LUTON -8
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May I remind all little Englanders that it is not uncontrolled immigration but free movement of people to live and work where they choose. Over 2.5 million Brits have chosen to work and/or live in continental Europe so it is all not one way traffic. Whatever you may think or what politicians might say it is not going to change unless the UK leaves the EU and are you going to throw out all ´foreign Johnnies´who work in the NHS - of course not. Glad to see Wizz keeping the ball rolling in the quiet months of the year. End of rant from sunny Spain.
Well said.
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All is not well allegedly with the folk that ride around in big red vehicles. I do hope things get sorted out and that they are always ready to fight fires and rescue if called upon.
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May I remind all little Englanders that it is not uncontrolled immigration but free movement of people to live and work where they choose.
You can put your own gloss on it but it is still a fact as is the fact that the English can choose to live in Spain or anywhere else in the EU for that matter although I have read that not many have moved out to Eastern Europe for some strange reason.As for being a Little Englander there are still a majority of people in this country that value our culture and way of life. You might find that hard to comprehend seeing that you moved away but as I said before Wizz are doing very well and seeing this is a thread about the airport we need to stick to the subject.
Last edited by LTNman; 21st Jan 2015 at 19:55.
Paxing All Over The World
Regarding runway extention:
- Heathrow gets a third = forget it.
- Gatwick gets a second = 'maybe', 'possibly', 'in the future', 'it's an ambition'
RE Parking at Luton Buster 1801
The Mid term is no longer an option Buster. Overstaying the 30 min free now means £6.90 for up to 45 mins. The chaotic operation of this airport means that people cannot guarantee to appear in the mid-term within that time. The laughable "free" shuttle bus with a 15 min advertised frequency runs to suit the car park operator. I was in the midterm today between 14:00 and 14:30 and no bus ran at all.
The business customer I collected (from the drop off/pick up area) declared"I cannot do this again". Next booking is Lgw and BA. Flight was FR out Monday return today to Malta. Although hand luggage only bag could not be accommodated in cabin so delay experienced BOTH ways.Business people are savvy and the £2 dropoff/pickup charge is noted as a ripoff as well as charges for trolleys etc.
The priority security charge is particularly unfair.Service should be the best that can be provided for this essential non discretion service. Rumours abound that with the new drop off/pick up barriers comes a £5 minimum charge to drop off or pickup.Resident black cabs are the most expensive in the country. Public Transport to areas North of the airport is very poor.
This airport is benefiting from £48 m of public money for a new link road (with a built in bottleneck). I belive that dropoff/pickup charges should be limited to £1 by law. I am raising this issue with my MP.
What is the feeling of other PPRUNers?
The business customer I collected (from the drop off/pick up area) declared"I cannot do this again". Next booking is Lgw and BA. Flight was FR out Monday return today to Malta. Although hand luggage only bag could not be accommodated in cabin so delay experienced BOTH ways.Business people are savvy and the £2 dropoff/pickup charge is noted as a ripoff as well as charges for trolleys etc.
The priority security charge is particularly unfair.Service should be the best that can be provided for this essential non discretion service. Rumours abound that with the new drop off/pick up barriers comes a £5 minimum charge to drop off or pickup.Resident black cabs are the most expensive in the country. Public Transport to areas North of the airport is very poor.
This airport is benefiting from £48 m of public money for a new link road (with a built in bottleneck). I belive that dropoff/pickup charges should be limited to £1 by law. I am raising this issue with my MP.
What is the feeling of other PPRUNers?
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Drop-off should be free providing the vehicle stops for no longer than say 5 mins.
Pick-up is more difficult. If passengers are waiting at the curb and the vehicle is simply stopping to pick-up, then I believe it should be free. However, this is rarely the case and a short stay car park should be provided at minimum cost for the first 30 mins then escalating cost thereafter.
Pick-up is more difficult. If passengers are waiting at the curb and the vehicle is simply stopping to pick-up, then I believe it should be free. However, this is rarely the case and a short stay car park should be provided at minimum cost for the first 30 mins then escalating cost thereafter.
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Rip off charges has more to do with perception than reality. Apart from the day to day costs of running an airport Luton is having to spend £100,000,000 on upgrading the airport.
One way to raise passenger income is drop off charges. OK, they could at the drop of a hat make it free again and just pass the costs on to airlines but one way Luton is attracting new services and keeping old routes is discounts.
At the end of the day however charges are made and whether they are in your face or hidden it is ultimately the passenger who has to pay.
I would be interested to hear how the airport should raise income from people here.
Turnover for year ending 2012 was £117,858,000 with an after tax profit of £14.3 million. After an actuarial loss on the pension scheme this brought it down to £12.3 million. That makes a profit of less than £1.50 per passenger so how the airport can be described as a rip off is beyond me.
One way to raise passenger income is drop off charges. OK, they could at the drop of a hat make it free again and just pass the costs on to airlines but one way Luton is attracting new services and keeping old routes is discounts.
At the end of the day however charges are made and whether they are in your face or hidden it is ultimately the passenger who has to pay.
I would be interested to hear how the airport should raise income from people here.
Turnover for year ending 2012 was £117,858,000 with an after tax profit of £14.3 million. After an actuarial loss on the pension scheme this brought it down to £12.3 million. That makes a profit of less than £1.50 per passenger so how the airport can be described as a rip off is beyond me.
Last edited by LTNman; 22nd Jan 2015 at 07:36.
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Only 6 airports are now offer a free drop off outside the terminal.
Airport drop-off charges on the rise - Telegraph
Airport drop-off charges on the rise - Telegraph
Lets take this one example, because I went through Gatwick last week:
Chances are that his flight on Ryanair was cheaper than almost all of the alternatives, although I'm guessing as a business passenger; last minute bookings were much of a muchness in terms of price.
I notice your location is Bozeat in Northamptonshire. Not that travelling by car from Luton is much easier, it is significantly shorter and quicker than travelling up from Gatwick. Possibly 4x as long.
Gatwick is far bigger than Luton. There is a lot of walkways to navigate and immigration is always busy - even at 1am; from experience!
Now I got a taxi from Gatwick - for a short 5 minute hop into Crawley, they charged me £13! My colleague was charged £17 for a 10 minute trip. An equivalent in Luton is at least half that. Seemed as if Gatwick run their own taxi service, with no competition allowed. Previously, I was picked up - the drop off zone seemed difficult to find and after about 10 calls, I managed to get picked up through one of the short term car parks, at a £3 cost for 10 minutes.
This is not a LTN is better than LGW post - certainly not, but its not always greener on the other side. This "moan" is hardly translating into reduced cost? Which was the whole point in the moan in the first place!
The business customer I collected (from the drop off/pick up area) declared"I cannot do this again". Next booking is Lgw and BA. Flight was FR out Monday return today to Malta. Although hand luggage only bag could not be accommodated in cabin so delay experienced BOTH ways.Business people are savvy and the £2 dropoff/pickup charge is noted as a ripoff as well as charges for trolleys etc.
I notice your location is Bozeat in Northamptonshire. Not that travelling by car from Luton is much easier, it is significantly shorter and quicker than travelling up from Gatwick. Possibly 4x as long.
Gatwick is far bigger than Luton. There is a lot of walkways to navigate and immigration is always busy - even at 1am; from experience!
Now I got a taxi from Gatwick - for a short 5 minute hop into Crawley, they charged me £13! My colleague was charged £17 for a 10 minute trip. An equivalent in Luton is at least half that. Seemed as if Gatwick run their own taxi service, with no competition allowed. Previously, I was picked up - the drop off zone seemed difficult to find and after about 10 calls, I managed to get picked up through one of the short term car parks, at a £3 cost for 10 minutes.
This is not a LTN is better than LGW post - certainly not, but its not always greener on the other side. This "moan" is hardly translating into reduced cost? Which was the whole point in the moan in the first place!
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Glad I was not travelling to the airport today..
Extra demand on services from London King?s Cross as flooding suspends Thameslink train journeys - News - The Comet
Extra demand on services from London King?s Cross as flooding suspends Thameslink train journeys - News - The Comet
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LTNman, I read that article and question it's accuracy. I count more than 24 British airports, even excluding the highlands and those with limited commercial pax activity (Valley, Gloucester, Oxford, Cambridge etc)
Southend for instance isn't mentioned as being free, unless they've excluded it on a technicality due to the grass area stopping drop-off in front of the terminal and the need to pull into a car park which is still much closer to check-in than the kerb at LGW. Similarly Norwich, where the drop off point is hardly a major inconvenience.
Southend for instance isn't mentioned as being free, unless they've excluded it on a technicality due to the grass area stopping drop-off in front of the terminal and the need to pull into a car park which is still much closer to check-in than the kerb at LGW. Similarly Norwich, where the drop off point is hardly a major inconvenience.
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I read that Aberdeen is going to introduce a charge. I think charges will be the future for most airports as it is an easy source of income even though it upsets most customers.