Airport Parking News

www.JustParking.co.uk: Along with progress comes frustration and loss of revenue as the frustrated vent their anger and disappointment. Blogger, Dirtyglasses, had the following to say about a recent trip to Luton Airport which is undergoing major roadworks on it's access roads:

Whilst driving to Luton Airport to pick up our son jetting in from Morocco I had read before leaving that there are major road works on the M1 between Junction 6 and 10.

We raced off the M25 and speeded around a long sweeping right bend and ran straight into a traffic jam to top all traffic jams. Cars went from 60mph to a dead stop and it was a miracle that there were no accidents. Crawling along the slip road we nosed our way onto the M1 and spent from Junction 6 to Junction 10 the Luton Airport exit cruising at a top speed of 10mph or less. Junction 10 was a welcome sight that is until we began another crawl along the East Luton Carriageway road that strangely enough had some major repairs being done to it at the same time.

Attempting to meet a 1.30pm arrival we arrived at Luton Airport just after 2pm and made our way past the endless queues of traffic to the Terminal building. Luckily our son’s flight had landed but he had not reached the arrivals area yet.

I took the opportunity to pay a visit to the toilet and what greeted me as it did all visitors to this country landing at Luton was an ill kept public convenience, it smelt, it was not clean and overall it was untidy. Welcome to the U.K I thought as I proceeded to a cash point to get some as I knew there would be an exorbitant parking fee to pay on exit. All three ATM’s were out of order and it was good to see that out great British reputation for excellent service was holding up well here in Luton Airport.

In addition to the major road works currently underway on the M1 motorway, Luton Borough Council's 'East Luton Corridor' road works project, on the main approach to the Airport, moved into a critical phase from 5th February and is envisioned to continue until May 2007.

From this date, the contractor, Birse, will begin works that will involve the complete reconstruction of the roundabout adjacent to the Holiday Inn Express at London Luton Airport. In order to ensure that the works are delivered safely and expeditiously, the alternative route into the Airport, Percival Way, will be closed to through traffic. For those travelling from the East, diversions will be in place.

The road closure of Percival Way will seriously affect access to London Luton Airport and will cause significant traffic congestion in the local area, particularly at peak times.

But, Dirtyglasses, as a result of a frustrating trip will now see everything to do with Luton Airport in a negative way and goes on to highlight the following problems:

We walked to the departures area where signs glowed saying `Cash Dispensers` that alerted me where to go but as I homed in with card in hand these three ATM’s were out of order as well.

Needing cash we decided to buy some sandwiches and some drinks at the Simply Food M&S food shop with the hope that they would have a cash back facility. £8.50 obviously meant that the prices won’t included in the Simply statement otherwise it would have to be called Simply Pricey and that wouldn’t be allowed.

Once outside the Terminal the car park paying machines were lined up neatly and I am sure I heard music coming from them and it was a song called `Give us your money geezer`.

£5.50 for around 1 hours parking is a nice little earner especially when the car park amounted to some rough ground next to the terminal, no gleaming concrete helter skelter here like at Gatwick. The queues of cars trying to leave the car park stretched well back into the car park itself so we decided to sit in the car for a while and eat our overpriced sandwiches whilst waiting a while.

A good lesson for any airport that has any form of control over or that is planning on expansion - "Make sure that you have all bases covered, because if you don't, people will complain and find fault with everything, and, make no mistake, this will impact on your business!"

www.JustParking.co.uk: As they say; "One man's meat is another man's poison" and that couldn't be better illustrated by this particular rant on the Lurking On The Web blog, about the price of Luton Airport Parking:

Well, I have to start somewhere so I thought I'd start with a moan...

Have you seen the amount it costs to park in the Short Stay car park at Luton Airport? I was there to pick up my Girlfriend flying in from Ireland an hour after I arrived at the car park. £6.50 for 1 hour!!!!! £10 for 2 hours!!!! You don't have to pay that much to park in Central London.

That set me in a bad mood, and from then until my Girlfriend arrived I tried to get some answers as to why they considered this justified. Imagine if the plane you are waiting for is delayed for some reason. The airline isn't going to care that they just cost you another £10 for parking just because their plane was late, so in effect, Luton airport (or NCP as it is their car park) are cashing in big time.

I spoke to the desk where you go to pay for your ticket, and they said it was NCP that set the charges, and they agreed that the prices were too high, and almost begged me to take the matter further, including going to the papers. All I got for NCP was an email address (which I shall be writing to shortly). I then asked to speak to a manager for Luton Airport. Instead, one of his staff came down to me as "the manager won't come down to speak to you about parking". He gave me an address to write to in Luton Airport to complain, but he said "I doubt you'll get anywhere, the airport has to make its money somewhere and they don't make much from the planes"

He explained the flight arrival times are available on teletext and on the internet, but sometimes I have to leave home to get to the airport before my girlfriends flight has actually taken off, and Ryanair in particular, (but other airlines too) are terrible to notify the passengers of a delay, until the very last minute. (and sometimes not even then).

He also said there was about 1000 spaces, and most of the time its around 75% full. If you imagine the average stay of 1 hour, thats £4875 per hour NCP makes from that short stay car park!! Flights come into and leave Luton airport from 7am to 2am! Thats potentially £92625 per day!!! Is this really justified?

Somewhere along the line, someone is sitting back and laughing their head off about the money they are making. For people waiting to collect someone from an inbound flight, the charge is unavoidable because of security measures, there is no waiting near the terminal, so you have to park up in the Short Stay.

All we can say is; "Join those making money and sign up as an affiliate to sell Airport Parking with JustParking.co.uk. Click here to sign up as an AFFILIATE.

Plans to treble the number of passengers flying from Luton Airport each year will make life miserable for people in South Beds, according to South West Beds MP Andrew Selous.

He has said that if the airport expands to cope with 30 million people taking flights every year it will cause huge noise issues, make traffic congestion even worse and create more pollution.

Mr Selous argues that improving the rail network around Europe would give families an affordable alternative to flying.

He said: "Rather than tax lower income families out of the skies, more plentiful, cheaper rail travel would enable people to holiday in Europe and travel on business without increasing the output of carbon.

"This makes sense locally for South West Bedfordshire, where some villages like Tebworth and Wingfield are already greatly affected by aircraft noise, as it does for the wider world.

"Thirty million passengers arriving at Luton Airport does not bear thinking about with our current inadequate transport infrastructure."

Mr Selous was told by the Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon, that there's a big EU commitment to improving high speed rail links across the country.

Source: Bedford Today

www.Parctel.com: Mrs Grumpy Robinson has just made it quite clear on her blog that the Luton Airport PAssport Control staff are to blame:

Ooh, I've been grouchy all day. Stomping around scowling and muttering bad words at inanimate objects.

The blame for my foul mood can be laid squarely at the feet of the passport control people at Luton Airport, who considered their coffee break to be a higher priority than processing the several hundred tired and fractious travellers who were in front of me in the queue last night. Also take a bow Thameslink, whose kind decision to only run one train an hour from Luton Airport meant I got in at stupid o'clock this morning. Thanks must also go to my tummy, which decided that 5:30am was the premium time to expel - with extreme prejudice - the coffee and chocolate I had consumed in the departure lounge of Berlin Schonefeld airport.

Maybe you should book Chaffeur Drive next time. I'd offer to pick you up myself, but the problem is that I am afraid, very afraid that you will try and seduce me!

Police on hand as Alicante flight lands at Luton Aiport.

Passengers on a flight to Luton Airport have told how they watched in horror as a raging Romeo threatened to kill his girlfriend.

In front of a full aircraft travelling from Alicante in Southern Spain on Tuesday evening, the nightmare scene unfolded as the passenger threatened to shoot and rape his partner.

One witness said the 8pm Thomsonfly plane had not been in the air long before the couple began arguing. The man was reported to be muttering under his breath and swearing.

When the row turned nasty one woman asked the cabin crew to step in. The man was asked to mind his language and he replied that he planned to shoot his girlfriend, as well as the passenger who had interferred.

The witness said she heard the man say he should have just raped his partner and people began to get frightened. One crew member went to speak to the captain, and air hostesses were almost forced to restrain the man, said onlookers. Cabin crew arranged to have police meet the plane as it landed and the man was arrested.

One passenger said she saw about five police officers on the concourse at the airport when the plane ground to a halt.
Police confirmed one man was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly as he left an aircraft on Tuesday night. Yesterday he was still in custody at Luton police station.

A Thomsonfly spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a passenger was causing disrupution on the TOM2568 Alicante – Luton flight. Local police were informed by the captain and the police met the aircraft on arrival who have detained the passenger."

Source: Bedford Today

A controlled explosion was carried out at Luton Airport after a suspect car was found parked near the arrivals lounge on Thursday evening.

The departure terminal was evacuated and a 656ft (200m) cordon put in place as a precautionary measure.

No flights were allowed to depart from the airport, but some arrivals were not affected and some diverted to Stansted.

The airport has now reopened and is operating normally. Bedfordshire Police apologised to anyone affected.

Source: BBC

The death of a Polish man who suffered hypothermia after being moved on by police at Luton Airport is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

While police officers were removing him from the airport on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 16, Marek Pasich, 44, fell over outside the terminal building.

An ambulance was called, but Mr Pasich refused to get into it and remained on a seat outside the terminal until just before 5am the following day, when paramedics were called for him once again.

He was taken to Luton & Dunstable Hospital, but died of hypothermia, a post mortem revealed.

IPCC commissioner David Petch urged witnesses to the events to get in touch.

He said: "Our investigation will seek to establish whether the police officers concerned properly exercised their duty of care towards him."

Source: Luton Today

If Vauxhall's old assembly plant in Luton is transformed into a super-casino, similar to the one announced recently by the Government for Manchester it could mean a boost in Airport Parking Sapce for nearby Luton Airport, if town councillors play their cards right and convince developers to go ahead with their plans.

Designs have been drawn up for a large gambling centre which also includes 1,000 new homes, 500,000 square feet of office space and even parking for nearby Luton Airport.

It was hoped the old factory could be transformed into a super-casino, similar to the one announced recently by the Government for Manchester. But planners say they will only offer a licence for a smaller venue. A Luton council spokeswoman told us: "This is clearly a disappointment. The dev­elopers now need to decide if they still want to go ahead."

The 56-acre plot has stood empty since the plant was shut in 2002 after nearly 100 years of vehicle production. Among the models built there were the legendary Viva, Cav­alier and Vectra.

Source: Auto Express

Then do as one blogger (djk) suggests:

What happens when you're stuck at the airport? At Luton Airport, to be exact, because it's not the most bustling of transportation hubs. If you blog for Free Donuts, you settle in at the Silverjet lounge and mind map!

You could always book Chauffer Parking beforehand.

A predicted heavy fall of snow overnight has blanketed South Bedfordshire - and brought the area to a standstill.

Widespread school closures have already been announced, with most primary and secondary schools in the area keeping their doors shut.

The volume of closures was so great that the snow helpline service mounted by BBC Three Counties Radio quickly switched to announcing only the handful of schools that were still open.

Accidents on the M1 in both directions caused early gridlock, but elsewhere most main roads were passable with care.

Luton Airport closed to flights just after 7am, with no aircraft expected to leave until mid morning.

Source: Bedford Today

But he was probably jet-lagged after all night party!
Leonardo DiCaprio is the latest celeb to fly out through Luton Airport - hot on the heels of revealing that he's on the the hunt for an English girl because of British TV presenter Cat Deeley.

The single actor has apparently been smitten with Cat since meeting her last year, when she was in Los Angeles filming hit US TV talent show So You Think You Can

He told pressmen: "Cat's lovely. But then most English girls are. This country churns out some of the loveliest women in the world."

The 32-year-old bachelor was in the UK promoting his new movie Blood Diamond, which has earned him a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and during his stay he made the most of the city's vibrant nightlife.

Heo reportedly ran up a £10,000 bar bill as he partied across some of London's top nightspots.

Back at his hotel, he is said to have carried on partying until his limo arrived to pick him up at 9am on Wednesday to take him to Luton Airport.

Source: Bedford Today

Taxpayers in Beds are being forced to foot a £400,000 annual policing bill to keep Luton Airport safe, despite other smaller airports having their security paid for by the airport operators.

Now a group of county MPs, led by South West Beds MP Andrew Selous and including Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins, has met police minister Tony McNulty to point out the discrepancy and ask for it to be rectified.

While the Home Office used to pay £1.3 million to police the airport, last year this sum was reduced by £400,000, leaving the county force to make up for the loss.

Beds Police is already £2.5 million short of the money it needs to maintain existing levels of policing next year.

Now the minister will write to Luton airport authorities to ask them to contribute to their policing costs voluntarily as other airports do.

Source: Biggleswade Today

Smarter Communications swoops on London Luton AirportSmarter Communications has been added to the roster of agencies used by London Luton Airport.

The agency used to work with the airport under its former guise as Senior King Communications.

A spokesperson for London Luton Airport confirmed the appointment. It was made by business development and customer services director Natalie Raper.
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Silverjet, the business class-only airline, launches from London Luton Airport on 25 January. The airport is a key hub for both easyJet and Ryanair.

The airport appointed Jo-Ann Canevali as sales and marketing manager in March 2005. It underwent a corporate brand revamp devised by Communique360 in the same year.

Source: mad.co.uk

Eight months ago, CEO Lawrence Hunt began the process of executing his dream for redefining business class travel by providing business travelers with a more comfortable and cost-effective option for service across the Atlantic. Today, that vision was realized as Silverjet embarks upon its first round-trip journey between London's Luton Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, marking the official inauguration of the airline.

Silverjet's daily non-stop service between the New York area and London start at fares as low as $1,798, which in most cases is 50 percent less than competitive London-New York business class fares.

Lawrence Hunt, CEO, Silverjet comments, "For too long, long haul airline travel has been associated with hassle, disappointment and environmental damage. We've spent the past three years talking to customers and feel confident that Silverjet addresses their biggest concerns, making every journey as comfortable, flexible and innovative as possible. Silverjet aims to revolutionize the flying experience by spearheading a move towards civilized and enjoyable air travel. We are thrilled to be offering private jet experiences at Premium Economy prices.

"Looking forward we will commence operation of our second London Luton to New York Newark flight in July this year and we are currently investigating further long haul opportunities."

Silverjet's first flight is accompanied by the launch of its unique carbon offsetting program. Included within all ticket prices is a mandatory carbon offset contribution, giving fliers the opportunity to reinvest "Carbon Points" into a number of climate friendly projects around the world. The program has been set up in partnership with leading climate change consultants The CarbonNeutral Company and it has been developed in accordance with the CarbonNeutral protocol, the leading standard and quality mark for action on climate change.

Silverjet has created a new class of travel, heralded Silver Class, by designing a travel experience that focuses on the customer as an ally, Common frustrations and hassles associated with travel have been eliminated, making the journey as comfortable, flexible and innovative as possible.

Exclusive terminal experiences on both sides of the Atlantic allow customers with only carry on baggage to check-in as little as 30 minutes before departure time and to board the plane when it suits them.

Every Silverjet flight features award-winning flat bed seats, which extend to 6'3" long. On night flights the plane is a designated Quiet Zone to maximize sleep time. Lights stay off from take off to landing -- there are no overhead lights and breakfast is served on tip toes. Minimal announcements are made and there are no trolleys on board to ensure cabin noise and interruptions are kept to a minimum. For those who want to sleep later, Silverjet has devised a 'Breakfast Express' option so customers can have their breakfast 'on the go' and leave the plane with a steaming cup of coffee or tea.

Delicious choices of appetizers and main courses are plated in the gallery and served by hand. In keeping with the airline's premium service, customers can be entertained on the portable in-flight entertainment system with noise canceling headsets, latest releases and Silver Screen classic movies, plus US and UK television programming. Customers also have the choice to start their movie when they like, adding to the unique personal experience. In addition, all Silverjet flights feature a women's-only restroom facility.

The Silverjet cabin crew has been recruited from an elite, articulate and personable pool of hotel, catering and restaurant professionals. With one of the best crew-to-customer ratios in the air (10:1) customers can be assured they will be greeted by name and be well cared for.

"We have successfully created a sanctuary in the sky that promises to revolutionize trans-Atlantic travel," Hunt added. "Silverjet customers can work in a relaxing and quiet atmosphere, sleep in a comfortable flat bed or enjoy the in-flight entertainment options. We sought to create an experience where our customers can, if they so desire, disconnect from the world below."