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Slight OT - Ex EU Flights - Your Preferred Airport
Just a bit of light hearted conversation...
when booking your ex-EU flight, do you have a preferred EU airport to leave from?
Do you choose your departure airport based on facilities there? Or flight time?
ie, would you choose AMS because it's a nice short flight, or would you choose Barcelona because the airport is nice and roomy?
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Slight OT - Ex EU Flights - You're Preferred Airport
I personally choose Milan as I actually spend a couple of days there either side of the LH flight. Have choice of LIN or MXP depending on whether I want to go to lakes and Switzerland or stay in Milan.
If I am pushed for time, I'd use AMS as I can get positioning flights from LGW, which being Brighton based, saves a trip to LHR.
Cost saving compared with ex-LON and flight time of the positioning sectors would vie as my main determinants - in other words I wouldn't go to ATH to save £500 off a weekend trip to NYC; I would, however, consider doing so to save £1,000 for a two week holiday to EZE.
Ease of turnaround and number of daily flights to guard against irrops would also figure prominently. I have done AMS, CDG and LIN, with AMS being far and away the most convenient.
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Did CDG recently (and with family) - saved £1,300 on the holiday after taking into account the extra flight and airport hotel (I play on the safe side, I often like to stay in an airport hotel the night before even if departing from London for holidays as I find the stress of leaving / Heathrow a bad way to start the holiday).
6 hours in Paris meant a nice meal and plenty of built in time for IROPS. Expected horrors as never used it as a transit airport, and was pleasantly surprised. If I'm not flying BA in future from Paris, may look at the Eurostar asconnections as saw one ways with change (in Lille - to avoid Paris?) for about £39 that were very quick, and didn't realise the train station was underneath the airport. St Pancras is very close to where I live as well. Anywhere further than AMS / BRU i'd probably choose an interesting city and stopover.
AMS for me, because I sometimes start from BHX, so I can use KLM for the positioning flight. It also avoids the need for a 2 hour coach journey down to LHR.
Did an ex-EU for the first time over Christmas/New Year, with the family. We went out via Milan/LIN, and stayed the night at an airport hotel. Return via Genoa, because it is a LGW flight, so after coming back into LHR we could go to the arrivals lounge, get the car, drive home to drop bags, and then drive to LGW (I live 15 minutes from LGW).
We chose Italy because it was the cheapest option.
The outbound was easy to explain, but the return was more difficult (why do we have to go to Italy for 20 minutes when we're already home?)
Programs: Many. Too many. I came here to cut them down. I failed.
Posts: 704
Quote:
Originally Posted by oscietra
Do the children enjoy the extra flights/understand why they are doing all these extra journeys...?
It's a good question and the answer is no, it was just part of a journey. The kids (1 & 6) wouldn't understand.
But the saving was the difference between squeezing in an extra long haul holiday and not having one, and they had an amazing time once there so it made sense to us. As people have said when you weigh us time / cost you make a decision based on additional discomfort for all involved. Wouldn't do it for short haul or anything less than 2 full weeks.
Edit - and of course on the return we just got off at LHR and that was that!
