointed
Join Date: May 2007
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I'm a big supporter of Liverpool, or have been, but this ludicrous £2 security charge scam at Liverpool is an exploitation of people's fear and an exercise in exploitative profiteering of the very worse kind. It's exploitation of people's nervousness and irritability when it comes to air travel and I'm only glad that so few suckers seem to be using it.
I've travelled through the airport 5 times this week, sadly.
I've noticed each time that the normal security queue has one or maybe two security operatives manning it. Hence the queue has taken about 30 - 60 minutes on each occasion to navigate. There's nowhere to sit for the elderly, tired, hungover and infirm in the queue - they're forced to pay the £2 effectively if they don't want to die of, ahem, some sort of standing up disease.
And of course, there is nothing for the kids to do so they run up and down like screaming banshees terrorising the other poor lost souls in the queue. Just what's required....
The £2 express lane however is well staffed yet underused - the security operatives most of the time sit around laughing at everyone in the other queue it would seem.
And that's not even to mention the horrendous partitioning wall between the two lanes which quite frankly is ugly and oppressive.
But because John Aldridge and other ex-Liverpool FC stars say the security lane is a good idea, we should all shut up about it and fork out for receiving a service the airport are obliged to provide anyway - passenger security without fuss.
Are we really living in a day and age whereby decent service and passenger care are optional, and require further payment?
I also hear extremely reliably that there is still, allegedly, a missing baggage/theft from baggage issue occurring at EGGP, despite several employees resigning pre-inquiry a few months ago (if I remember correctly they were found to be innocent...for the record m'lord) and the denials of the airport management.
I hear from the same source (within the law enforcement community) that the airside baggage areas are not monitored by CCTV at all - at least that's the excuse given. Ludicrous really when some bags can sit there in trolleys for a good while.....
Also, one has to wonder if the security operatives from the deathly-quiet express lane would be better employed keeping an eye on staff coming from airside areas with suspiciously bulging clothing?
And also it begs the question - if people are taking things out with such ease as is alleged - how easy would it be for a rogue member of staff to take something airside?
Above us there may be only sky, but after departing from Liverpool Airport, below you is an airport run by a devious company interested solely in money (like most others to be fair), with no regard to basic passenger comfort or security and no scruples about using the current sad security situation as a means to get money from people.
And a company who, when questioned, seem to resort to the fact that the only place one could fly to from Liverpool once upon a time was Ronaldsway (pretty much) as their sole defence.
I feel so much better now.
Now, where's my next dose of Valium and copy of Imagine.
I've travelled through the airport 5 times this week, sadly.
I've noticed each time that the normal security queue has one or maybe two security operatives manning it. Hence the queue has taken about 30 - 60 minutes on each occasion to navigate. There's nowhere to sit for the elderly, tired, hungover and infirm in the queue - they're forced to pay the £2 effectively if they don't want to die of, ahem, some sort of standing up disease.
And of course, there is nothing for the kids to do so they run up and down like screaming banshees terrorising the other poor lost souls in the queue. Just what's required....
The £2 express lane however is well staffed yet underused - the security operatives most of the time sit around laughing at everyone in the other queue it would seem.
And that's not even to mention the horrendous partitioning wall between the two lanes which quite frankly is ugly and oppressive.
But because John Aldridge and other ex-Liverpool FC stars say the security lane is a good idea, we should all shut up about it and fork out for receiving a service the airport are obliged to provide anyway - passenger security without fuss.
Are we really living in a day and age whereby decent service and passenger care are optional, and require further payment?
I also hear extremely reliably that there is still, allegedly, a missing baggage/theft from baggage issue occurring at EGGP, despite several employees resigning pre-inquiry a few months ago (if I remember correctly they were found to be innocent...for the record m'lord) and the denials of the airport management.
I hear from the same source (within the law enforcement community) that the airside baggage areas are not monitored by CCTV at all - at least that's the excuse given. Ludicrous really when some bags can sit there in trolleys for a good while.....
Also, one has to wonder if the security operatives from the deathly-quiet express lane would be better employed keeping an eye on staff coming from airside areas with suspiciously bulging clothing?
And also it begs the question - if people are taking things out with such ease as is alleged - how easy would it be for a rogue member of staff to take something airside?
Above us there may be only sky, but after departing from Liverpool Airport, below you is an airport run by a devious company interested solely in money (like most others to be fair), with no regard to basic passenger comfort or security and no scruples about using the current sad security situation as a means to get money from people.
And a company who, when questioned, seem to resort to the fact that the only place one could fly to from Liverpool once upon a time was Ronaldsway (pretty much) as their sole defence.
I feel so much better now.
Now, where's my next dose of Valium and copy of Imagine.
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Join Date: Jun 2001
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I've noticed each time that the normal security queue has one or maybe two security operatives manning it. Hence the queue has taken about 30 - 60 minutes on each occasion to navigate.
The airport has CCTV and can confirm if the accusation is proved or not.
This is taken from another site and is quoting the airport spokesman “But the delays have never reached an hour.
“There have been delays, sometimes up to 35 minutes, but we have CCTV cameras to constantly monitor demand........"
Join Date: Sep 2005
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And which other airports in the UK have seats in the security line for the elderly/infirm/hungover and entertainment for children?
Whilst I agree that Liverpool airport is not the nicest in comparison to Manchester or Birmingham, the security queue is never as bad as you make out. Even when the queue snakes up past the Pret a Manger, it only takes 10 minutes (15 max) to security, where I've always found the staff professional and good natured. When you're paying FR, W6 and EZ prices, what do you expect at the airport, beyond the minimum safety requirements?
Whilst I agree that Liverpool airport is not the nicest in comparison to Manchester or Birmingham, the security queue is never as bad as you make out. Even when the queue snakes up past the Pret a Manger, it only takes 10 minutes (15 max) to security, where I've always found the staff professional and good natured. When you're paying FR, W6 and EZ prices, what do you expect at the airport, beyond the minimum safety requirements?
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Your "reliable source" is not as good as you think, all baggage areas have CCTV monitoring and the queues have never been anywhere near 60 minutes. "Bad day at the office" was it?