Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
Reviews:275
Members who trust:170
LONDON-LUTON Airport (Junction 10 North and South-Bound M1) The airport provides consumer comment forms for visitors to complete - WELL IF THEY ARE READING THIS, I HOPE YOU TOOK NOTE OF MY COMMENTS (I just wish I had read Flashpointz op on the subject before travelling)
London-Luton is apparently one of the the fastest growing airports in the UK and the main headquarters for Britannia Airways, Monarch Airlines and EasyJet in the UK. Flight leave Luton daily for a wide range of domestic, European and International Destinations. For further info visit:
http://www.london-luton.co.uk/default.htm
THE CATCH? Many of you will know that we managed to get free flights with EasyJet,
We had to fly from Luton at 6am, hence living some 210 miles away meant that the intenerary for Monday night after work and college was definitely no sleep. We set off around 8.45pm from the Welsh 'backwater' where yes incidentally we do have 24 hour eating,
shopping and garages thinking we would have a nice meal at a services en-route followed by a few beers at the airport to quell my continuing and growing fear of the essential pass-time - flying. Essential because I love travel and foreign destinations, I just don't like getting there. Well how wrong we were on all fronts - firstly, ALL, I repeat ALL the service station eating facilities and shops were closed at 10.15pm and 11pm, despite there being a considerable amount of domestic and industrial traffic on the roads, so much for 'Take a Break' to avoid accidents.
GREEN PARKING Anyway back to LUTON - we arrived at c.1pm and parked the car in the Green Zone - i.e. D-I-Y Parking, you collect your voucher on the way in and pay on the way out at one of the many ticket machines situated both on the airport concourse and in the car-park itself. A free shuttle bus runs back and fore to the airport approximately every 10 minutes around the clock. The quality of the car-park ground is not wonderful COST: £6.90 per 24 hours or part thereof. No Minimum Stay
PINK PARKING Closer to the airport and pre-bookable on-line at a cost of £5.45 per 24 hours or part thereof. Minimum stay at this car-park is 3 days, which will be charged at £6.90/day. This has its own shuttle bus facility.
EXECUTIVE PARKING Walking distance from the terminal - £9.95 per 24 hours pre-booked, £11.00 per 24 hours if not pre-booked -
SHORT STAY AND DISABLED PARKING IS ALSO AVAILABLE
DEPARTURES AND ARRIVALS HALL IS COMBINED, This is something I have not seen in any other airport. Seating is limited, I would dread to be there in high season, and whilst the newsagents was open, as was a coffee bar charging £3 for a sandwich, that was it. Burger King and the hot food area were SHUT. The whole area was not exactly clean and was full of loud chain-smoking EasyJet staff, evidently not the ones that they filmed for the TV series. The hot food area was confirmed as being open at 4pm, but was still shut at 4.15pm, so much for reliability.
My other half partook of a cup of dishwater in Bewleys whilst the staff physically moved customers and those lovely EasyJet staff with fags still intact in their chattering mouths so that they could mop the stinking dirty floors around us, if you were on the outer perimeter they didn't even bother moving you.
CHECK IN SCREENS Were very fanciful, but showed either destination OR check-in desk Nos - We also noticed that there were NO CALLS whatsoever for EasyJet flights, now you know why so many passengers fall asleep at this airport (if they can find somewhere to sit) and miss their flights - certainly NOT very good for people with sight disabilities. Amazingly (and good for me) there were plenty of places to smoke.
EASYJET CHECK IN DESKS ARE 40 - 60 (look for the little orange floor signs), the oh so helpful staff would not tell us which desks they were using to check our flight in - luckily through pure chance we managed to get tickets 1 and 2, and away through to Departures, where security was, I am glad to say, very tight - reassuring having seen a grand total of two armed policemen in the 3 or so hours we had been there.
DEPARTURES A Surprising small area with quite a few shopping & eating facilities here including:
Ann Summers
Body Shop
KFC
Boots
Claires
Dixons
Samuels
Tie Rack
Upper Crust (despite the website ad - NOT OPEN 24 hours)
A PUB - NOT OPEN 24 HOURS - WAKE UP LONDON LUTON - IF CARDIFF CAN OPEN, SURELY SO CAN YOU - SOME OF US LIKE A FEW DRINKS BEFORE WE GET ON A PLANE
24 hour Duty Free/Paid shop - the former only if travelling outside the EU
There was also a childrens play area (for the under 9's) and a gaming area.
Sadly I cannot vouch for any of the shopping facilities as they were all closed - DIXONS was opening at 5.30am just as we were boarding the plane.
Everything was plain sailing after this, and we walked out onto the tarmac to board the plane, same coming back.
ARRIVALS Disembarkment was rapid, onto the tarmac and following a talkless EasyJet rep who couldn't tell us where we were going as heappeared to taking instructions as we all followed behind him like sheep - no customs, quick glance of the passport and we were in baggage reclaim. Luggage took about 15 minutes to be unloaded.
Back to the car-park, bus waiting outside, although why people insist on standing next to the exits when their are plenty of seats available I really fail to understand, and we were away - 10 minutes back to the M4, and off to see if the London service stations stayed open later than the outbacks of Somerset and Wiltshire - sorry the answer is NO. - although we did manage to really upset the staff at Burger King in Reading who had packed up at 9.15pm, despite the fact that they don't close until 10pm, by ordering a meal and disassembling their nicely stacked chairs and tables - whatever happened to meeting the needs of the customer in these organisations?
Cardiff Airport if I have ever said anything nasty about you, in light of my recent visit to Luton, I take it all back - sort out the flight supplements and I need never cross the Severn Bridge for a flight again. Apparently TBI now have a major shareholding in Luton (as in Cardiff) hopefully this will sort out the problems.
SUMMARY Disappointing, small, dirty and almost shut, save for a few planes roaming around the tarmac. I will fly from there again if I have to, but it certainly would not be my first choice, better prices or otherwise, and most definitely NOT at night.
APPARENTLY IF FLYING FROM LUTON YOU ALSO HAVE TO PAY A BARCLAYS FAT-CAT TAX IN ADDITION TO NORMAL AIRPORT TAXES.
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Jan 19th, 2002
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