London - Great City, Poor Transit Option
London is a great city, not a great transit option!
Forget my previous advise about using London as a transit hub and money saving option to reach Europe! I passed through London the other day and I have had a change of heart. First, while London is a great city, it is probably best to enjoy it as a stopover rather than try to pass through. One of my first challenges in my transit was changing airports from Heathrow to Gatwick. By itself, that is pretty easy really. But of course you have to go through all the immigration stuff to do so; hauling your bags along the way. But, here are the most important points:
1. London airports only allow you 1 carry on per person – regardless of size and type! So, if it’s a small purse, or large rolling bag – they count equally. For Americans and I presume Canadians, this could be a problem since travelers from those countries are allowed to have what they call in America “1 carry on” plus a handbag/laptop bag, etc. This counts as 2 bags in London. I found this out the hard way – twice! First, after rechecking in for my flight out of Gatwick I arrived at the security checkpoint to learn I couldn’t carry on the way I had coming to England. I was given the option to combine my bags into one (impossible) or return to check in counter and check my bag. So, I returned to check in and did the line again! A traveling companion tried to combine bags and when completed she was refused because the new combined bag exceeded the carry on size allowed! So, she too had to return to check in again.
2. Discount airlines. While we saved thousands on the purchase of 4 tickets to London plus a connection on EasyJet; the savings are questionable in the face of problems using the discounters – in this case EasyJet. Anything but easy! Expectations were of course low since it is an advertised no frills carrier, but the kicker is their antiquated abilities to process passengers – a truly puzzling system for a supposedly cost conscious company. To start you wait in line, you are allowed one bag per person in the price of your ticket – checked. If you have 2 bags to check, you pay 10 GBP – no big deal – except that the ticket counter can’t process your charge. You have to go stand in a different line where someone writes up a handwritten receipt of payment, makes a handwritten journal entry into an 18th century logbook about the added bag, and then you can return to the first line to get your boarding passes! If you think these lines are short – think again! Instead, think long lines of travelers spending the least amount possible and then imagine long unruly lines! Voila – a picture of happiness for someone who has just traveled overnight transatlantic or even further from Australia/NZ!
Now, because of the above Point Number 1, I got to experience point number 2 – two times! A real pleasure! Then once complete, the security line was the next navigation hurdle to clear, but happily its less cumbersome than the USA security lines. Then, you come to the next BIG problem with the European discounters and London:
Delays, pandemonium, weather!
It is not uncommon for the discounters to run behind schedule. Our case was no exception. This again is probably something that is accepted by most travelers in the price paid. However, is that something a transatlantic traveler wants to add on to the end of a very long voyage already? I don’t think so! Next, of course is the zoo-like atmosphere that exists at the gate of a discounter. Everyone literally fights to get on the plane as if they will be left behind. People crowd around the gate from the moment they get into the gate area. We paid for “speedy boarding” a service offered by Easy Jet because I knew this European mentality for pushing ahead. Unfortunately, Easy Jet did not make it possible for Easy Boarding passengers to get on and the crowd around the gate made it impossible to get through. So, we boarded when we could. Finally, London has famously bad weather and heavy air traffic. Delays are common as a result.
So, in summary, avoid London unless you plan to stop and visit. I can’t see any benefit unless the savings are very substantial; the drain on long haul travelers (and their kids) is intolerable and will impact the next days of your precious vacation.
Forget my previous advise about using London as a transit hub and money saving option to reach Europe! I passed through London the other day and I have had a change of heart. First, while London is a great city, it is probably best to enjoy it as a stopover rather than try to pass through. One of my first challenges in my transit was changing airports from Heathrow to Gatwick. By itself, that is pretty easy really. But of course you have to go through all the immigration stuff to do so; hauling your bags along the way. But, here are the most important points:
1. London airports only allow you 1 carry on per person – regardless of size and type! So, if it’s a small purse, or large rolling bag – they count equally. For Americans and I presume Canadians, this could be a problem since travelers from those countries are allowed to have what they call in America “1 carry on” plus a handbag/laptop bag, etc. This counts as 2 bags in London. I found this out the hard way – twice! First, after rechecking in for my flight out of Gatwick I arrived at the security checkpoint to learn I couldn’t carry on the way I had coming to England. I was given the option to combine my bags into one (impossible) or return to check in counter and check my bag. So, I returned to check in and did the line again! A traveling companion tried to combine bags and when completed she was refused because the new combined bag exceeded the carry on size allowed! So, she too had to return to check in again.
2. Discount airlines. While we saved thousands on the purchase of 4 tickets to London plus a connection on EasyJet; the savings are questionable in the face of problems using the discounters – in this case EasyJet. Anything but easy! Expectations were of course low since it is an advertised no frills carrier, but the kicker is their antiquated abilities to process passengers – a truly puzzling system for a supposedly cost conscious company. To start you wait in line, you are allowed one bag per person in the price of your ticket – checked. If you have 2 bags to check, you pay 10 GBP – no big deal – except that the ticket counter can’t process your charge. You have to go stand in a different line where someone writes up a handwritten receipt of payment, makes a handwritten journal entry into an 18th century logbook about the added bag, and then you can return to the first line to get your boarding passes! If you think these lines are short – think again! Instead, think long lines of travelers spending the least amount possible and then imagine long unruly lines! Voila – a picture of happiness for someone who has just traveled overnight transatlantic or even further from Australia/NZ!
Now, because of the above Point Number 1, I got to experience point number 2 – two times! A real pleasure! Then once complete, the security line was the next navigation hurdle to clear, but happily its less cumbersome than the USA security lines. Then, you come to the next BIG problem with the European discounters and London:
Delays, pandemonium, weather!
It is not uncommon for the discounters to run behind schedule. Our case was no exception. This again is probably something that is accepted by most travelers in the price paid. However, is that something a transatlantic traveler wants to add on to the end of a very long voyage already? I don’t think so! Next, of course is the zoo-like atmosphere that exists at the gate of a discounter. Everyone literally fights to get on the plane as if they will be left behind. People crowd around the gate from the moment they get into the gate area. We paid for “speedy boarding” a service offered by Easy Jet because I knew this European mentality for pushing ahead. Unfortunately, Easy Jet did not make it possible for Easy Boarding passengers to get on and the crowd around the gate made it impossible to get through. So, we boarded when we could. Finally, London has famously bad weather and heavy air traffic. Delays are common as a result.
So, in summary, avoid London unless you plan to stop and visit. I can’t see any benefit unless the savings are very substantial; the drain on long haul travelers (and their kids) is intolerable and will impact the next days of your precious vacation.
posted by Loren Siekman @ 9:59 AM
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