Stansted.

[Farty Flaps]

Rudest , most aggresive airport in the uk from top to bottom.
Discuss.

ps please move this thread for me.

[Buster the Bear]

Passengers checking in, are in the way of all the retail outlets. You probably have to queue out of the main doors in the summer.

The inter-pier train service is infrequent and always packed.

The new piers are very cheap and nasty, but very roomy.

Brilliant car parks and transportation system between these and the terminal.

Fantastic motorway (M11) access.

Very poor rail service for onward connections.

[ATC Watcher]

Oh dear, Oh dear , : I have to transfer from Stansted to Gatwick shortly, what option, appart from an Heli ride would you recommend ?

[Random Electron]

ATC Watcher, where do you intend to live?

I live in Central London, and have a train service every 10 minutes to Gatwick, but that's no use to you if you live in Benbecula!!

[Pax Vobiscum]

ATC Watcher, avoid the roads between 0600-1000 and 1600-2000. If the Stansted Express is running (it doesn't run very late/early and isn't too reliable), I hear it's an OK service, the Gatwick Express (expensive) or a normal Gatwick train (from Victoria station) tend to be more reliable. But, if you're not travelling light, lugging suitcases around the underground isn't much fun! And you'd better have a plan B (maybe that heli) in case the Stansted rail link is stuffed.

Good luck :D

[LGS6753]

The BAA spent far too much money developing an airport that is poorly sited in reference to the area it is supposed to serve (the South East and London).
They then spent even more money cajoling, bribing and pushing airlines to operate from there.

The result is an expensive white elephant unfairly subsidised by LHR and LGW. If STN had to stand on its own feet commercially, it would have to increase charges and its airlines and their passengers would flock back to Luton and Heathrow.

If the EU wants to investigate abuse of monopoly power it should start with BAA.

[answer=42]

ATC Watcher

Stansted Express to Liverpool Street every 15 mins most of the day; takes 45 mins
Tube Central and Victoria lines to Victoria - about 30 mins or so
Gatwick Express every 15 mins takes 30 mins
So 2 hours at least if no problems

Variation 1:
Get off Stansted Express at Tottenham Hale and take Victoria line to Victoria. Should take about same time. Just seems longer.

Variation 2:
At Liverpool Street, walk to Moorgate tube 5 mins (2 hours if you don't know the way)
Northern Line to London Bridge - 10 mins (it's running again?)
Thameslink to Gatwick, 2 x hour, about 40 mins

Stansted Express is currently replaced on Sundays (and random days) by buses - they take 75 mins and leave every 10 mins.

hope I havent bored you too much

answer=42

[Tom the Tenor]

Stansted - definitely very rude. The Dixons shop is good though but bring car loads of dough!

[WHBM]

Yes, many of us have posted here before about this rudeness. Stansted houses the greatest proportion of jobsworths and burger-flipper rejects of any UK airport.

But just down the road, at London City, the opposite applies. Pleasant, efficient and good at their job. What's the difference? I can't believe they are paid vastly more for the same job, so it must come down to management. And as with any structural management issue, endemic problems lower down can usually be traced to the top.

Time for the airport manager (and whoever devises the unique security hassles there) to consider their position. Or have it considered for them.

[ExGrunt]

Having just spent 1 Hour 45 mins on a Stansted / Liverpool street train :mad:, I must echo the need for alternatives. I suggest:

Plan C

Taxi: STN Taxis are provided by Airport Cars Tel: +44 (01279) 662 444. Hiring a cab is expensive (GBP 100++) . I also think they do a shuttle service between to Heathrow & Gatwick which is cheaper. It might be worth giving them a call.

Plan D

One way hire of a group A car. One of the hire company's (It might be Avis, but don't bank on it) does not penalise you for doing a one way hire. By road it is motorway all the way M11, M25, M23. It is 74 miles and the AA reckon it should take 1 Hr 20 mins. You also need GBP 1.10 for the dartford crossing toll.

With Apologies!
"If you want to get to Gatwick, I wouldn't start from Stansted"

Good Luck

EG

[wangi]

Of course there is always the direct STN-LGW bus service operated by National Express.

Burrow through www.nationalexpress.com for the times...

I think it takes between 2.5 hours and 3 hours, but the simplicity of it (no connections, tube, central London, ...) makes it attractive.

L.

[Eurekadelta]

Wangi: In the language of National Express, "Direct" means VIA HEATHROW !!! Although the schedule states 3hours, don't count on it if you have a flight to catch.

If feasible (if you live to the west of Stansted) - I would drive to Luton Airport Parkway station, and get on one of the half hourly direct Thameslink trains to Gatwick - they take about 1h30, and get pretty packed in Rushhour but I think it is almost the only way to get from North to South in anything approaching an acceptable time (apart from going by car the middle of the night - when you are less likely to run into traffic!!)

[ATC Watcher]

Many thanks to all for the various plans .. Now I am more confused but I know what to avoid and what to expect .

Random electron : after what I have read I definitively do not want to live in Stansted ! I am just routed via Stansted to reach Gatwick .( Bloody RYR again ! ;)

[Findo]

Just came through said airport 4 hours ago.

Check in fine. Queues at security much reduced - possibly because it was not my normal 6 o'clock check in.

Don't try to eat or drink beyond security unless you have an hour to spare.

As far as flying was concerned. Took off 5 minutes before scheduled time and arrived at PIK 25 min ahead of schedule. Difficult for STN to claim credit for that bit though.


:O :O

[Chef]

LGS 6753

Looking at your profile one would not expect the kind of comments to be displayed and facts rather than opinion would be in order.

STN is not the white elephant, look at the pax throughput daily even during the winter months. STN is planned to make slightly less profit than expected and the realistic viewpoint and it is only a viewpoint is STN is subsidising T5 at you know where!!!!.

LTN i dont think could cope with much more traffic under the current structure, however its a good airport with grea transport links.

Sorry Buster i know you will disagree

No i dont work for the BAA, and i would agree with most posts that STn from a passenger point is not the best, transport links and security to name but a few. I work in the airport and have to put up with the service failure experienced daily by security.

[LGS6753]

Elsewhere on this forum is an excerpt from the 'Telegraph' which explains how expansion of STN would be at the expense of LGW and LHR users.
Since the current development was started at STN around ten years ago, it has received huge subsidies from elsewhere in BAA. In order to reduce the burden of its white elephant, BAA has offered 'sweetheart' deals to numerous airlines. The effect has been to attract passengers to an airport they would rather not fly from.
A quick look at a decent map of England (supported by more detailed analysis) shows that the most conveniently located South-East airports for the population they serve are (in order): Heathrow, Luton, Gatwick, Stansted. (this excludes LCY because of its operational limitations).
It is no surprise that most of the development has gone into the three BAA owned airports, whilst the independent one has been discriminated against by Governments of all persuasions.
I strongly maintain that 14 million people don't want to fly from Stansted, and if the £500 million spent on STN had been spent at Luton, all users would be more satisfied. Airlines because there would have been more equal competition for their business, passengers because LTN is more convenient, and environmentalists because surface access journeys (far more intrusive and polluting than aircraft) would have been shorter and more heavily rail-based.
BAA are still offering cross-subsidised deals to new airlines at STN, and will continue to do so until stopped. The only beneficiaries of such deals are BAA shareholders, who are minimising their losses at STN.
I repeat my call, based on a solid case of facts, for BAA to be investigated and/or broken up.

[carbootking]

lgs6753

14mill dont fly from stn 18 mill do.

[Farty Flaps]

14 or 18 million.

Thats just more for the stansted security to dick around.
What dont they understand about a yellow cross hatched airside aircrew pass issued in the uk ?
standard uk standard icao, but not standard stansted.

[ExGrunt]

Some news to consider:

Gatwick Express drivers to strike

Gatwick Express train drivers announced they are to stage four one-day strikes.
The walk-outs will be held on 28 November, 8 December, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

I hope this does not affect you plans.

EG

[opsjockey]

Ever spoken to servisair ops..? when you can actually get hold of someone the dont care attitude is appauling! hell, we're the customer, helping to pay their wages and the service is shocking!

[Departures Beckham]

Doors that don't stay open, tensa-barriers which don't work, jetbridges which sometimes work, the dodgiest sounding elevators built (Sat 1), and all this from the 'Millenium Gateway' - Age 12.

Opsjockey: I think I have an idea who you may be talking about! Come to a better handling agent instead!

[carbootking]

u should try elivators by vp8 then at least 1 is down every day they might as well have the spare part man there permantley iv got stuck once in lift insat 1 luckaly id just dropped the pax at aircraft.

[timzsta]

Dont be so quick to knock Servisair at Stansted. Apparently Air Berlins summer stats showed that their best performing handling agent outside of Germany was Servisair at Stansted. Given the number of destinations Air Berlin now serve around Europe and the number of flights they put through STN that is not a bad achievement. And especially given the large number of other carriers Servisair handled for at Stansted this year (Britannia, MyTravel, Excel Airways, CSA, Luxair, El Al, Kibrish Turkish, Onur Air, Iceland Express, Helios, Sky Europe, Viking, Flying Finn to name but a few!).

[FastJet Wannabe]

Not only were we at Servisair (STN) Air Berlin's best performing handling agent outside of the UK, we were also Britannia's best UK performing station!

It's a shame to hear that opsjockey finds us unhelpful - I think our team of 4 ops controllers and 10-15 dispatchers are very helpful/friendly bunch and try hard to accomodate wherever we can!

Any positive comments......?

------

By the way, I couldn't agree more that STN houses the largest proportion of over paid, ego-tripping security guards ever! It is not unusual to find yourself up against one or more of them (and they are everywhere, even when you are acting in a perfectly professional manner, simply going about your job in the best way you can...

And if you try to reason with them, you get a telling off for "arguing" and the threat of having your pass confiscated!

[carbootking]

even for not showoing your pass properly landside came accross a guard the other day doing his rounds in the undercroft having a go at a boots girl who was dragging a cage upstairs for not wearing her pass, i hate newby security guards.

[timzsta]

Laughed the other day at Airfield Ops expense. Onur Air A321 comes on stand, v experienced Captain who has been to STN many times. Stops the aircraft in perfect position to allow our Dispatcher to attach airbridge (to the 1L door). At that moment the Marshaller arrives, who looks about 16 yrs old, sees the aircraft has second door forward of wing and thinks "ahh 757" and proceeds to marshall it another 15ft or so up stand. At which point the Bridge will no longer fit on the aircraft and the WCHR passengers had to be disembarked in a rather unflattering manner down a set of steps.