To complete this journey:

Arrival at HND - slightly old Toyota Crown
Departure from HND - Mercedes S-Class LWB with most of the options list ticked
Arrival at MAN - Mercedes E-Class, apparently one of only two booked CD passengers on the flight

BKK has been a Mercedes E-Class when I've used it.

Can I Book Chauffeur Service Dover to Gatwick (80 miles)?
 

Hi all. I'll be getting off a cruise in Dover, England & then catching a very late flight from Gatwick in paid bsuiness class. From where I'm from (New Zealand) we can pay extra to be driven outside the "free zone" but it's unclear if I can do this in England: the "free zone" is 70 miles & so Dover-Gatwick will be an additional 10 miles on top of that (but potentially very congested traffic). When I select my New Zealand car service, it tells me how much additional miles are. But when I select London's it only tells me there is a 70 mile limit & that's that. Thanks in-advance for any help!

Yes, you can do that. Just book the car via MMB (I presume you are not on a 'special' - H bucket - fare in which case you don't qualify for a car). You will have to pay the driver directly for the excess, I believe this can be done either by card or in cash but not 100% sure about that. I did LHR to Canterbury in March last year and that was over 90 miles, but they still used 'a radius of 70 miles' then and I was just inside the red circle. But I was told then that excess milage would have been no problem would be payable to the driver.

As far as congestion is concerned, maybe a bit on the M25 (depending on the time of day) but it's not that bad. I regularly do CD to and from Canterbury (which is 69 miles or so...) and it has never taken me more than 1 hour 20 minutes.

Fantastic, thank you :) that well answers my question.

If anyone reads this, my next question is can I drop my bags and check in earlier than 3 hours before my flight? It seems they operate a flight out of Gatwick at 2:30pm so if I arrive in time while they are manning the desk, could u drop my bags for the 9pm flight and go through security? I have done this before but with my usual airline, Air New Zealand. It would be helpful to spend the time in the lounge catching up on work. Thank you for anyone that can help me with that second question, cheers :)

I am not sure if check in accepts bags early .




I usually take a day use room at one of the hotels in the airport ( there are many options directly linked to the terminals ).

I have seen people waiting for late flights in the EK lounge but they may have connected at gatwick from another flight.

You may find the lounge closes for a period after the first flight leaves. The timings you give are similar to the twice daily GLA service, and the lounge there definitely closes.

According to the EK website, the LGW lounge does not close between flights. There are three daily flights, relatively evenly spaced out over the day, the lounge is said to be open 06:00 to 20:25. It’s one of my ‘regular’ lounges, no apron views but excellent food!

Looks like you had the exact same experience as me: an email stating that you should expect an S Class, yet an E Class showed up...

Indeed, bit strange on Tristar's part. However, still stand by my point that I don't think there's anything intrinsically 'not first class' about an airline providing a free chauffeur service in an E-Class.

LGW’s opening hours are on a sign by the stairwell entrance...except everyone takes the elevators to enter the lounge so no one sees it...

Hello. I had booked a car to take us from the airport to our hotel when we arrive in Dubai from Durban on Sunday. Our plans have now changed and we are going straight through to LHR. Do I need to actively cancel the car at this moment in time or could I do it from the lounge when we are in transit. Thank you.

I wouldn't bother cancelling at DXB... There are literally hundreds of cars and drivers. I bet there are a hundred no-shows a day.

In Dubai, there is no actual 'pre-booked' car allocated to you, you just go to the CD area and they will assign you one.
Therefore no need to cancel anything actually.
It's different at outstations, where they would at least appreciate a cancellation as then your allocated car / driver doesn't have to wait for you.

The mobile app provides a very easy convenient way to cancel your car booking. It is what I have used in the past.