Is it best to get public transport to the airport?

Rich1976

If it’s Manchester airport then aim to get there about 3 hours before your flight as both times we have flown from there it has taken absolutely ages to go from check in, passport control and then there is a very long walk to the departure gate. 

Sunday morning may not be as bad but you will still get many of your days steps in before you even get on the plane!

Westin

It was only in the 20th post on this thread that we discovered it is Manchester Airport.  The OP doesn’t wish to disclose a starting point/town. Or it seems the day of the week or time of the flight.  Whilst knowing now that the OP departs from Manchester Airport I am not sure how anyone can really advise the OP if a public transport option is possible over a private transport arrangement.  There are lots of sites that allow you to plus in a start point, an end point, and day/times, which then tell you travel options.  I think best to let the OP figure this out himself.

la531983

Rich1976 said:

If it’s Manchester airport then aim to get there about 3 hours before your flight as both times we have flown from there it has taken absolutely ages to go from check in, passport control and then there is a very long walk to the departure gate. 

Sunday morning may not be as bad but you will still get many of your days steps in before you even get on the plane!

Having used both T1 and T2 at peak 6am time in the last few months, at the start of school holidays, my experience has been totally different. Bag drop took seconds and barely any queue at security.

And you only get the gate an hour before anyway so being any earlier than that to the departure lounge is pointless.

Emmia

B0bbyEwing said:

Voyager2002 said:

Personally, I would not expect a friend or relative to serve as my personal chauffeur like that: three hours of driving (they have to get home afterwards) is a lot, and they would face significant expenses.

How does that help my question at all really? 

You have zero idea if I've asked them they've offered to me I'm paying them, they're saying I don't need to or they're saying I don't need to but I'm going to transfer them money regardless. 

Absolutely no idea. 

And not that any of that is relevant to the question/answer anyway. 

If you're paying them, are they insured for Hire & Reward - i.e. as a taxi?

In the event of a collision and their insurance company finding out you were paying them for the trip they'll probably have invalidated their insurance policy.

soolin

B0bbyEwing said:

I'm on the phone at the mo and not PC so to save quoting all I've clicked the thanks. 

Yes, we intend on getting there really quite early before the flight out. As Soolin said, we'd rather be sat about waiting than having to dash. 

Also thanks Soolin for the explanation as to why airport may matter. In that case it's Manchester and we'll be coming top down than bottom up but that's as much info as I'm giving on my location on a message board I'm afraid. No I don't think anyone is coming to my house of this one thread but still.

Thanks for the feedback. 

OK Manchester can have transport issues I have relatives that are high users of that airport. Check out the Premier Inn nearby, less than a mile to walk I understand. (Plenty of other hotels, it’s just that one I know my relative tends to use ) Check in on the Saturday, you’ll have no stress then as you can check in whatever time you want to the hotel, and perhaps if you did it early enough you might even want to walk over to the terminal and check out where the check in desks are so you are ready for a stress free Sunday morning. You could even get a meal deal at Premier inn and have a dinner the evening before you fly, and a very early breakfast. 

That gets you to,your destination, do you have transfers the other end ? 

I never worry quite as much coming home as long as I know I have transfers booked from my hotel to the airport in plenty of time on my return. On arrival in the Uk you are in home territory and then it doesn’t matter if the trains or buses are causing issues as you have no time constraints. 

One other tip, have plenty of money available for emergencies. We were on a plane last year that got in the press as people photographed it trying to land at Gatwick in a massive storm- ended up being dumped in Birmingham with no ground support staff to help us at around 2 am. Managed to get back to London eventually by getting the very first train out of Birmingham , but had to pay our fares and reclaim it some weeks later. Again though after hundreds of flights we’ve only been landed at the wrong airport twice, so statistically unlikely to happen. 

Lastly, the regulars on here are trying to help you with this , can I just remind you that MSE rules say that we should all be nice and polite to each other, and some of your replies to others are getting a bit borderline. 

Pollycat

RAS said:

Have you got you EHIC? Worth taking.

OP
Did you pick up on this?
It's actually GHIC now and you can get one free.
Applying for healthcare cover abroad (GHIC and EHIC) - NHS
It doesn't replace travel insurance.
I had a fall on holiday several years ago and all I needed to do was show my GHIC and the treatment was free except for the cost of medication.

Re your question about car versus public transport:
as we don't know where you're starting off from, we don't know what public transport options are available to you.

There is no way I could use public transport to get me to my nearest airport (40 minute drive away) for an 8am flight on a Sunday.
Like other have suggested, I would stay overnight at an on-airport hotel.
One advantage is (depending on who you're flying with) you can do twilight check-in. We drop our cases off the evening before so in the morning all we have to do is go through Security into Departures.

B0bbyEwing

I don't know the location of everything in relation to where we need to be etc but if we go down the route of staying in a hotel the night before to be extra sure then what is the best one to stay in? 

I'm told from someone else today that we'll be flying out of terminal 1 apparently. But they've only based that on who we're using & the fact that they're using the same airline next week and will be flying out of terminal 1.

I don't know if that's how it works but is there a hotel that's best placed to be stopping in if we decide to do that? 

B0bbyEwing

Westin said:

It was only in the 20th post on this thread that we discovered it is Manchester Airport.  The OP doesn’t wish to disclose a starting point/town. Or it seems the day of the week or time of the flight.  Whilst knowing now that the OP departs from Manchester Airport I am not sure how anyone can really advise the OP if a public transport option is possible over a private transport arrangement.  There are lots of sites that allow you to plus in a start point, an end point, and day/times, which then tell you travel options.  I think best to let the OP figure this out himself.

If you're wanting to take a jab then at least get your facts straight. 

I said long ago what day of the week we were going out on so to say I didn't just to add to your jab is a little silly. 

B0bbyEwing

Emmia said:

B0bbyEwing said:

Voyager2002 said:

Personally, I would not expect a friend or relative to serve as my personal chauffeur like that: three hours of driving (they have to get home afterwards) is a lot, and they would face significant expenses.

How does that help my question at all really? 

You have zero idea if I've asked them they've offered to me I'm paying them, they're saying I don't need to or they're saying I don't need to but I'm going to transfer them money regardless. 

Absolutely no idea. 

And not that any of that is relevant to the question/answer anyway. 

If you're paying them, are they insured for Hire & Reward - i.e. as a taxi?

In the event of a collision and their insurance company finding out you were paying them for the trip they'll probably have invalidated their insurance policy.

When you offer friends/family money for a lift favour do you ask if they've sorted their insurance out as well? 

Seems extremely OTT. 

B0bbyEwing

Pollycat - yes done the GHIC thing. Also sorted travel insurance out last nught in addition to it. 

Sorry, I've ran out of work break time & can't respond to the rest yet.