In message
-sept
ember.org, at 08:39:02 on Wed, 21 Sep 2016, Recliner
remarked:
wrote:
On Wed, 21 Sep 2016 08:35:52 +0100
Neil Williams wrote:
On 2016-09-20 22:07:54 +0000, Recliner said:

Huh? Luton is hardly any further out than Gatwick, and Newark is the
nearest trans-Atlantic airport to Manhattan.

A lot of people are put off Luton by the bus connection, sufficiently
so that LBC are looking at building some kind of rail shuttle thing.

LBC? Wow, Global Radio really are expanding their remit

Not sure how a rail shuttle would work unless its a cog railway given how
much higher the airport is compared to the MML.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...port-ends-bus-
transfers-fast-track-rail-link

"He said Luton was working closely with the Department for Transport to
remove barriers to rail travel to the airport,"

That's odd, it's the DfT which would have insisted on installing
barriers in the first place.

--
Roland Perry

"Neil Williams" wrote in message
...
On 2016-09-20 22:07:54 +0000, Recliner said:

Huh? Luton is hardly any further out than Gatwick, and Newark is the
nearest trans-Atlantic airport to Manhattan.

A lot of people are put off Luton by the bus connection, sufficiently so
that LBC are looking at building some kind of rail shuttle thing. Which
is actually counterintuitive, as to some gates at Gatwick you walk almost
as far as the bus goes (well, probably not quite, but it feels like it),
there's the inter-terminal train, and at Luton bags are returned far, far
quicker than any other significantly sized airport (the reason for which
is the simplicity of the baggage system - it just involves two blokes and
a flatbed Transit).

That is the advantage of not having much (any) in the way of connecting
passengers to handle

tim

"Neil Williams" wrote in message
...
On 2016-09-21 08:24:37 +0000, d said:

LBC? Wow, Global Radio really are expanding their remit

Luton Borough Council, the owners of the airport (though they subcontract
its operation).

Not sure how a rail shuttle would work unless its a cog railway given how
much higher the airport is compared to the MML.

It will most probably be a rubber tyred people mover of some kind, like
the Gatwick or Birmingham ones.

Last time I used Luton was 2013 and it seemed pretty well managed on the
way out. On the way back was a different story however - a mile long walk
to
security up and down stairs from the gate, followed by no information at
baggage collection for about 15 mins followed by bags coming out in dribs
and
drabs for the next 20 mins. And this IIRC was in April, hardly peak
holiday
season.

Sounds like a particularly bad day. The walk from some gates can be a
*bit* long but it's nothing on Gatwick, nor have I ever known any airport
as slow with bags as Gatwick (or Stansted).

I first started to always try to work with carry on only after a trip on the
Manchester shuttle to LHR.

I waited 45 minutes for my bag to appear and when it did it was one a a
total of 3 that the flight had carried!

tim

On 2016-09-21 11:52:21 +0000, tim... said:

That is the advantage of not having much (any) in the way of connecting
passengers to handle

Indeed so.

Neil
--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the @ to reply.

On Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:56:32 +0100
"tim..." wrote:
I first started to always try to work with carry on only after a trip on the
Manchester shuttle to LHR.

I waited 45 minutes for my bag to appear and when it did it was one a a
total of 3 that the flight had carried!

By implication that means a lot of people on that flight were actually
visiting London. Going through all the airport hassle and stress to take a
flight that including transit time is probably slower than taking the train
just seems utterly insane to me.

--
Spud

On 21/09/2016 09:48, Neil Williams wrote:
[...]
Sounds like a particularly bad day. The walk from some gates can be a
*bit* long but it's nothing on Gatwick, nor have I ever known any
airport as slow with bags as Gatwick (or Stansted).

Last time I collected a hold bag at Gatwick it was quick, it wasn't a
particularly quiet time either. I think Gatwick had some particular
problems with their baggage handlers - and not having enough of them - a
while back, but that got sorted out. (Responsibility of the handling
company, and ultimately the airline, but it reflects badly on the airport.)

On Wed, 21 Sep 2016 13:09:54 +0000 (UTC), d wrote:

On Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:56:32 +0100
"tim..." wrote:
I first started to always try to work with carry on only after a trip on the
Manchester shuttle to LHR.

I waited 45 minutes for my bag to appear and when it did it was one a a
total of 3 that the flight had carried!

By implication that means a lot of people on that flight were actually
visiting London. Going through all the airport hassle and stress to take a
flight that including transit time is probably slower than taking the train
just seems utterly insane to me.

As always, it depends on the starting and finish points. Not everyone
is visiting an office next door to Euston. For example, if someone who
lives in Wilmslow is visiting an office in Stockley Park or Uxbridge,
flying would be much better than taking the train.

On 20.09.16 23:11, Mizter T wrote:

On 20/09/2016 23:07, Recliner wrote:

wrote:

Well, that route is sort of going from Q to Z, when indeed you needed A
to B. Luton is a ways out, and Newark is not the closest to Manhattan.

Huh? Luton is hardly any further out than Gatwick, and Newark is the
nearest trans-Atlantic airport to Manhattan.


Indeed. A friend who does this with some regularity prefers a Newark
arrival over JFK.
I stand corrected.

On 21.09.16 14:26, Mizter T wrote:

On 21/09/2016 09:48, Neil Williams wrote:
[...]
Sounds like a particularly bad day. The walk from some gates can be a
*bit* long but it's nothing on Gatwick, nor have I ever known any
airport as slow with bags as Gatwick (or Stansted).

Last time I collected a hold bag at Gatwick it was quick, it wasn't a
particularly quiet time either. I think Gatwick had some particular
problems with their baggage handlers - and not having enough of them - a
while back, but that got sorted out. (Responsibility of the handling
company, and ultimately the airline, but it reflects badly on the airport.)

I find that T5 is very quick and efficient in terms of baggage
collection. I can usually be out of the airport within minutes after
disembarking; I just go through the electronic passport gates, do
downstairs and I find that my luggage is normally there.

Having said that, however, last time I was at T5 I found that the queues
to the electronic gates were longer as the luddites had caught onto them.

wrote in message ...
On Wed, 21 Sep 2016 12:56:32 +0100
"tim..." wrote:
I first started to always try to work with carry on only after a trip on
the
Manchester shuttle to LHR.

I waited 45 minutes for my bag to appear and when it did it was one a a
total of 3 that the flight had carried!

By implication that means a lot of people on that flight were actually
visiting London.

actually

going home from a trip to Manchester :-)

Going through all the airport hassle and stress to take a
flight that including transit time is probably slower than taking the
train
just seems utterly insane to me.

well yes

but I didn't expect such sloppy service from what was billed (at the time)
as a premium service - this was during the era when occasionally they would
fly concord on this route

tim