An airport in England has started charging airline passengers to “kiss and drop” zone outside its main terminal.
All drivers, including taxis, will have to fork out STG1 ($A2.07) for spending up to 10 minutes in the drop-off zone at Luton Airport, north of London. It’s the first of it’s kind in England, but isn’t likely to be the last. This comes after the airport recently introduced other charges, ranging from baggage trollies to the ability to jump security queues and needing plastic bags for your liquids in your carry ons.
As you can imagine, these new fees haven’t been all that popular, but the airport has defended the fees as something it needs to do to keep the airport running smoothly and within its budget constraints. Not everyone needs to pay these fees though. While the charge to “kiss and drop” isn’t excessive, it can be avoided altogether – the free carpark is only a two minute bus ride away. With that in mind, is this fee really a money making scheme, or just another luxury that a passenger can pay for?
After all, we don’t all need to fly first class. Do we?
Are you just as tired of those hidden hotel charges as I? On a recent trip overseas, we found ourselves nickel and dimed to death. So I had a read around the net, and found that Andrea Bennett had the same issues as I, and put together a lengthy article on how to avoid these charges in the future.
(Travel + Leisure) — Shortly after its opening in 2006, I decided to visit the Lodge at Woodloch, a destination spa deep in the Poconos. Upon my arrival from New York, I discovered the property had no cellular service, so I made several calls home from my room phone, expecting to fork over little more than a dollar. Imagine my surprise when my hotel bill revealed a $7.38 charge for each time I picked up the receiver, despite having never actually reached anyone.
Read the rest of the entry here. It’ll be worth your time, I promise.
One of the toughest problems with flying these days are the limits airlines are now putting on their passengers and the amount of luggage one can bring with them on the plane. Often just one piece of checked luggage is allowed for domestic flights (unless you’re flying in Business class), and two for international. Kind of makes you want to go out and buy the largest size suitcase allowed, and fill it to the brim. In case you’re wondering, it varies from destination to destination, but to and from the US, it’s generally 32kg (70lbs) with the total dimensions of the 2 pieces not exceed 270cm (106in).
While there’s generally not a way around the limitations that airlines put on you, as a traveller, we’ve got a few tips that might help you maximise the space you have.
1. Pack neatly. Seriously. Folding clothes properly will actually allow you to pack more into the small space you’ve got. Even better, try using vacuum sealed bags. Space Bags seal and compact your clothes easily, using your home vacuum to suck out the extra air. These take the extra air out of gaps and help really ’smoosh’ the clothes in there.
2. Wear the heavy clothes. Ok, so you might not always wear a parka, or large jacket, or even need one for where you’re going, but if you do: wear it. We all know it’s cold on the plane. Why not wear your jacket? Sure, you might not wear it the entire flight, but it sure does double nicely as a pillow.
3. I’m sure you’ve seen everyone else fighting over the overhead bins. Why? Because their carryon bag is huge. Yep. It goes back to maximising space. If you’re using old luggage, that doesn’t maximise the allocated bag space, it may be worthwhile going out and buying just one or two new bags that are as big as you can get. You can find luggage pretty cheap these days, and don’t worry about getting the good stuff. They’re going to get banged up anyways, and when they do, just chuck ‘em out and buy new ones.
4. Overweight? No problem. It’s better to overpack then bring along a 3rd suitcase. It’s also cheaper. By paying the overweight fee most airlines have these days, you’re saving money than if you were to bring a 3rd suitcase. It is in fact cheaper, at least with most airlines. They’ll slap you with a overweight fee (varies by airline) and a large bright sticker to warn the baggage handlers, and you’re golden. Well, bright orange at least.
Just pack as lightly as you can.
Moving? No? Ah, just traveling, I see. What are you going to bring? Everything? Ok, we’ve got a problem here.
Packing light saves time (e.g. waiting for baggage to be unloaded), money (no overweight fees), stress (no worrying about lost luggage) and the environment (less luggage means less fuel used to carry it). The industrial strength hairdryer does NOT need to come. With help from Go Green Travel Green, we bring you 35 links that will help you pack a bit lighter and more economically the next time you’re pulling out the suitcase.
Make a List
- The Universal Packing List This really is the ultimate packing list creator. It even includes weather information. However, it will spit out everything you could possibly need, so trim down from here.
- Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush A nice application that will send you reminder emails, but you have to sign up (free).
- One Bag: What To Pack : One-Page Checklist “This is a travel packing checklist, not a list of items to pack on any particular trip! Rather, it is a sort of ‘worst case’ compendium of stuff that you could sensibly consider.”
- Travellerspoint: Packing List Another list of everything you could possibly need.
- San Fran Chronicle CARGO CULT “This is everything I pack for a typical three-week trip to Europe or South America, riding trains and buses and splitting my time between town and country. It all fits easily into a carry-on bag, with room left over for a bottle of Côtes du Rhône, a baguette and a few souvenirs.”
- The Lost Girls: What We Packed What these three gals packed for their 1-year round the world (RTW) trip.
- About.com Honeymoon Packing List Includes massage oil and other items that might be fun to have.
Check it Twice
Edit Your List. Edit it down. Way Down. Cross off everything you don’t absolutely need. Remember, you can buy just about everything abroad if you end up needing it.
Choose the Right Bag
You know how work expands to fill the time? The same is true for bags. If you bring too big of a bag, you will fill the space. It’s just human nature. Unfortunately, we haven’t found the best backpack or favorite travel luggage yet. (Though from pictures I’m partial to: Ebags Mother Lode Mini Duffel
- OneBag: Choosing A Bag
The most important things to consider are:- quality — because luggage takes a beating, and because quality should always be an important consideration
- transportability — because you will carry your luggage more than the carriers will (and yes, whatever your actual plans, you will carry it)
- airline carryon limits — because in the real world, there are two kinds of luggage: carryon and lost
- Brave New Traveler: Choosing the Perfect Backpack This backpacker outlines his quest for the perfect backpack before deciding on.
Fold Your Clothes
in an efficient, wrinkle free manner.
- OneBag: Packing Clothes discusses “Bundle Packing.” (I typically roll my clothes, but I might try this next time.)
Find Your Own Style
Ultimately, you are the only one who has to to live with the way you pack, what you pack, and how much you pack.
