[Closed] airport parking, executive lounges, free drinks etc etc......

[i]anybody know any tricks of the trade to make the airport experience that bit less arduous without being fleeced?[/i]

Get there in plenty of time, expect it'll cost you money to buy anything - chill.

Parkng book in advance to get the best possible rate.

Check whether you can pay for fast track on the day through security/passport. Sometimes the normal queues are so short there is no point paying, equally if the queues are huge cough up the cash on the day.

Have never come across a good value 'premium lounge', see if your credit card or other membership gets you into an airline specific one. Otherwise try and limit the time at the airport, as it is normally the time post check-in where you get fleeced for food, drinks and triangular chocolate!

...from east midlands

Take your own snappin and set up camp in one of the public lounges. East Midlands isn't much more than a big bus station anyway

I use east mids once a month and can't think of the executive lounge there - not sure there is one. It's being done up though, so that could be why I've missed it.

I'm just finishing up 2hrs at
Amsterdam airport and it's the first time I've had to sit with the common people in an airport for a few years.... It's tough going, everything is expensive and it's really noisy.

Just a small rant....

But book parking early check know how close it is to the terminal be there in time sort your liquids out (ie in your hold bag).
Check what is after security, if there is enough to do go through early and finish down somewhere to sit and relax.
If there is a lounge the pay for ones are a bit average normally but quiet. You won't get your monies worth in food and drink in one visit. Both mine are good value as a year long deal due to the number of trips.

The whole point of an executive lounge is to whisk you away from the kind of people who say 'holibobs' instead of 'holidays'. 🙂

haha, youre mebbes right there 😀

thanks folks, looks like there really arent any extras worth having then.

As above, paid lounges are almost always shit. Proper lounges are a haven, for the most part. The BA lounge at Schipol has lovely salami snacks to go with your cold beer.

Paid lounges are full of mutants trying to get hammered on "free" booze before their two weeks in Benalmadena

My advice - often, a few extra quid is worth saving a whole shitload of trouble or annoyance. Depends where you are going and how long the flight is though. We always end up doing transatlantic flights to see my in-laws. Examples:

- Early starts for us mean staying overnight at an airport hotel. Some of the off-terminal ones let you park for up to 15 nights for the same price (or nearly) as the room for one night. This is often cheaper than actual parking on its own.

- Valet parking is MUCH nicer than waiting 30 mins for an uncomfortable stand up bus ride.

- After waiting an hour in freezing cold weather for one of said busses to turn up to a hotel that was a fair distance from the terminal, after an overnight flight with no sleep, we discovered that you could pay a reasonable sum, not much more than the bus itself for a chauffeur to take you straight there in leather upholsterd comfy S-Class luxury. She even had a cap on and everything.

- Being prepared to pay for airport food is a great way to kill time and enjoy it. I actually look forward to it at some terminals.

- Sometimes you can pay extra for fast-track through security - this can be worth it.

- Don't take kids. It's a lot better without kids.

Best tip ever, although this was used returning from Belfast, is take a gun.
Head for the first cop you see, tell them you've got a gun. It'll cost an extra £10-£15 to have it loaded as secure cargo in the hold (you're not allowed to take them on to the plane yourself).
Straight to the front of the checkin queue, large "FIREARM" sticker applied to bag and through you go. Cop even closed the checkin desk for me while I went and paid the surcharge. Awesome.
Nobody pesters you in the waiting lounge.
They give you space at baggage reclaim as well if you pick the gun up before going to reclaim.

My advice - often, a few extra quid is worth saving a whole shitload of trouble or annoyance.

Early starts for us mean staying overnight at an airport hotel. Some of the off-terminal ones let you park for up to 15 nights for the same price (or nearly) as the room for one night. This is often cheaper than actual parking on its own.

Valet parking is MUCH nicer than waiting 30 mins for an uncomfortable stand up bus ride.

Being prepared to pay for airport food is a great way to kill time and enjoy it. I actually look forward to it at some terminals.

Don't believe the bullocks about needing to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight, that's just because the owners of the airport know you are almost certain to want to buy food or a drink. Check in online, go later and take your own scran.

www.aph.com

including East Mids.

We always use it when travelling from a non-local airport.

again, agreed, but dont know where id find out how much itd be.

Google - if it exists, it'll be there. You're going from a shed though by the sound of it, so it may not exist. In Cardiff for instance there is a huge cheap carpark right across a small road, so less than 100m away from the terminal - valet parking is fairly pointless.

The reason I eat in terminals is that you get the best places to sit, and what else are you going to do?

When travelling with a bike I always book short term parking in advance. For a week it works out £20-30 more than long stay but I'm happy to pay that to walk to the terminal rather than fight onto buses with luggage and a bike.

I prefer it to valet too - no wondering what they've done to my car or having to wait for them to turn up when I get back.

The reason I eat in terminals is that you get the best places to sit, and what else are you going to do?

I eat there because generally speaking someone else is paying 🙂

No one argues with an expense claim from an airport.

Don't believe the bullocks about needing to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight, that's just because the owners of the airport know you are almost certain to want to buy food or a drink. Check in online, go later and take your own scran.

CaptainFlashheart - Member
As above, paid lounges are almost always shit. Proper lounges are a haven, for the most part. The BA lounge at Schipol has lovely salami snacks to go with your cold beer.

Almost? We are awaiting in the Virgin V lounge in August. The marketing looks good for the kids at least. It also looks like a lovely place to be whilst smashed on diazepam.

Edit: The main attraction being Lego, and being "whisked through check in and security without queuing".

We had lounge access included in a recent ski holiday package. Which would have been nice, if the lounge had not have been full.

The long stay parking at east midlands is across thhe road and easily walkable. The confirmation says 3-5 minutes walk which tallies with my recollection from last time we used it. We paid about £40 for 10 days starting on Saturday.

The BA lounge at Schipol has lovely salami snacks to go with your cold beer.

being "whisked through check in and security

Sounds rather violent.

Am I the only one mean (or perhaps organised, and healthy !) enough to take a packed lunch on the plane ? You only get free food on long haul these days, all you really need to buy at the airport is the water and coffee. And it is always minging chain pub and takeaway food they have.

Pack some sandwiches and find an empty gate for some peace and quiet.

I have found some free parking for Edinburgh airport too. In an industrial estate right by a tram stop. £5 for the return tram fair, 10 mins to the airport.

(I should write to Viz magazine with these handy hints and tips)

Am I the only one mean (or perhaps organised, and healthy !) enough to take a packed lunch on the plane ? You only get free food on long haul these days,

I live in Nottingham, so East Midlands is my local airport.

I fly reasonably regularly for Business. I make a point of using Heathrow over EMA.

Thanks mikewsmith but I am afraid I don't count crisps and gin as food ! Flying used to be an adventure, now it's like catching the bus.

It was a 40min flight...

I asked for a glass of water on a Brussels Air flight to Vienna and was asked for two pounds twenty pence.
A guy in business class heard the ensuing argument as I was ranting - hence the need for some anti psychotics (they have no curtains and he was sat in the row just in front of me). He asked for a bottle of water and gave it to me.
I won't fly with them again.

Cheers iolo another one off the list....
It's been a while but I was still getting prices with ba close or better than the budget options.

And while we are here (going ot) when did they start getting stingy with the wine in first class on the train. 2 glasses London to york

I've got no idea why anyone would drive to Heathrow over using EMA.

There used to be a Servisair lounge at EMA, but I think it's out of action whilst they refurb.

The valet parking there is reasonably good, and you basically pull up outside the terminal, although there is a bit of faffing handing over the keys at the office, you don't have to wait for a man to arrive to pick your car up from you.

The food offer is a bit meh once you're airside, but security isn't normally a massive rugby scrum, the roads to it are pretty decent and you don't have to walk through a shopping centre to get to the terminal. So on the whole, it's about 1000x better than Stansted.

The best tactic is to arrive late, take hand luggage and wait until the last person has boarded before you stand up, assuming you've paid for allocated seats.

Mike, it may only be a 40 minute flight, but as it's international, when you're in business they still serve breakfast on the morning flight! Super fast service!

That was only 80 more (as they were up selling in online check in) my regular flight is 45mins and the struggle to do a full drinks run in that time.

I'm also now grumpy as Virgin xc trains have a really crap first class, should have stayed with east coast to Newcastle...

When we flew out of East Midlands a couple of years ago it was cheaper to pay for a hotel with parking than parking alone. It was one of the ' mystery hotel' deals but seeing as it was listed as being on airport and there is only one on airport hotel at ema it wasn't much of a mystery.

I've got no idea why anyone would drive to Heathrow over using EMA

Drive? I take the train.

When we flew out of East Midlands a couple of years ago it was cheaper to pay for a hotel with parking than parking alone. It was one of the ' mystery hotel' deals but seeing as it was listed as being on airport and there is only one on airport hotel at ema it wasn't much of a mystery.

thanks for the comments chaps 🙂

There's a few hotels at EMA, Thistle is closest and Radisson Blu is Furthest. I stay at both regularly, the Radisson is much much better, both offer park and stay deals. There hasn't been a lounge there for a while, but theres a Frankie & Bennys, a new coffee shop and bar upstairs which can get a bit rowdy in the summer.

Pork and Pickle do a great Stilton topped pork pie.

Depatures goes from being a ghost town in winter to the set if the Inbetweeners in the summer.

Schiphol's got to be the easiest airport to kill 2 hours. Rijksmuseum annexe (art gallery - small), tons of comfy chairs, big windows to watch the planes, DVD grot (at least in the past), chips wi mayonnaise, mad people from around the world, billions of clean bogs, flies to aim your pi$$ at in the urinals. Sounds infintely more manageable than East Midlands with its endless holiday flights and overpriced Carling.

Schiphol's got to be the easiest airport to kill 2 hours.

Yep, very easy. Walk between gates - that's 2 hours at least. In fact, you'll have to hurry.

The lounge at EMA is back in action after a refurb. It's not bad, but they have a dress code, so no shorts etc. I don't know if they have booze or if it's dry (I fly in the morning, so not relevant to me). Free bacon / sausage baps if you ask at the bar. If your flying early in the morning, pay in advance for fast track....when EMA gets busy there aren't enough machines to buy the fast track upgrades, so you have to queue to buy the fast track pass...which kind of defeats the object.If there has been an event in the area (bike racing or Download) the queues are horrendous through security.

I park in the Long Stay 2, which is easily walkable to the terminal, and reasonable. Book at least a few days in advance though....the booking system won't recognise bookings made the weekend before a Monday flight :-(.

There is now a Dixons at EMA (maybe there always was?) which does decent deals on Apple stuff.

Depatures goes from being a ghost town in winter to the set if the Inbetweeners in the summer.

LOL....That perfectly describes it.

I'm still scarred by having to spend 16 hours in schipol due to messing up timings on a return transatlantic flight 10 years ago.............

shame I was skint - should have got train into rotterdam to kill some time

You could have tried Amsterdam it's a lot closer.

Only time I have used one was flying to Oz. Stopped in Singapore. Used Singapore airlines own lounge foc. Food, shower, a nap and somebody to wake me was great. Worst bit forgot to take fresh socks and had to buy new ones.

Nowadays fly only with the wife and kids so no point in bothering with such things.

Nowadays fly only with the wife and kids so no point in bothering with such things.

What?

If anything, there's even more reason to get to a lounge! Space, time, food, etc.

Found the reverse logic to normal advance parking a bit back at Edinburgh. Forgot to book the parking for a few days away so did it the night before, cheapest was the long stay which was previously the most expensive by a long shot down to a few quid below the usual off site parks.

Wouldn't fancy leaving my car in Gogar for a few days, more so when the tram fares would cost more than the airport parking anyway (though South Gyle is good for park and ride duties)

EMA is the only airport I've been in with its own bookies.

Mike, i travel on virgin trains first class Manc to Ldn every week and its great, you only need to do a busy journey in standard once in a while to appreciate 1st. also regards the drinks, it really depends on the staff member. some are jobsworths and limit you to two glasses, but we've had occasions where they have just left the bottle! although i tend to stick to G&T on the train because the beer is always too warm and the wine too cold. but the cooked breakfast is spot on too. The free wifi is utterly shite tho.

back on thread, we always use them meet & greet / valet parking jobs. its about £40 a week at Manchester. just drive up to departures, unload, then they drive off in your car and park it. you give em a bell when you land and they pitch up at arrivals for you. they even give it a wash while youre away.

Never had an issue with the west coast, the XC service is a different lot and it's pants.

Thanks probably to this thread, I had a dream last night in which I'd booked my flights for work next week and for some reason the only flights available were with Virgin Atlantic (they don't fly to regional Swedish airports). Then at a work function (I don't have work 'functions') I bumped into Richard Branson and he had an app on his smartphone that he could use to upgrade anyone he felt like to First Class. The planes I go on don't even have first class. I was rather looking forward to the first class lounge.. then I woke up..