Flew from one of those stands going to Amsterdam, was quite pleasant rather than the train!

Any destination can depart from any gate, it's where it has arrived from that generally determines the gate, as a domestic arrival on Sat 1 would require bussing inbound, a waste of time and money when it can park on Sat 2 and passengers can walk in

Tranceaddict

Correct, although the majority of the domestic traffic is not based at Stansted, particularly with Ryanair, so most aircraft will depart back to where they came from, though of course not always the case.

By the way, the first of the regular TOM Dreamliner flights departed today in usual fashion for Cancun. Orlando starts tomorrow.

Quite right.

It's bizarre that there's not even an effort to give you a pretence of a route towards the railway station. Even just a way of getting back into the terminal that doesn't involve potentially getting wet...

Take a brief look at the official site walking distances, published by Stansted. Platform 2 to the Special Assistance Desk (rarely manned), 235 metres. From the top of the escalator which leaves the station level way further on say 200 metres, to check in area F, not published, but about 200 meters at least. From there through the maze to get through security, you can add 500 meters. Depending which desk you come out of, you can walk 200 metres parallel to where you need to be, just to walk the same distance back again to head for the gate. That's after passing through the hideous shopping precinct which adds, I would guess 700 metres to your journey. Then 540 meters to the gate.

I make that two and three quarters kilometers of a journey on foot, of which about 100 metres on a moving walkway.

At a stiff pace I can manage 2km/hour, but it hurts.

Whoever dreamt up this scheme should try being disabled.

No do not tell me about PRM schemes. The airport sends you off to the airline, and Ryanair does not want people with baggage nor cripples on its aircraft

Niether cares.

wings folded

Have you tried complaining directly to the airport if you're that unhappy?

Yes. I am crippled, not stupid.

I have a really useful feedback referenece number

wings folded

Sorry about your troubles but maybe you can have a better experience next time.
I have travelled with my disabled daughter to and from Stansted several times. If you just ask for assistance in advance before leaving it will work out just fine.
And yes Ryanair has given excellent service to my daughter every time we have travelled. It was the first airline I have seen to offer the possiblity to book assistance at the same time you booked your flight.

You are well intenitoned folk, and I thank you for that.

There is an aspect which you do no not grasp.

Disabled. Not wheelchair bound. But having trouble in walking, can't do long distances.

If you can imagine the phsychological impact of requiring a wheel chair when you know you can walk, but slowly,
Try going there, Stansted planners, Clever ppruners, travelers

Wings Folded

Having a 'rant' on here might get it off your chest but other than that I don't see what you are trying to achieve on PPRuNe?

Responding to posts with a negative and abrupt attitude when fellow members are trying to help you, won't get you far on here either. ;)

Good luck with your complaint.

I must have missed something. first quote yours, second quoute mine

wings folded
Just look at it as a VIP service. The airport will supply you with a compimentary transport so you do not have to walk a long distance as well as putting you in the priority lane for security. You do not need to bring your own wheel chair as you only need it at airports with long walking distances.

Wings Folded

Justified...

Let's keep this thread on track...

• Rumours
• News
• Professional

There's plenty of channels to vent your dis-pleasure... MAG, Twitter, Trip Advisor to name a few.

I hope for you that they listen and you get the outcome/response that you expect. Good luck. :)

Pamann

Well done and so diplomatically addressed :-)

Many times PRM is used by "people" who once through security and the long black brick road and at the gate seem to be able to dispense with assistance and walk to the aircraft a Stansted miracle! Similarly on return the assistance is needed right through border force into baggage collection when another miracle occurs.

That's where people like my mother come in. She can't stand for an indefinite amount of time in a queue, and there is no intermediate step of assistance available; it's all or nothing. If they'd offer the "we won't make you stand for half an hour at security" and "we'll let you sit outside the gate on a chair rather than leave you standing halfway down a flight of stairs for half an hour" facility then she'd be fine.

Edit: Oh yeah... and if there were enough seats in departures...

New Route
 

Ryanair:

Luxembourg (1x daily) eff. 1 September 2016

I haven't used STN for some time but will have the 'pleasure' of doing so in 10 days time.

Could someone give me an idea of what time I should plan to arrive for my RYR flight to AAR at 1125, including a bag drop, so as to comfortably make the flight?

You need 2 hours at least in my opinion

Check in times
 

Your airline will give you advise on arrival at airport times, however most flights to euro-land recommend at least two hours (leaves plenty of time for shopping) ;)

Based on my recent experience at STN (3 times in the last 4 weeks, taking a flight leaving at 11H40) the first 'rush' of the day is over, but I'd still allow perhaps even 3 hours for bag drop ... and if you get time in hand, plan for a relaxed coffee or snack, before waiting for the gate to be announced and having to dash to get there before it closes!

Arrive at STN 3 hours before a flight after the early morning rush ? Better have a very good book to read...

Expressflight - seriously though, the main departure lounge with all the shops is not a pleasant place to hang around for any longer than absolutely necessary. If you have plenty of time, don't want to pay for a lounge, have no trouble walking for 5-10 mins, and want a bit of peace and quiet, make your way to the Ryanair pier (gates 41 to 59 I think) and head towards the end of the pier where there's usually plenty of space. Whatver you do, don't jump onto the transit system in the expectation you can get back to the main terminal area later - you can't.

Thanks for all the advice.

It looks as if I need to arrive somewhat earlier than I had planned. I was getting a coach which arrives at 09:44 but maybe I had better rethink that decision.

Better safe than sorry especially when using a point-to-point airline! Anyway, the coffee options here are better than they used to be (and there's a pay-to-use lounge too) that they used to be once you've passed the shops.

Bag drop might be still quite busy ... and it all depends on how many security channels are being used (a variable that is not necessarily passenger-dependent). In any case, if the OP is arriving by public transport, s/he is not always in control of their arrival time at STN ... as is this case using coaches.

Good idea in principle .... but I've now twice been sent back because my flight departed from the former domestic pier (gates 81-88) where there is very little space and limited daylight!

Good start

British Airways
 

The first British Airways flights from Stansted Airport get off to a flying start this weekend with all the summer sun destinations FULLY BOOKED.

Bank holiday travellers have a choice of four popular holiday spots, Faro in Portugal and Malaga, Palma and Ibiza in Spain from Saturday with flights to Berlin launching in June.

In addition flights to Malaga are proving so popular that frequency has been doubled to two flights every Saturday during August.

Hopefully more will follow from BA at Stansted or at least the same next year.

shows that folks love a decent airline to fly with

Shows that around a Bank Holiday weekend at the start of half term when southern Europe typically has warm sunny weather, and London's economy is in good health, Brits want to go to the beach.
Easyjet has 10 flights from London to Malaga on Friday, 11 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. All 31 flights are sold out - no more tickets on sale at all. Weather forecast in Costa del Sol over the next few days is sunshine and blue skies with temperature around 29 deg Centigrade or 84 deg Fahrenheit

I'd be much more interested in load factors departing STN in 9 days time when the bank holiday and half term effect doesn't apply

Maybe the decent airlines were fully booked so they had no choice but to fly BA

Not convinced advertising that your flights are fully booked is an excellent marketing tactic unless they *all* are?

They tend not to want to pay for it which is why BA have been forced to cut and cut costs while ramming more and more people in tighter. easyJet and BA are not far apart on customer experience.

However if you've flown on BA Cityflyer's EMB-190 you'll know that the legroom and comfort on those jets are second to none!

+1 got to say, completely agree. Pleasurable flight experience. Also find cabin crew are a a fair few notches higher than the low cost carriers or likes of Flybe or Cityjet or Aer Lingus. BA customer service and interest and politeness towards pax onboard is noticeably higher end quality.

Indeed this is a very welcome addition to the STN route network. Let's hope BA can build on this in the future...

It's good to see BA expanding and trying new routes. Not least because it wasn't that long ago BA had a "cut and run" approach to competition and seemed destined to little other than a retrenchment to fortress LHR.

Plenty of availability still during the summer, so BA certainly have not 'sold out'!

Buster no one said they had 'Sold out' all season. The article is about flights being 'sold out' this weekend.

Regardless of sold out or not, it's about yield. You can fill a plane to the brim, but if those customers are paying peanuts it won't last long. Having seen some of the BA fares mind, they're not cheap now that pretty much all the low fares have sold. But you pay for what you get in this day and age. It's nice that Stansted passengers are now getting a choice of low cost or full(ish) service from their airport.

You are 100% right, it is about yeild, which will make it even more interesting to see how/if they succeed. For a market which has been used to low cost fares since the airport began, will your average Stansted customer be willing to pay the extra to get a free baguette and coke?

I suspect its a little bit about diversifying from London City, with new owners the fees to operate there may well rise and if they do Cityflyer might look to move all but the high yield business flights out to another airport