aardvarkdave

florens

jdsworld

I think you're being slightly harsh on me there, no way am I self-entitled. I have never used GVA airport previously, and I'm sure nearly everyone has a slight degree of anxiety when departing an airport for the first time. That, combined with warnings from friends about the awfulness of the airport made me arrive exactly two hours before my flight. And according to the website, the time bag drop opens. The fact the lady gave me misinformation about being too early is where I get frustrated - a explanation of delays etc and that they needed to manage luggage storage and would I possibly mind waiting to drop my bag would have been far better. Also, as I said above, she told me wait 30 mins, and if security was as bad 30 mins later then when I went through, there's no doubt I'd have been in danger of missing my flight, or at least facing a sprint. That's why I'm unhappy. I was in no way rude to the lady and I didn't force my way through. Also, when I joined the bag drop queue the groups in front of me were all LCY-bound also, so why were they allowed through when I was blocked?

Had I turned up four hours ahead, I'd have had no issue with her telling me to turn back, but I was there within two hours, perfectly allowable.

I'm sure bag drop staff do put up with a lot and the vast majority do a great job, but this lady deserves no praise.

thebigben

Could one say it's un-Swiss because it is ran by the French?

More seriously, it's not a great airport. Should be said that check-in is T-3h, and I'd have insisted to get my bags checked.

Swissroll

Certain airports in Ski Season are best avoided at all possible costs. Geneva and Salzburg being my top 2 to avoid if at all possible.

Lolbert

I was there last night, checked in at Club counters at around 7pm. Only two of the five Club counters were manned and the queue to check in was long. Didn't seem like the situation was being well managed by Dnata. Having said this, the crowds at security, in the Lounge and at passport control were not bad at all.

Concerto

I suppose you're right, when I think about it and look at it objectively. But my feeling for the place is coloured by the fact that I have made a lot of ground breaking trips through it when I was younger, so it carries a certain baggage of memories for me. The few times I flew BA, the whole experience was fine. But come to think of it, I did encounter on a couple of widely separated occasions snotty check in staff when flying SWISS. Including a naughty schoolboy lecture for standing in the Business class check in as a FTL on Lufthansa. I took the line from the operetta Ciboulette by Reynaldo Hahn, which goes moi, j'm'en fou - moi, j'm'en fou...

CharliesAngels

You are making the argument as to why you loved your first kiss, or your first girl/boy friend. I know exactly what you mean though

catandmouse

GVA is my home base, so I end up going there frequently. Avoid the airport on Saturdays during the ski season, until just after Easter. On a typical Saturday the airport will be handling up to 10 times more passengers than on a normal day and the infrastructure has difficulty coping.
The two new scanning machines in security are a major improvement, they're 3D scanners and there's no need to remove anything from bags, just empty pockets. The human scanning machines are the same as everywhere. However the throughput in the new machines is significantly faster because there's no faffing around with emptying liquids and laptops and far fewer trays are needed. The machines are currently being evaluated.
There's a new long-haul wing being built with the result that currently all long-haul flights are bussed. Things are complicated in GVA because there are effectively 3 sectors in the airport, Schengen, French domestic and non-Schengen and depending on where your plane is parked, you may need bussing to or from the flight. This doesn't affect the BA flights which are always in the non-Schengen zone of the airport though the LCY flights seem to get apron positions for some reason.
My 2 cents, it's not a thrilling airport, but is functional. Avoid on Saturdays in winter.

Nicoolio

I think the benefit of GVA is its proximity to the city center. It compares well hotel to airport much better than many other European cities - and if you hop on the train it's something like seven minutes. Also, you get off the train and your are up an escalator and in the terminal.

The terminal is old and sometimes overcrowded. There can be long lines for immigration (non-EU) particularly if you come in behind a flight from the Middle East. Lounges are so-so IMO. The BA lounge is average, but then again, the LX F lounge is nothing special. However, even going out to the remote gates is not that long a walk.

But for convenience, I am trying to think of another European city where the airport is as convenient - certainly not LHR, LGW, MAD, CDG, ORY, FRA, MUC, VIE, FCO - maybe LIN - but no train that I'm aware of and virtually all bus gates.

Concerto

DUS isn't bad. And TXL is quite close to the action in Berlin.

ung1

GVA is not pretty, but its efficient. Getting to the airport from anywhere in Switzerland by train, and it is one of the few airports I have been where they increase the number of priority security lanes when the line gets long.

rickg523

If one is British, I'm certain that's exactly what one does say!
Not sure most Brits would even bother with the jk emoji.

ThatT1Feeling

You can insist all you want at GVA. Club / GGL etc makes no difference. They can't store the bags in peak season and you won't be able to check in your bags (or even maybe go through security) until they say so - not when you say so. I have tried the insisting route - even had the GGL line call them - and no way. And my French is pretty good - so even that didn't help!

Truthmonkey

Why are French domestic and Schengen treated differently?