Have The Daily Mail hit the nail on the head - for once?
 

Airports 'are more stressful than work or moving house' | Mail Online

I for one will not be flying this year, and these days the thought of getting on an aircraft horrifies me after the way some security treat pax, along with the way some crew speak to people. After 28 years in the industry, I'm looking forward to taking a trip to Wales for my hols.

Just flown to Paris ex MAN with Air France and found the whole experience
totally hassle free and and everybody from check-in through security and flight crew
very curteous and helpful over the entire trip in both directions


Ian B

To a large degree it's what you make it. If you arrive at the airport relaxed and with plenty of time to spare, it will be a lot less unpleasant than if you arrive stressed and late after a nerve racking journey to the airport wondering if you'd make it on time.

Have to agree with Ian Brooks. I flew from MAN to Paphos a few months ago and I have to say that the security staff in MAN were nothing less than polite and pleasant. Security in DUB, SNN and ORK could take more than one leaf outta MAN's book. In the last four months I've flown with FR, EZ, EI, RE, BA, WX and DL and B6 (last two domestically only) and they've all been fine to lovely. EZ, B6 and EI came top in regards to customer service.

I dont get it !
Airports have became much less of a stress than ever before, most Airline have online check-in and security has got less stressful .
I get dropped off at the terminal walk straight to security then to the gate and board
I dont see how it could be less stressful.

D'oooooh it all depends when you fly. Try easyJet out of Gatwick South on the first morning wave or Virgin with all the once a year flyers getting lost. I had two completely stress free flights on the weekend but Sat pm out of Gatwick North on BA and back from GLA on a Sunday afternoon is a peach in comparison to peak time travel.

It can all depend on which side of the bed the check in/security/gate staff: one, two or maybe all three: have got out of that day, it doesn't matter which airline you are flying with.

My ideal airport is some kind of hybrid between the UK and the USA. The generally efficient, courteous and consistent security provided by private sector contractors in this country with the spacious, open and airy airports that are managed by the public sector in the United States. I.E. No invasive, rude, inexplicable TSA searches, but big, wide, airy terminals, piers and gates where shops are complimentary to the airside experience, rather than obligatory slaloms.

I've come across rude crew (even ones i've worked with) and rude security personnel. However, the vast majority I come into contact with are nothing but pleasant or polite. By the same token, I've come across a fair few rude passengers but the vast majority are polite and pleasant. The point being, it doesn't matter what you do or who they are, you will always come across rude people.

I don't really buy into the stressful airport thing. Sure, there can be queues but airports are hardly unique in this way are they? If you allow yourself plenty of time, and follow the rules then it's hardly torturous experience. Also, be prepared....have your passport ready, have your boarding pass ready and this will help too. One big stress for passengers IMO is luggage........having to cart it from the car park to the check in etc etc......I can understand that but it's hardly the airports fault is it?

Do you not think this may have some correlation with the rise in budget airlines?

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for.

If you want top service, no queues, a quiet terminal, personal service from people who actually want to help... have your own private jet and use the executive terminal.

If you want to go from the UK to Spain for less than the price of a car's tank of petrol... go with a budget airline but expect all the crap that goes with it.


Low cost flying doesn't just mean you don't get a meal on board. The lack of money filters down all the way to the very bottom of the airport experience resulting in what can be a thoroughly depressing experience.

Pay pennies for a flight, fine... but don't expect the earth.

Sharpclassic, i'd argue it depends on individual facilities. I've worked for a full service carrier and a low cost airline and the same "gripes" are the same. Look at all the complaints regarding LHR, very little in the way of LCC's. Incidentallty I even think some of these LHR complaints are over exaggerated.

crewmeal

The answer to your title is NO
In fact the Daily Mail never gets it right.

MM

Sharpclassic

You live in a different time frame from many passengers it seems. The airline which has let more people down with Cancelled flights, strikes, baggage screwups etc in last 10 year from UK has been BA not any of the LCC's.

Racedo,

I think you're only seeing half of the picture....

BECAUSE of the LCCs, the likes of BA have had to change the way in which they operate and also, what they charge for their tickets.

Sure, all airlines would love to have lots of spare crews, spare aircraft and enough money to pay the baggage handlers what they feel they deserve, to stop all the cancelations, strikes and to stop the baggage screw ups.

However, due to the changing market, BA and the like have had to move with the times and adjust the way in which they operate thus cut costs and save money.

Not that I was around then but I'd like to think that the airline experience in the 60', 70's and 80's was a darn sight better than what it is now.

The airline which has let more people down with Cancelled flights, strikes, baggage screwups etc in last 10 year from UK has been BA not any of the LCC's.

http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...ser_online.gifRacedo - do you have the slightest scrap of evidence to back up that wild generalisation?
At least BA and the legacy carriers accept responsibility for their pax when glitches develop- and give you the cost up front.
Better hope nothing goes wrong on your Loco flight. http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...ons/report.gif http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/sr...eply_small.gif

Try getting the train! Unless you are in first class (and then you can still be crowded out by folk piling on for just a few stops) then the whole experience is pretty uncomfortable unless your carriage is empty. Air travel today might not be as hassle free as it used to be but it is still more comfortable and hassle free the majority of the time. Even the EZY & FR queues are better than waiting on cold drab station platforms and then squeezed into an economy seat with a tray that wont even hold your cup of tea let alone your laptop.

It most definitely was I am almost sure....and I was only born in 1983. But we still had to queue for things even then. And how many of us (well those who are old enough) flew as much as we do now and how many airlines were effectively propped up by the state and hugely inefficient?

The actual flying experience isn't as good as it once was, we can all agree on that but we, as the paying public, traded that for reduced fares and rewarded in the fact that many of us fly more than we used to, even if that means we only have a second holiday each year. We still had to queue, I for one remember as a young "un" the check in area at MAN T1 bursting at the seams. The fact is, we just don't like waiting.

I just don't get stressed at the airport so as a consequence I don't understand why people do. Like i said before, if you're prepared and leave plenty of time then there shouldn't be a problem. An airport is one of those places where we are constantly directed. There are screens, signs, placards, people at security giving directions it should all be straight forward. I know thats not always the case and some airports do things better than others but the passenger themselves can help themselves no end. There is only so much an airport can do but processing thousands of passengers a day will inevitably cause bottlenecks and queues in the same way as many scenarios in our everyday life.

And queues are the major gripe when it comes to the airport experience. I think we have seen a marginal increase overall but peoples inpatience can be put down to just that. We have a lower boredom threshold, we all have busy lives. With the latter, I understand that and I understand that things happen and getting to the airport with plenty of time spare doesn't always happen but when do we take responsibility for that rather than placing the blame on a busy airport? An airport that actually may well process pax pretty efficiently but not quick enough for those who either weren't prepared or late?

So in essence, I would never say the airports have got it spot on, don't change. However, the passenger quite often bring on the stress themselves and when a busy airport is thrown into the mix it can become a pressure cooker for some.

For probably the first, and only time in my life I'm with the Daily Mail on this one!

The unpleasant experience starts with the charge for drop off at the airport, the rip off of credit card fees if your daft enough to put your card in at the entry barriers. Check-in, thanks to self service is not so bad, then there's security, and the airports that organise the queues in such a way that you are almost forced to paying to queue-jump.

Coming back into the UK you've then got the ludicrous queues for HM Immigration, even wehn arriving from another EU, followed by the interminable wait for bags at the carousel.

It doesn't have to be like this, but airports have been duped into doing business with a hat full of LoCo operators that don't believe they should be charged for anything, resulting in extra charges being levied at every turn by the airport operators, and shoddy service caused as a result of companies penny pinching on staff numbers to turn a profit.

I'm sorry, it's Eurotunnel for me, unless the trip requires leaving mainland Europe. The airlines and airports have lost my (leisure) custom.

You can't blame it all on low cost carriers. It's just a ludricrous accusation. And remember those low cost carriers have contributed a lot to many airports....and not just the smaller airfields. Whilst I agree that one carrier in particular has been particularly ruthless, the LCC sector as a whole has been or have become a big supporter of airports as large as BHX, LGW and MAN. BA weren't forced out of MAN and BHX but when they left that hole has been largely plugged by the LCC's. They have made the airport sector very competitive but all airlines benefit from this.

As for queue jumping, this has always happened for premium passengers so why is it any different?