Airports Charging for Pick Ups - What can we do about it?

mad_rich

If you don't like it, use another airport: that's the long and short of it.

As long as the market can bear it, they'll carry on charging a quid.

Newcastle has a great Metro connection, so I rarely drive there. On the occasions that I do, there's a handful of cars parked on the roundabout waiting for friends & family!

Edinburgh Airport is evil. Last time I picked someone up there I followed the signs. If you're dropping people off, its free; if you're picking up it costs.

You end up less than a metre apart, but separated by a barrier. The clever part is you don't find out about the charge until you've driven down a slipway and arrived at a barrier. :mad: I had an argument through the speakerphone with the parking attendant and asked him whether it was fair not to warn of the charge.

- "What do you expect me to do, reverse back up the slip road and on to the main road?"

- "Yeah mate, that's what most people do"

dmg24

if you go on the principle of charging ...how about the loos ? the walkways? the seats ?

All covered by the costs that the airports pass on to the airlines.

If you go to Tesco you do not have to pay for parking. However, the cost of maintaining the car park is passed back to the consumer through the cost of the individual's purchases.

As a non driver, I would rather parking be charged separately, rather than being built into the cost of my purchase, whether that be an air ticket or my weekly shop.

Equally, I rarely take hold luggage when I travel by air, so why should I not have the choice of paying for it or not?

I do take mad_rich's point, and as with all these charges, they should be notified to you before the point of no return.

hammy_the_hammer

dmg24 wrote: »

All covered by the costs that the airports pass on to the airlines.

If you go to Tesco you do not have to pay for parking. However, the cost of maintaining the car park is passed back to the consumer through the cost of the individual's purchases.

As a non driver, I would rather parking be charged separately, rather than being built into the cost of my purchase, whether that be an air ticket or my weekly shop.

Equally, I rarely take hold luggage when I travel by air, so why should I not have the choice of paying for it or not?

I do take mad_rich's point, and as with all these charges, they should be notified to you before the point of no return.

as a non-driver at liverpool john lennon airport you could take a black cab at an extra pound compared to last year ...doesn't quite fit in to your plan does it?
it's quite frightening that you don't realise these charges can come from anywhere ..........the airport could decide that they will surcharge anyone arriving by public transport by say £3 ...your defence of these monopolistic practices feeds these grabbing ********s

hammy_the_hammer

your analogy using tesco's doesn't work with airports as uk regional airports are in a monopoly position (and in reality london is the same with baa). if tesco's charged you for parking you can make an informed decision whether to use asda , sainsburys etc as an alternative.
unfotunately you can't do this with airports

anley1

Amazing how so many people except these crazy charges as if 'make money at all costs' is 100% acceptable.

But it's not, it's just plain greed and so much of big business just takes the p***.

Paying for car parking is right but someone driving up to the drop-off point, taking 2 mins to unload their passanger(s) and suitcase(s) and being charged for this is just crazy.

Can't some things just be left alone rather than eyeing a new 'profit centre'?

But don't worry, they'll most probably blame it all on 'terrorists' so as to make the majority feel it's an acceptable price to pay, hahahaha.

chika

To be honest i dont think that this is totally greed motivated. As pointed out earlier the airport is a business and there to make money.

However think back to a few weeks ago when a terrorist decided to drive a 4x4 into an airport and try and blow himself and no dount a few hundred innocent people up.

By making sure that you have to go into the car park it means that no unauthorised cars can go near the main terminal building. If paying a pound or 50p means that it stops things thike this happening then so be it.

Thankfully the bomb didnt detonate in Glasgow but imagine the consequenses if it did. IMHO its much safer to ensure that the cars dont go near the airport.

Oh and if you are foing from Manchester, you can get 15 mins free drop off and pick up time.

Voyager2002

There are good reasons (security and avoiding congestion) why airports function more smoothly if most passengers use public transport. If anyone is determined to arrive/depart by car, then let them pay for it.

anley1

Of coure it's all greed motivated (charging £x for a simple drop off) otherwise they'd focus on their customer needs & wants a touch more.

It was never always like this was it?

As for the 'terrorist' angle, I'm sure if they were charged £1 to drop-off at Glasgow they wouldn't have objected! So charging money is hardly going to stop 'terrorists'.

PS. I don't like it one bit but credit where it's due to the skill of the marketers who have been so successful in 'demonising' cars and their owners.

hammy_the_hammer

chika wrote: »

To be honest i dont think that this is totally greed motivated. As pointed out earlier the airport is a business and there to make money.

However think back to a few weeks ago when a terrorist decided to drive a 4x4 into an airport and try and blow himself and no dount a few hundred innocent people up.

By making sure that you have to go into the car park it means that no unauthorised cars can go near the main terminal building. If paying a pound or 50p means that it stops things thike this happening then so be it.

Thankfully the bomb didnt detonate in Glasgow but imagine the consequenses if it did. IMHO its much safer to ensure that the cars dont go near the airport.

Oh and if you are foing from Manchester, you can get 15 mins free drop off and pick up time.

i don't believe people think these things through when they mention security / terrorism . firstly the incident in london a few days before the glasgow one would have made far more of a mess and this nearly happened all be it on the public highway .
terrorists also target public transport so you are no safer on a bus or train than the car.
anyway back on track why do you get charged an extra pound for using a black cab from liverpool airport ? peel holdings to the best of my knowledge haven't tried this charge at their other mega-structure the trafford centre ...here parking is free regardless of whether you actually buy anything. i suppose the shops pay rent ...a bit like the airport and the airlines pay charges in addition....seems that you might be getting exploited at the airport ...no choice you see...ever tried catching a bus from liverpool airport when you arrive back at 02.00am ?
rant over

bagand96

SPANIEL36 wrote: »

At Birmingham they now charge a pound for dropping off and picking up!!

They charge £1 if you want to drive up to the terminal. They have another facility whereby you can park in a long stay for 30 minutes for free, and get the free bus down to the terminal to collect people.

In fact there is an even better system. Drop off or collect your passengers from International station, avoiding all the airport traffic, and the passengers can get the free 2 minute monorail right into the middle of terminal one.


Trouble is this has come about from the terrosrist attack at Glasgow. As stated in the Birmingham press release (although the same for all airports) the acces roads right in front of the terminals are now closed, and will be for the foreseable future. Therefore airports are having to adapt, and use car parking space for this. I agree its an absolute !!!!, but these inconviniences are becoming part and parcel of travelling by air, along with ever other regulation that has been brought in with every major security alert over the last few years.

The revenue argument is interesting as well, and does hold some weight. Airports traditional revenue streams of landing fees are nothing like they used to be. Airports have had to seriously slash landing fees over the past 10 years as the low-cost airlines have boomed. It doesn't stop there. The airlines then pay the handling companies less for their services, so the handling agents can't pay the airport as much in rent... it goes on. Ultimately its all so we can all get cheaper flights on said low cost airlines. But airports are not a charity, the money has to be made back somewhere to keep the place operating.