British Airways NCE - lack of Fasttrack
 

As one of the largest operators at NCE T1 can someone explain why BA doesn't have Fasttrack for even CE passengers never mind Gold etc. Yesterday (1st Oct) the queues / despite a very efficient service) were still almost 30 min and when you see the fasttrack service offered to almost everyone but BA it begs the question "what have they done to upset the terminal operators"? - just interested to know why !

BA don't pay for this - simple

Because BA won't pay for it.

BA pay for it at most other outstations, anything specific about NCE as to why they won't there? Is it particularly expensive?

BA probably takes the position that, for the number of PAX they bring to the airport, they should get special treatment on Fast Track pricing

The airport possibly takes a different view, especially if BA has a high number of Fast Track users.

NCE is just a horrible airport all round, so why be surprised at this lack?

What time/flight was this for ?

I need to resassess whether my travel plans in November are feasible - and a 30min security queue would kill it.

Note : last time I was at NCE was October 2017 for an evening flight and I dont recall any significant queues.

I don't doubt that security at NCE can involve long queues on occasions, but out of at least 50 departures, I would say mostly I have waited less than 5 min, maybe hitting 10 or 15 min once or twice.

For anyone who really wants it, fasttrack can be purchased for €10 https://reservation.nice.aeroport.fr...itaire/2?LG=EN
Like fruitcage above, I usually find the normal queue fast enough so I wouldn't bother unless it's an obvious really busy time like Xmas/Easter/Monaco GP

It isn't. If it's affordable enough for Easyjet (not to mention AF and most other airlines), you can safely assume that it is priced reasonably. I suspect that the real reason is that NCE has an unusually high number of people who would be eligible because of very large CE cabins (often the max, and sometimes more than the supposed max) and very high proportion of status passengers (It's not unusual to have more than half of both cabins with seats pre-assigned at T-3 which tells you all that you need to know).

Anyway, I do think BA should offer it to passengers even though I don't need it myself.

Care to elaborate? And how is it the airport's fault if BA chooses not to pay for Fast track that has been offered there longer than any other French airport except Paris?

Let me just greet you to Flyertalk and the BA forum Triyanya. NCE is a popular service on this forum, so the pointers made above come from the regular users. I actually this it's not too bad an airport overall, the layout and sight lines perhaps make it look worse than it actually is, however I manage to avoid using NCE during les heures de pointe. Welcome to the forum.

Would you regard 13:00-14:00 on a Monday in November within "les heures de pointe" [rush hour] ? Monday 18th to be precise.

Non.

If you are unlucky, it will take you 15 minutes from completed check in (whether online or at kiosk) to gate including security and assuming you can’t use the passport machines. 10 or under is more likely.

rush hour would be something like 8.30pm on the Sunday of the Cannes festival or on a Sunday afternoon in mid July when DY are using long haul planes for their ARN and OSL flights at the same time as a full QR and an upgraded LY equipment. Or of course if there is one of the historically traditional (though not for a long time now) AF strike.

HUH? It's an older airport but seems OK. More importantly, it's in a good location, very close to downtown, plus you can get beautiful views as planes takeoff and land. There's also helicopter service to Monaco, etc. for those who want or "need" it.

NCE is unusual in that it's primarily a leisure destination yet is high yield.

Agree with everything else in your post but at the risk of going ot, despite popular belief, Nice airport traffic is actually 50-50 business and leisure. It’s one of the leading areas for research, high tech (including the historical hq for ibm’s European research, and of course Amadeus) and is also one of Europe’s main conference and trade destinations. [\patriotic hat off... ;) ]

Are you sure about this? If we are thinking about mainland Europe I would say it's probably actually a minority of outstations where BA provides Fasttrack access and in some cases only for CE passengers, not status passengers. However, I appreciate that your view will be skewed based on the locations you travel to most frequently.

Has the tram service started yet from the airport?

I would how much it actually costs in some airports.

The only airport that I know of that publicly states their fast track security charge is Helsinki which is €2 per person.

Yes for about a year. Right now it ends at avenue Jean Medecin (near place Massena), the full route, all the way to the harbour will be in service from 14 December.

Line 3 (up the Plaine du Var to and past the stadium) will be operational in 2020.

A good comparison is VCE, fast track and great lounge, no bus to the aircraft, a far better experience.

Indeed. For instance, I think BRU only has it for C but not GCH. It seems to be very ad hoc.

It's a bit annoying, but personally I mind it much less than BA not paying for lounge access where it exists.

Thanks, will do some research.

I am really surprised by your 50-50 statistics. Do you have a source? Does it apply to all pax at NCE or just BA?
That being said, it is true that Cannes (and to some extent Nice) is a leading venue for conferences and seminars.
T2 (AF, Easyjet, DL, EK, SU) has become a very nice terminal, but I find T1 not very pleasant.

And an extremely handy alternative to NCE....

:confused:

It was in the Nice airport stats about the air traffic being 50-50 leisure/business, so not for BA only (which I suspect has more personal/leisure than average if only given the number of regular commuters with secondary homes), and I suspect outgoing is a bit more business-oriented and incoming a bit less. Overall visitors on the Cote d'Azur are roughly 20% business-80% personal+leisure but that includes cars, cruises, and coaches all of which are almost 100% leisure (and cars is the biggest influx by far) and train which is also more leisure oriented given the paucity of fast train links into Nice.

Nice is actually a significantly larger venue for conferences than Cannes, the second after Paris in France. Cannes has a few iconic ones like the MIPIM in March, but some of Nice's regular annual congresses notably in the health field (medicine, pharmacy, etc) actually add up to more. Monaco also has a number of significant congresses.

PS I don't think we should get too OT though!

I'm not sure why VCE would be a particularly apt comparison apart from the similar airport codes, but more importantly, your summary above is actually incorrect. There are busses at VCE too, and in fact a higher proportion of BA flights get them, especially in the summer when several of the BA flights from LCY/LHR/LGW have overlapping times (LCY/LGW in the morning, LGW/LHR in the evening). NCE has a lot more BA rotations and typically the same absolute number of them using bus gates (either 1 or 2 a day in peak summer mostly).

I actually absolutely love VCE airport, so certainly don't expect me to criticise it. Like you, I really love the lounge with its open terrace (but that's very unusual in Europe, though there are a few similar examples in Greece/Cyprus), which is a wonderful place to sip a spritz, and obviously heading to the city with vaporetti is magical. I also enjoy the "DIY connections" which are fun.

That said, getting to the city be it by public or private transport takes at least three times longer. It is also massively more expensive. Public transport to Venice costs €15 whilst in Nice, both bus and tramway will cost you €1 per trip if you buy a carnet of 10 (available at the bus kiosk just outside of arrivals) or €1.50 if you just buy a single on the spot. Typical uber to Nice city centre will cost you between €10 and 18 and take 10-15 minutes, whilst any private transport in Venice will leave a serious dent to your bank account.

Nice also has two different types of fast track (again, it's only that BA choose not to pay for it but that's not the airport fault), and unlike VCE, you get lounges in every area, which means that you don't have to double guess how long immigration will take and cut your stay short as is the case in Venice where the lounges are only in the Schengen area.

I’d like Summer BA flights to TLN with fast track, but it’ll probably not happen.

Thanks for the further interesting information regarding VCE. I’ll lower my expectations regarding bussing when I next visit. I’ve had recent experience at both NCE and VCE and VCE was so much better.

:D
TBH, give me direct flights to TLN and I'd be a happy bunny. Never mind the fast track. :)

There used to be some with Cityjet for a short while right? I knew a couple of people with whom those were quite popular! I think that nowadays there is still a seasonal Flybe from Southampton but nothing else between TLN and the UK. I wouldn't be surprised if someone stepped in there but that would likely be seasonal and restrictive.

Correct. Seasonal and 2 or 3 times a week. Did not last long, though. It was at the time when they were trying new routes left right and centre for a season or two without any coherent strategy and then abandoning them to try something else. Looking back further past, Ryanair operated a STN-TLN at some point (also seasonal). Not sure if the market is big enough, to be honest, especially with the high frequencies to NCE and, or course, MRS (albeit at a much lower frequency) is fairly close. The fact that AF has also introduced two daily rotations from CDG in the last couple of years has, I suspect, dented a little further the room for direct services.

GT operated BA flights in BA colours LGW-TLN in 2003.