Alternatives to Gatwick & Heathrow

[sailingkiwi]

One of the travel related email newsletters that I subscribe to had a link to this article that I thought might be a useful read for those wanting to avoid flying in or out of Gatwick or Heathrow.

[Globaliser]

Thanks - that's a useful summary, although it displays its own prejudices: Why, for example, should it be optimistic for Luton to market itself as a London airport, when Stansted is no closer to London?

 

For cruise passengers, though, my top caution would be this: Always look at the end-to-end costs and time. Flying to Manchester airport may be a fabulous way of avoiding Heathrow and Gatwick if your final destination is Salford. But the trouble and expense of getting from there to (say) Harwich may mean that it's preferable to take the "Heathrow hassle".

[Jiminkcmo]

I'm cruising out of Southampton next May and am avoiding LGW and LHR by flying into Bristol (BRS) and spending a few days there pre-cruise doing Stonehenge and Bath.

 

Then a short train ride to Southampton on cruise departure day.

 

And the reverse post-cruise.

 

And that has no prejudices or biases, just plain old logic. <G>

 

Jim

[HeinBloed]

It depends really where you need to go in the UK.

 

Bristol is only served by Continental with an old Boeing 757.

 

For my personal taste I do not know what is more horror:

 

Heathrow or sitting all the time in a 757...? (everybody must decide for himself).

 

For cruise terminals like

 

Harwich

Dover

Ipswich

 

you cannot avoid any airport in Greater London area.

 

Otherwise the time saved at the airport you will loose due to longer transit.

 

Southampton

 

will be also served via other international airports

 

like Paris (same like Heathrow - just French)

or Frankfurt/Amsterdam/Brussels/Dublin

or Manchester/Glasgow

 

This could be maybe easier and more comfortable.

 

Other options:

 

For Dover: Paris CDG - Eurostar Train to Ashford - Taxi from there.

 

For Harwich: Amsterdam - Hook of Holland - Ferry to Harwich.

 

But these are also time wasting options - maybe it's easier to use Heathrow (well connected by National Express to Southampton) and Gatwick (well connected by Southern Railways to Southampton) and have some patience as you are well prepared now by this information.

 

Heathrow is not worse than any other giant US-airport like JFK or ORD...

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[sailingkiwi]

I am beginning to think that perhaps I shouldn't have posted this article at all. I just thought that it might be useful considering the numerous complaints about Heathrow on this and many other travel forums.

 

I personally have never had any problems with Heathrow, when compared to any other major hub airport that I have travelled in an out of. For the record I have travelled reasonably widely in my 28 years, my first international trip was aged 3 1/2 - so I think that I have some basis for comparison.

 

When you consider how many planes and how many people Heathrow deals with on an hourly, not to mention daily basis, there are always going to be problems. People just have to remember that international travel is never going to be perfect and learn to roll with the punches and not take problems too personally.

[Globaliser]

I am beginning to think that perhaps I shouldn't have posted this article at all. I just thought that it might be useful considering the numerous complaints about Heathrow on this and many other travel forums.

It is useful!

 

But people do need to think about all of the ramifications of flying somewhere that is not the closest airport. There is a great tendency amongst CC members to look only at the cost of the ticket from airport to airport, and to start thinking about the rest of the costs, time and hassle only after having committed to that particular air travel.