National express

Advantages: You can pretend you're the bloke from the chewing gum advert
Disadvantages: May bring on manic depression and collapse of your spinal column

...account. In the case of National Express Coaches, I am quite content to forsake my sanity, spinal column and general allround happiness in favour of a few extra quid in my pocket when I arrive at my destination. If you're reading this review then I assume you have a journey to make and are considering National Express to get you where you need to be. As a surviving veteran of numerous coach trips from hell (and a few even worse), I feel that you ...
...the pros and cons. National Express - The disadvantages of coach travel Firstly, you really need to consider issues of personal space. If you're pushing 20 stone then forget it, your ass ain't going nowhere on a National Express, unless you can hijack the middle seat, right at the back (you know which one I'm talking about). The cramped conditions of coach travel will push even the most anorexic of people to their mental limits. And don't even ... Read review

Advantages: punctual, cheap and sometimes entertaining
Disadvantages: can get a little cramped when full

As a national representative of a charity I knew I would have to travel a lot so needed to find the most cost efficient way of doing so. I had received an NZ2 card when I opened my student account with Barclays but never thought of using it. I popped into my local office and decided to find out more about the benefits of this small card. At that particular time National Express had an offer on their journeys and suggested that I take them up on ...
...flying again and saw that National Express operated a Europe service. The staff were very understanding to my requirements but explained that as the service was weekly we may have to go out a week before the event and come back a week after. I found them very supportive in dealing with an almost impossible request. Still they spent over 30 minutes on the phone. On return she explained that they could accommodate my friend and I, but it would cost ... Read review

Advantages: Cheap and can be more reliable than the train (honest)
Disadvantages: It's coach travel, so it's no frills, cheap and cheerful (usually)

...Browsing everyone's opinions of National Express I get the impression you either love 'em or hate 'em. Fair enough but I also notice some of the questions you put are things I can explain... so, as an ex employee who therefore knows how desparately anxious they are to please, I hope this will shed a bit of light on some of the odd decisions they make and why. They're not always sensible but there are a lot of instances where their decision making ...
...appear to reflect this. National Express contract out a lot of their services to other smaller operators. Some of these are much better than others so the quality of the service will vary. In addition, there are more companies vieing for the business in some areas than others so quality will again be reflected in a) the number of operators NatEx had to choose from and b) whether there is enough competition to keep the operator chosen on their toes. ... Read review

Advantages: Cheaper rates at the most expensive time of year
Disadvantages: Poor customer service

...of year! History The National Express Company goes back well over a hundred years and are well known in the UK. They adopted the name 'National Express' in 1974. Eurolines is the International Company for National Express. These are for the European journeys. Recently a new business called 'Airlinks' has been set up to look after 'on-airport' services at Heathrow and Gatwick. See more details on their website at http://www.nationalexpress.com/home/hp.cfm ...
...pick us up from. National Express was the obvious choice. For some reason though, we had to go via London even tho' it meant we were going back on ourselves. But as it was the cheapest option I went ahead. You should've been with me on my way to France, or perhaps not!! We (my 12 yr. old daughter & myself) were going to stay with some friends who had emigrated there a couple of years ago. First of all, the coach from Maidstone to London was late ... Read review

Advantages: well, you get there in the end.
Disadvantages: unhelpful staff, no legroom, dingy old depots

...idiot I am, to use National Express coaches to 'save any messing around'. Big mistake. I decided to book the tickets for me and my mom over the internet on the National Express website, gobycoach.com. Once it loaded, all was well and good, we booked the times we wanted, clhecked the 'collect tickets at station' box because we were travelling in 2 days, and were done. It all seemed fairly straightforward, we didn't even need to print off stupid ...
...in Birmingham. My mother used National Express way back in the Victorian era when she was my age ;) The funny thing is that this place hasn't changed in all that time. It's still cold, damp, draughty, and filled with staff who, quite frankly, couldn't give a flying you-know-what about you, even though you're PAYING THEIR WAGES! On arrival at the information desk, we were told they were experiencing computer difficulties and the tickets hadn't been ... Read review