Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
Why Can you remember those days when you reached the airport an hour before the flight with a ticket sent through post? When there were at least two employees behind each desk to check your luggage and issue boarding passes? And when the flight landed in the city the advertisement was given?
‘Cynics R Us’
A Yes, I remember those days. And with the exception of the more relaxed check-in time frame and airport security experience, they were terrible. The rent was ridiculously high. One reason for this was the high cost of “distribution” – that is, getting tickets to passengers. When? easyJet When Stelios was founded, the entrepreneur realized that paper tickets purchased from a travel agency and sent through the post wasted time and money. Initially, Britain’s largest budget airline sold only by phone, then soon everything went online.
Today, you can book a flight on your smartphone within minutes, and often check-in straight away (though I’d strongly argue that the check-in process is an unnecessary hassle). The cost of making each transaction has dropped from several pounds to a few pence, reducing fares. As easyJet celebrates its 30th birthday over the winter, one notable aspect of aviation’s transformation is this: when it introduced a £29 one-way journey between Luton and Scotland’s two main cities, it was revolutionary. Today, you can easily find fares from Luton to Edinburgh and Glasgow for under £29.
Who needs humans? Self-service bag drop is a boon. arrive one morning Stansted Airport With a folding bike to check-in just 48 minutes before departure for my Ryanair flight to France (following a Network Rail failure), and a folding bike, the process was so seamless that I even had time for a coffee (made and served by a human) on the way to the gate.
To your point about flights landing “in the advertised city”: a growing range of secondary airports across Europe add options. While Hahn is of no use in western Germany if your destination is Frankfurt, the former US Air Force base is an excellent gateway to the expanse of the Moselle. Similarly, Västerås in Sweden isn’t quite Stockholm – but a charming riverside town full of beautiful architecture and charming cafés.
Most of all, I celebrate the amazing safety standards achieved by aviation. it This is the golden age of flying.
Why On the subject of airport drop-off fees for cars, I think the idea that they are incentivizing people on public transportation to be kinder to the environment is ridiculous. You are about to board a jet plane that burns tons of fuel. What next? Do you think this idea could also extend to dropping people off at the railway station?
Neil R
A Yes, the railway station is next. I believe it’s only a matter of time before drop-off fees are implemented – and not just on new give high speed station. Traffic congestion is an increasing concern due to people being dropped off at major stations (except, of course, at Leeds, as construction work currently makes it almost impossible to get to the station in a vehicle).
In London, all rail termini are on the Tube network and there are plenty of buses. There is also a good service to Birmingham New Street, Manchester Piccadilly, Edinburgh Waverley and Newcastle. Most intercity travelers can use public transportation.
I guess the first step would be to quietly add a few pounds of surcharge. uber Pick-up and drop-off at major rail stations. The technology for this is fairly straightforward (this already happens with Uber at some railway stations in India). There should be an option to drop/pick up somewhere nearby without charging a fee (and without simply having to move the crowd). Such a move may prove sufficient to reduce driving demand at stations. I think going under the guise of airport-style barriers or “pay online before midnight tomorrow” would be a step too far.
Return to airports. Are they falsely claiming green certificates to bring cars or increasing drop-off charges for them? I don’t think any airport would expect us to happily pay, assuming we’re saving the planet. But local traffic congestion, noise and pollution on the roads serving airports are significant. However, the argument for a drop-off fee would be more solid if the revenue were earmarked for improving public transportation at the airport.
Why I have been lucky enough to visit Iran, and so I need a full US visa instead of the normal it To go to America. I use Visa frequently for transit flights. It expires in March 2027.
annoying, my UK passport Now it’s overrun with tickets, because it seems like every time you sneeze in the EU you get two tickets. I will probably need to get a new passport early next year to ensure I have enough blank pages for visas for countries like India, which require two blank pages.
Any advice on how I can continue using the US visa until 2027? It takes four or five months to buy a new one.
gary r
A frequent visitors schengen area (including most of the EU as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) see the pages in their passports being used up by entry and exit stamps at an alarming rate. Half a page of the passport is used on each journey. This will continue until April 2026, when the digital EU entry-exit system will replace stamping.
As you have indicated, the problem may affect travel to other countries. The obvious answer for anyone in your situation is to get a second British passport. These are routinely issued to anyone who has a reasonable excuse. I assume you have to travel regularly for business; Your employer can probably provide a letter stating that you should make frequent trips while arranging for the visa.
You can apply for a replacement online in the usual way, but then you have to go “analogue” and speak to UK Passport Office staff to explain why you won’t send your existing passport. Demand for passports is low at the moment, so this is an excellent time to apply. If you get a second passport immediately, you can start using it for trips to the EU – while keeping the existing passport along with your US visa. When a visa is due for renewal, you won’t have to worry about being without a passport during its processing.
Finally, you say you use Visa mostly for transit flights. As for destinations in Latin America, you may be aware that Air Canada is making a big push to offer onward connections for British travelers via Montreal and Toronto with some attractive fares. A Canadian eTA is required, but they don’t mind if you’ve been to Iran – and only charge C$7 (£4).
Why With a maximum five-hour flight time from the UK, where do you go for sunshine in March or April?
area b
A The best combination of sunshine and culture is found in North Africa and the southern Mediterranean. To be as confident as possible about the sun, egypt The answer is – especially luxorWhich is just under five hours by flight from the UK (though hailing a taxi takes about an extra 20 minutes, which adds to a tiring journey). EasyJet has two flights a week from Luton. Luxor offers access to the highest concentration of antiquities in the world, and is also a relatively small, quiet and friendly city.
malta It is close and easy to reach from across the UK, and also has deep cultural roots; Take a trip to Gozo’s sister island if you can.
Another strong contender: tunisiaEven in March, you can expect bright, sunny days (although the Mediterranean will still be cool), With plenty of daylight, but without the scorching heat of summer, March and April are excellent months to explore this fascinating North African country, Start with the capital, Tunis: a combination of Arabic intensity and French style, Nearby Carthage is a major archaeological site and worth spending a day with – although this city-state that once dominated the western Mediterranean has become strangely entangled with the suburbs, Also: Sidi Bou Said, a clifftop village that captures the character of Tunisia most succinctly – with blue-and-white painted huts clustered around cobbled streets, However, most travelers aim for the chain of resorts south along the east-facing coast from Hammamet,
Neighboring Algeria is equally sunny, but not yet well prepared for tourism. The resorts of Morocco, the Portuguese island of Madeira and Spain’s Canary Islands are worth considering. But they are sensitive to Atlantic weather: the ocean is often more powerful than the sky.
Email your question to s@hols.tv or tweet @SimonCalder