Cram1075.
Well said.

However I cannot understand how it can be better/quicker to get the train or bus from Newcastle to/ from LHR then go longhaul, than fly from NCL to LHR and connect to longhaul. In particular the connections via BA through T5 are especially good.

Of course the connections through AMS in my opinion are also very good.

Am I the only one who has found the security at NCL to be fine. I have always found the people very pleasant, and the process no worse than anywhere else, in fact much better than many other airports.

Whats the problem?.

A lot is in the timings, of course, and a single flight should minimise the risk of my luggage not making the trip which happened with monotonous regularity via AMS and then there is the truly awful KLM flight to AMS from NCL which may or may not take off on time/at all/ not be overbooked/laughed at at AMS when you eventually get there and complain("of course we overbook our flights")/ break down(me: "why do your planes break down so often"?. KLM girl:"I wish I could tell you"!!!).
The train to LHR is very low stress and easy in comparison and the late bus back is great, just fall asleep and arrive at Newcastle at 6am ready for the day.

I have had good and bad security issues at NCL as ash has stated it has a lot to do with timings, they do seem to have problems when confronted with any volume of pax.

On an all together different subject does anyone know what is happening with the as yet unopened Airport Hotel - any news on if any operator will ever take it on

The hotel has been put up for sale by an arabic bank

ash666
 

Obviously when its busy the security will be worse. But that happens everywhere and even LHR can sometimes be very slow.

Just for my interest when going by train to LHR from Newcastle station, on arrival at Kings Cross I presume you either have to drag your baggage onto the underground and connect via the Piccadilly line to LHR which has a journey time of about an hour.
Or get the underground to Paddington, then get the Heathrow Express to Heathrow.

Does the Bus go direct from LHR to Newcastle ?.

Re the KL to AMS. Its obvious from your previous posts that you have a problem with the NCL service. I agree that there have been baggage problems but the situation should be improving. As for the flight punctuality, well delays are actually few and far between and under normal circumstances(ie no ash cloud) cancellations are also very rare indeed probably less than many other carriers at NCL. They must occur mainly when you travel, perhaps your unlucky.
Most problems seem to occur when the onward is not with KL in which case it can be difficult to deal with certain issues.
Connections via AMS are usually very good. But thats just my personal opinion.

FD
I just use the underground all the way, as you say the Piccadilly line. If your case has a handle and wheels it is really no problem. On my recent trip I wondered if space would be a problem on a working day at 5pm but easy.
The only bad part of the trip is having to get the coach to Victoria and change there but it also goes to Sunderland, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Blyth, Ashington on the return.
I swore I would never use KLM again after they laughed in my face over the over booking episode. That was when I used KLM long haul and was already in transit and even though I had a reconfirmed and paid for seat they still said, "sorry sir, the plane is full and you're not on it". As far as I'm concerned a plane seat is no different to a car or a TV set. If I have paid for it it is mine and no-one has the right to sell it to someone else.

Airport Hotel
 

There still seems to be a few new hotels opening or going to open on Tyneside. So it seems strange that this one remains closed. I would have thought it has a good location not just for airport traffic (which is not so good at the moment).
The last I heard was Doubletree by Hilton were going to run it but that was ages ago.

ash666
 

Sorry, I thought your onward was with China Airlines when you posted about it last year.

Its most annoying obviously if you get offloaded, but it does happen occasionally with all carriers except perhaps budget ones. On the positive side If your not in a hurry the points or cash or voucher compensation can come in handy. There is no excuse though for anyone laughing at you when you are faced with difficulties. You should be looked after properly.

Sorry you feel the way you do about the KL service. Perhaps you may one day try it again.

Newcastle Security
 

Hello FL Dutchman

No, you arnt the only one who doesnt seem to have problems going through NCL. I always find it fine, and I cant understand any of these comments, they must defo be one off experiences of which I am sorry that this has occured. I travel through NCL every month at various times and with varying amounts of crowds, but never once do I have to wait that long, never more than 10 minutes, and I dont use any of the fast-track options, there is no point, unless you fly with T3 and get the "fast-track" included automatically. And these folk who would waste time to travel overland to LHR quite frankly need their heads examining. I have done this aswell several times, and this form of journey has in my opinion got worse over the years. The last time I did it was 2006, and that was when I abandoned the SE of England as a departure point and used NCL from then on. Connectivity has got better at NCL since then particularly once EK came our way, so civilised, and I for one love the thought everytime I board at DXB that I only have 1 leg to go to get home, and I can be out of the airport building within 30 mins of hitting the tarmac, there arnt many places in the world where you can do that consistantly eh??? :D And all this talk recently of slight problems with Air-Bridges etc etc during spells of strong winds!!! Streuth, you want to try being stuck onboard an AF 777 which has got stuck, yes stuck in snow whilst taxi-ing to the terminal at Montreal when its -20 and a blizzard!!! Everyone just accepts weather delays as part of the course sometimes in places like that, its not the end of the world.

Says who? The security process is merely theatre and its sole objective is to show that "something" is being done. I could be wrong, but I believe that in all the years that airport security has been running, not one terrorist operation has ever been thwarted by airport security. Furthermore, because of the predictable way that this lot from "Care in the Community" behave, following dictats from individuals from Clown Central (DfT - Transec), the terrorist can virtually guarantee their response. The travelling public have every right to expect a safe transport but the reality is that the system is not fit for purpose. Only when a proper profiling system is introduced will the system start becoming more secure - remember, it's people who are the real problem.

PM

FD
the KLM episode was a while ago and yes, you are correct that I used China last year and have now voted with my feet on that one as well after the way they treated (abandoned) pax during the ash cloud problem.
It's not a case of spitting the dummy or throwing tantrums, just letting companies know that if they mess me about I simply won't use them again. CI will lose out on 10s of thousands of £££ over the next 20 years or so. I told them that but they weren't bothered.
I now use EVA who are great. I also see they go from AMS so maybe one day I'll pluck up the courage to risk the KLM hop and book an extra night in Bangkok before moving on to let my suitcase catch up. The timings are still tighter than I would like and I can't tell you how low stress my last couple of trips via LHR have been with everything being so much more predictable.

I travelled through NCL a few weeks ago for the first time in years, security feels so dated compared to most airports of it's size. There was only 1 x ray open when I travelled, so although a small queue it took 20 mins to get through! The rest of the airport isn't bad, but security needs a bit of an update!

Well, I've got several issues with some of the NCL experience, but security isn't one of them. Yes it can be a bit of a wait in the corrals at peak times, but that's partly a perception based on being able to see all those people in front. I always find the security staff personable, tolerant of irregular travellers, and willing to inject some humour into what is inevitably a hassled part of the airport experience.

As to using the East Coast to transfer to Heathrow, I have now given up using the train on the East coast Main Line for anywhere en-route to London. My experience is that the punctuality is appalling, and when things go wrong, it quickly escalates into a major disruption. Couple that with the bewildering frequency of problems on the Underground, it would make a connection with a LH ex H'row a very stressful experience.

Ash - Sorry you find a 6-7hr coach journey(used to be 5.5hrs in the 70/80!?!?) or delay ridden East Coast Main line(my son is in Uni in London, I could go on for hours!!) and then a hour plus tube ride, never mind dragging your cases onto the tube! As apposed to connecting out of NCL!?!? :confused:
AMS - Is much better for bags connecting than they ever were in the 90's and I find just walking between gates in one building great. Plus KLM have always treated me very well.
DXB - If you heading East has got to be the way to go, I suppose I have to say that but I get talking to many pax's sitting next to me on 35 or 36 and have never heard a bad story! For me home to home as it were UAE are the biz.
LHR - Well my son waited over an hour for bags in T3 the other day!
Security well can be interesting the world over, its a low(ish) paid job in some countries so one persons interpretation of the rules can vary!! I find NCL very good. Try the USA these days!!!!!:}

Hiya 10 DME ARC

Im glad its not just me. I wouldnt use the flaming East Coast Mainline even if it was free!!! It is not reliable and I too have had far too many disrupted journies over several years to last me a lifetime, heading north and south!!! Im sure they used to see me coming :) The only route ex NCL Im not using for now is AF to CDG after they lost my bag for 8 weeks just before Christmas coming back from Montreal. It was then that my eyes were opened to Paris CDG shortfalls, although I would still use it to and from Paris point to point.

AMS is fine these days, and DXB is defo the way to go. :D

ha-ha yes, the USA!! Indeed it is rather :} at times.

PILTDOWNMAN
i wander what pathetic occupation you have and. The airport doesnt need people like you anyway.

Plitdownman,

I with you, it is mainly all for show, we know that , but it makes 'Joe Public' feel safe so it will stay - for 6 months at least.

Theatrical? Maybe that should be 'Prescriptive', as Philip Hammond here points out. i.e. Yes we can all be just as safe, but there are other ways and means of doing it without irritating our passengers and crew who are subjected to it, everytime they fly/work.
:)

BBC News - Airport restrictions to stay for months, says transport secretary

Pildownman Are you for real? There are hundreds of safety related events prevented by Airport Security. I presume you'd like knives, weapons, explosives etc etc just allowed on board willy nilly?

Interesting you go on to say you're entitled to expect safety...

I assume you've missed the bomb attacks that occur on buses, trains and so on around the world where no security exists.

Your reference to "Care in the Community" is pretty disingenuous and a grown up should know better than to make such disparaging remarks.

10 DME ARC
I have tried DXB once and really didn't like that either. After I have had my food, wine, watched a film, I am ready for a good sleep not being thrown off the plane and waiting for 3 hours and then on another one. I arrived at my destination absolutely shattered. DXB wasn't pleasant either, hundreds of empty seats but couldn't sit on any of them because of "Arabs" sleeping on the floor right in front of them.
After what has been said here maybe I will try EVA via AMS in future.

ash666
 

Eva via AMS.
Please dont do it. Your using two different airlines ( KL to AMS/ EVA onward )I think the connections are bad infact not possible due to timings in some cases. Its bound to go wrong for you. If you go via AMS best use KL/NW as onward.

Good to hear some positives for AMS from some posters.