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Anyone used the Jet Parks facility there? I've always stayed at (BAA-run, presumably) Stansted's official parking lot without probs. Jet Parks have come up £8-9 cheaper for a 7 day stay in Sept; also seem to be offering similar service close by, including ANPR entry and exit recognition and regular shuttle bus to terminal every 15 mins etc.
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If you're booking this far ahead, don't forget to check the short term rate. It can be quite cheap when booked early. I paid £32 for 3 days short term at Stansted last week which didn't feel too steamy.
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short stay £72, Runfer; long stay £45; with Jet Parks, £39
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All parking at Stansted is owned by the airport which has a monopoly and accounts for it being dearer than Gatwick where there are many private options.
Jet Parks is their cheapest offering. Slightly longer bus journey and not quite so frequent service.
You pays your money.......
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Ah, right. Different bus service then, I assume. Not worth trying to save £6. It's the return journey where one doesn't want to hang about.
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We had to park at Stansted recently and I was shocked at the cost. Thursday 4.00 am until the following Sunday 1.00 pm was £72! Of course arriving at that time meant driving was the only option for us.
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Incoming passport control at Stansted is pitiful. I've come in there twice this month and on both occasions it took 50 minutes to get through. Outgoing security is equally shambolic. It's as if the phenomenon of aircraft departing and arriving come as a complete shock to the system.
Hateful place. Cheap flights though so I suppose one has to be mindful of one's position on the ladder of life.
;-)
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Sun 25 May 14 at 21:02
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Stansted Airport started being useful in the early 90s as I recall. At that time I used to need to move between mainland Europe and Cambridge rather a lot.
It was a superb airport, one could park right outside the doors, all very calm, never crammed, no excessive traffic, all clean and bright, it really was one of my favourite airports in the world.
And then it got "successful". Its now just nasty. It must be one of the most tedious and irritating in Europe.
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But way behind Paris CDG or any Greek airport. Come to think of it Luton is worse too.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sun 25 May 14 at 21:58
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All official airport parking is a rip-off.
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Another thought: depending on where you're setting out from, the easyjet bus service from Baker Street or Old Street, London, is a cheap alternative. Leaves every 15 mins, 75 mins journey and you don't have to hold an easyjet ticket, or even be an airline passenger. Costs from £2-£6 each way. Only downside, I can see, is going via the capital. On the return trip from Stansted, when you finally get beyond passport control, the main focus is on getting to the comfort of your own vehicle and driving home - 75 miles to Epsom in 70 mins, in my case, rather than going to London and then catching a train to Surrey. ... probably doubling journey time. Reckon I'll drive and enjoy my own space and pace.
Last edited by: Hacko on Mon 26 May 14 at 09:32
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Worth checking whether any of the airport hotels have a stay and park offer - Radisson Blu, Holiday Inn Express and Premier Inn are the three nearest to Stansted. Be aware the shuttle bus to the Holiday Inn and Premier Inn goes every 30 minutes and costs £3 per passenger each way.
Or, can you pick up the Stansted Express at Bishops Strotford and get cheaper parking at (or a cab to/from) your nearest train station?
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PS: Well worth checking in online for travel through Stansted to avoid the queues even if its not required by your airline, but also note Ryanair won't accept your bags until 2 hours before your flight leaves so reckon on plenty sitting around near check in if you arrive early.
Personally I'd be tempted to dodge the queues in Stansted by having everyone in the family bring their full 10kg carry-on allowance only on the way out, and packing some light fold-up holdalls (Karrimor do a handy one) so I could check whatever extra stuff I bought on hols on the way home.
But that's just me, and while I enjoy flying, I hate hanging around in airports!
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Not really. At Stansted it's a direct result of the District council, Uttesford, not allowing planning permission for car parking other than in designated areas around the airport. The local authority wishes to avoid the sprawl of such facilities in an area of unspoiled countryside.
Now everything comes at a cost. If you restrict car parking the prices will remain high. If you allow car parks to be built then prices will come down as they have around Gatwick but you will have a creeping destruction of some very nice countryside.
As in all thing you we have to decide what we want. It's not a "rip off", just the simple result of market supply and demand.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Mon 26 May 14 at 10:41
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No matter who is paying, I always use the short term car parks at airports. Generally speaking if you pre-book them on line they are not too bad.
Anything which shortens the amount of time I need to spend at airports is a good thing and is worth a small premium. When taken as a function of the total cost of a trip the additional cost is usually negligible.
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Friend was flying out from Manchester yesterday on a last minute week long holiday - I was shocked to see how much more expensive it has become this year. Cheapest we could get was Jet Parks (which I often use) at around 39 squids.. Manchester has become hateful last couple of years. We're off to Boston next week - flying out of Dublin. 30 minute drive to the port - free parking there - Leisurely crossing costing £32.00 return (Avios discount) - 20 Euro taxi drive to a 30 Euro airport hotel. Plus a cheaper and quicker direct flight - no airport tax. No brainer. Plus you feel as if you are on holiday straight away.
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Requires quite a lot of enforced proximity to "people" though that Rob. Not sure I'd be keen on that. Quite a lot of them smell you know.
Edit - every time I go on an aeroplane I get a cold. People y'see, people.
Last edited by: Runfer D'Hills on Mon 26 May 14 at 11:13
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Never had you down as the anti-social type RDH.
Reading the thread headline, I've realised I've never paid for parking at an airport. Nearly always get dropped off, and twice on a train. Either I pay for a taxi or work will sort out something similar out and drop me off.
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RE: Dublin airport - remember you can also pre-clear US immigration at Dublin and Shannon, so when you arrive in the US you either go straight out of the airport, or straight on to your connecting flight as though you were a US citizen.
Aer Lingus codeshare with JetBlue, and the major US carriers have daily flights to the east coast, allowing connections into Canada and central America too. So if you'd have to travel to Manchester or London for your flight, you may as well hop on a regional flight (less people to share the plane with!) instead - its no longer a journey overall, with less standing in queues!
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>> No matter who is paying, I always use the short term car parks at airports.
>> Generally speaking if you pre-book them on line they are not too bad.
>>
>> Anything which shortens the amount of time I need to spend at airports is a
>> good thing and is worth a small premium. When taken as a function of the
>> total cost of a trip the additional cost is usually negligible.
>>
Hear hear!! I think I'm getting much less tolerant of airports as well - in my twenties and thirties I was a very frequent flyer and but don't remember being half as irritated then as I am now, despite generally using much earlier flights than I'll book now, and travelling far more often. Though admittedly the whole experience is in general more tedious now...
And we're fortunate in that, from where we are, if the short stay parking does start to get too expensive a taxi to LHR or LGW is not that much as a proportion of the total cost of most trips either :-)
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The whole security thing at airports is a farce. It's clearly just a case of the authorities having to be seen to do 'something' while having no effect other than inconveniencing and humiliating bona fide travellers. Do they really imagine any self respecting terrorist is now going to attempt wander through with all his evil kit?
The real answer would be that we should ensure we are seen as a state you really don't want to mess with.
Ever.
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The US being seen as a state you really don't want to mess with didn't do the passengers and crew of Pan Am 103 much good :-(
Much though I dislike it, unfortnately security work is a no-win situation:
a) if you don't do it effectively, some nut will take advantage. Obviously this is Not Good.
b) if you do it effectively, even with the equipment curerntly available, its an inconvenience.
c) if it works, nothing bad happens, so people get frustrated at an 'unncessary' delay - see (b)
d) if it doesn't work, people really suffer - see (a)
Mind you, the worst parts are invariably the numpty who wants to argue the toss as to why he - and only he - is Far Too Important to have to go through the same procedure as everyone else, and the doozer who remembers his coins, keys, pocket knife, belt etc. one item at a time as the scanner goes 'beeeeeep' yet again and the line behind grows ever longer...
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long stay parking at Stansted - Runfer D'Hills
