I'm replying to everyone in one giant post. Sorry.
Originally Posted by
alanR
Nottingham is at least an hour from BHX. I'd also look into flights from Manchester Airport as it has a train service from Nottingham into the airport or National Express coach service into Heathrow. You could also look at returning via Paris as KLM / AF are the same company. Or for Skyteam options. EMA tends to be low costs airlines so doesn't offer good connections for long haul. Is there a reason it *has* to be KLM? I would have thought one of the US airlines into London and either out of London or Manchester (AA has direct flights to both)
Look for the most expensive tickets. The more expensive the ticket, the more flexibility you'll get. Seat reservations when they are available are free so you should't be worried about them. But you don't have to have a seat reservation in order to board a train
Well, that explains why I've never been through EMA. The problem is that the flights I'm finding from MAN and BHX are at, say, 10:00 am at the latest and the first train or coach from Nottingham doesn't get to either airport until, say, 8:00 am. With the heavy bags it takes a little more time to get from the door to the gate, and the airport website says to be there three hours ahead of time. It doesn't *have* to be KLM but that is mostly what I'm finding now.
I know you don't need a seat reservation in order to *board* a train, and I know that they don't cost anything, but I do remember not being able to actually *sit down* on that train once for quite some time because everything was either taken or reserved, so it's something I've wondered about. It only happened that one time, but it was pretty awful.
Originally Posted by
Swiss Tony
There's a Novotel at Birmingham airport, right across from the terminal, and they sell rooms for just £50 or so (try top secret hotels on lastminute if the property direct is too expensive).
You can get a train from Nottingham to Birmingham New Street then a connection every 10 mins or so to Birmingham International (Airport).
Awesome and awesome. I did not know either of these things. Thank you. Even if the train doesn't make it early enough, it's good to know that he won't be arrested for vagrancy!
Originally Posted by
mad_rich
Is he going to London because he wants to, or because that's the way the flights work out?
From EMA, there are triple-daily flights with BMI to BRU or FRA. These may well be disappearing or changing if the airline changes hands, but next week is safe! I think they're still offering connections on *A.
Certainly EMA is the closest airport for Nottingham, and I would treat your friend to a taxi if he can't get a lift to the airport. Failing that, there is a bus link to the city
http://www.eastmidlandsairport.com/e...AndFromAirport
Trains:
Have a read of the advice on this forum for the general advice on train tickets.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...-rail-faq.html
In short, you might be able to get a single, inflexible ticket for London-Nottingham from around £10 - valid for one specific train & time only. A walk-up ticket is around £55 if your friend avoids peak trains or £75 if he goes during peak hours.
I very rarely bother with a seat reservation unless I know I'm travelling at a particularly busy time, though I don't know that route. Quite often reservations go unused, you can often take one of these seats if nobody's turned up to claim it.
He is going to London to hang out with a couple of old friends who live there for a day or two before going up north.
I did find a train ticket St Pancras-Nottingham for £17, so we might do that. When I lived there I never paid less than £45 and only bothered to get a reservation once, I think.
Originally Posted by
big_mac
This, in general, is not good advice.
It would be easy to end up with just an expensive but inflexible ticket - they DO sell inflexible tickets which cost more than the flexible tickets.
Megabus also sell cheap, inflexible, train tickets to Nottingham - but inflexible tickets are obviously of limited use if arriving on a flight.
If you don't know when you will travel, then there is no advantage to buying in advance. You could spend a lot of money on buying a ticket when a much cheaper ticket is suitable for you.
Getting to BHX or MAN by train will usually involve changing trains, and Birmingham New St isn't the easiest place to change with luggage.
There are direct coaches to MAN, but it takes a while.
Depending on the time of day/week, Gatwick may just be one change of train as well. You could then buy a return train ticket from London which would save some money, compared to two singles.
What is the '10-minute transfer' question about? From bus to train? train to airport?
The 10-minute transfer would be from coach to coach or train to train on the way to the airport, and I meant with the luggage. Anyone could make it with one small bag, but he's not going to be moving fast.
The £17 train ticket I mentioned above was on the Megabus site, I think. He will be in London for a day or two, so he can plan in advance.
Originally Posted by
Wally Bird
New Street isn't that bad; it's a gloomy, depressing place but they do have lifts(elevators).
Anyway, assuming he's going via AMS then the least painful way is to fly to LGW and buy a return train ticket to Nottingham. Just one change at St. Pancras. LCY is awful to get to/from anywhere except the City.
He's meeting his friends in the City when he arrives. And here's something that surprised me: it turns out to be cheaper and quicker to fly into LCY than to fly into anywhere else and then try to get into the City.
Originally Posted by
Swiss Tony
But I don' think KLM fly from LGW to AMS any more.
New Street has a bad reputation but as noted there are lifts. Alternatively you can get a coach direct from Nottingham to Heathrow - takes just over 3hrs. Luggage policy is 2 cases up to 20kgs each, plus a smaller item.
http://www.nationalexpress.com/coach...ge_policy.aspx
Everyone, thank you so very much for the kind advice. Keep it coming, and let me know if I can explain the situation any better. I apologize if I'm not making sense entirely, but I've been studying these badly-designed flight-finder sites and the rail sites which are almost as bad and on the phone with airlines and trying to connect with people in Nottingham for a couple of days now. I've read lots of information on lots of sites, but I needed real human beings to tell me the things you are telling me and it is a great help.