Category: Traveling

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, you probably have more important (and fun) things to do than figure out how to get a rental car, where to park, and where you need to go. Airport taxi services give you a lot of benefits and advantages that you can’t get from renting a car or attempting to rely on public transit. Let’s take a look at a few of the top reasons more and more travelers are choosing to hail a cab instead of driving themselves or getting on a bus or train check here now for more information http://www.iparkairportparking.co.uk/blog/

Less Stress Getting to Your Hotel

First, you’ve just spent several hours on an airplane, and before that you had the dubious pleasure of dealing with the security line. Now you have a choice. If you’re not going to get an airport taxi, you can either take a bus or train, or you can go get a rental car @ http://www.iparkairportparking.co.uk/blog/

However, do you really want to deal with the hassle of finding the right shuttle to get to your preferred rental car agency? Then, once you’ve gotten there, are you ready to wait in line and haggle with a rental agent about which model of car you want and/or how much you’re willing to pay? Even if all that doesn’t deter you, what about driving to your destination? After a long flight, the last thing you want to do is try to navigate through an unfamiliar city to find your hotel.

More Comfort, Privacy, and Safety at http://www.iparkairportparking.co.uk/blog/

When you hire an airport taxi, you can avoid all of this stress and all of the delays that go with it. Instead of worrying about traffic, which bus or train you need to take, where you need to turn, and all of the other issues that come with either taking public transit or renting a car, you can relax on the way to your hotel.

Not only that, but with an airport taxi you will also have your car to yourself. You can make calls to your family, friends, and/or coworkers without worrying about anyone listening in. Or you can take a nap on your way to your destination without any concern for your personal safety or the security of your belongings.

The Convenience of a Personal Driver

Finally, with a quality cab service, you know that you’ll be getting an experienced, safe driver who will take you directly to your destination. Then, when you need to leave and head back for your returning flight or to another destination, you can rely on the same convenient service. Airport taxi services offer convenience, security, safety, and peace of mind that you can’t get with other modes of transportation.

Save time and money by booking http://www.iparkairportparking.co.uk/blog/

Lounges:

Airport Lounges are the best way to escape from the bustle of the airport. These lounges are facilitated with Free Wi-Fi, Quiet areas to relax, Children friendly areas, complimentary cuisines and a selection of drinks, business facilities, meeting rooms, magazines and newspapers, entertainment and much more. No.1 Traveller’s north terminal lounge offers spa service and shower facility.

Business Travellers:

Gatwick airport has all facilities for business travellers including executive lounges, conference halls and business centres. Executive lounges for business travellers are available in both the North and South terminal. The No.1 Traveller’s Super Lounge in the North terminal is facilitated with private meeting rooms, internet, scanner, printer and a fax machine. It offers a business center and passengers can also hire a conference room. The BAA conference and business centre in Gatwick’s south terminal and business centre in the north terminal has 16 air conditioned meeting rooms and conference rooms.

Travelling with Children:

Gatwick airport has great facilities for those travelling with children and there are family lounges available in both South and North terminal. The Super lounge in the North Terminal has a mini cinema room, games room, computers and more. Servisair’s Wentworth Lounge in the North and South terminals offer a fun zone with soft play, video games and toys. Well equipped rooms for feeding and changing facilities are available in both of these terminals. Child-friendly restaurants, snack shops, book stores, toy shops and much more are available at Gatwick International airport.

Shopping and Eating:

An extensive range of shops are available in both of the terminals. You can enjoy shopping with retail stores, book stores, electrical outlets, souvenir shops, fashion and accessories, beauty and cosmetics and more after security control, in arrivals and before security. There is an assortment of restaurants, bars and pubs, food outlets, Coffee shops and more available in Gatwick airport.

Gatwick Hotels:

Sofitel London Gatwick is very close to the North Terminal and Hilton London Gatwick is two minutes walk from the south terminal. There are many other hotels in the vicinity of Gatwick Airport which provide comfortable parking facilities. Holiday Inn Gatwick Airport, Days Inn Hotel Gatwick, Courtyard by Marriot, Crowne Plaza, Ibis and Holiday Inn Express are a few of the best hotels in close proximity to Gatwick airport.

Parking:

There is a wide range of parking options available at London Airport including Long stay parking, short stay parking, premium parking, valet parking, Blue badge parking and more. You can also pre book your parking space for a few of these parking options at Gatwick. These car parks are close to the terminals and are facilitated by a regular bus shuttle service from the long stay car parks.

For Booking & Reservation, kindly click http://www.iparkairportparking.co.uk/blog/

Luton Airport is situated on the edge of the town of Luton in the county of Bedfordshire around 40km north of London. It is just 3km from junction 10a of the M1 motorway which connects to London to the south and Leeds and the M25 to the north. Luton Airport handled over 9.42 million passengers last year and acts as a hub for a number of low cost airlines with most of its passengers heading to European destinations. You can find full details of all the destinations which can be reached from here and the ground handling agents for each airline in our guide to flights at Luton Airport.

If you are flying from Luton Airport there are about 60 check in check in desks straight in front of you in the departures hall which runs the length of the terminal building. You will find a good selection of shops, bars, cafeterias and restaurants both before and after security. We have put together a table of all the retail outlets at Luton Airport with details of where they are located and what they sell. If you want a meal or a snack while waiting for your flight our guide to restaurants tells you what is available. Our departures section also provides details of the executive lounges and live flight departures information.

If you are leaving your car at the airport there are short, medium and long term parking facilities available. If you use the drop off zone at the airport you are only allowed a maximum stay of 10 minutes and you must not leave the vehicle during this time or it will be removed. If you park for longer than 10 minutes you will be charged. It is easier to use the short stay car park if you are picking someone up and you can check our car parking information for full details of tariffs and where the parks are located including off site parking

If you arrive at Luton then when you have cleared customs and get into the the arrivals area you will see a Travelex where you can change your money and a shop where you can buy newspapers and snacks. If you are meeting someone then we provide details of live flight arrivals. If you want a coffee and a sandwich before you set off to your final destination there is a Costa Cafe and a Marks & Spencer Simply Food here, as well as a Travel Centre where you can book your onward transport including bus, coach and rail tickets or make a hotel reservation. If you leave something on the flight or your luggage does not arrive with you, then you should contact your airline handling agent, and you can find contact details for them on our flights information page.

If you are hiring a car from Luton Airport then four of the major car hire companies are based on the site. The hire car centre is a short ride away from the terminal building with a free shuttle bus operated by NCP making regular trips to take you there. The car hire companies at the airport are Avis, Europcar and Hertz. Or if you want to travel in style we also provide details of local chauffeur and limousine hire agencies.

Four taxi companies are licensed to operate from the airport and use the taxi rank which is in the drop off zone outside the terminal building. You can pre-book a taxi and find contact details in our guide to taxis at Luton Airport.

If you prefer to travel by public transport then there is a good choice of bus, coach and train services operating out of the airport. National Express Coaches run to destinations further afield and other London airports. For more details of timetables and routes check our information and links to bus services at Luton Airport.

There is not a railway station at the airport but Luton Parkway is five minutes away offering regular connections to Central London and other parts of the UK. There is a free shuttle bus from the airport to the station and our guide to Luton Airport Trains provides details or links to the various routes and timetables.

Our general information section tells you everything else you need to know when travelling through Luton Airport including details of the weather with a forecast for the next 5 or 10 days, facilities for passengers with special needs and where you can change your money at Luton Airport.

Did you ever dream of learning to fly?

Like so many other people, you might have dreamt of learning to fly and enjoy this exceptional activity letting you take pleasure in observing the World from above.

Flying is a strictly regulated activity to ensure the security requirements for all, and thus needs a thorough and lengthy treating. It also needs costly infrastructure, so the cost even of obtaining a Private Pilot Licence is correspondingly high.

But if flying is your dream, and you are ready to renounce on other pleasures of life to reach that goal – like for instance owning a car, going on vacations, and others, working hard and concentrating to reach that aim may lead you to it.

Before you even start lessons at an approved flying school you can inform yourself about the basics of aerodynamics, the details and phases of flights, the various available flying machines etc. by reading books, specialized magazines and websites. This will make your theoretical learning easier.

Well, let’s suppose you started saving for your flying lessons and want to get more detailed information. Around London there are several flying school with their own airport and training airplanes – and of course highly qualified instructors – who offer flight training. Of course you will need to prove excellent health to be able to obtain a flying licence.

One of the larger flight training centres is the North London Flying School http://www.northlondonflyingschool.com/ , with their activity at Elstree Aerodrome. They offer all types of flying lessons, including of course the Private Pilot Licence.

If you prefer to learn flying on an airport South of London, Biggin Hill Airport has also a renowned airplane and even helicopter flight school – http://www.bigginhillairport.com/flight-training/

 Stapleford Flight Centre – situated North-East of London – is one of the largest flight schools – with many different types of airplanes to range from the single-engine Private Pilot training to multi-engine and instrument flight training. It is a choice for many pilots who want to progress to a Professional Pilot Licence. It also offers on-the-spot student accommodation and aerobatic lessons. http://www.flysfc.com/index.php

If you have the chance to be able to afford from the beginning at reaching the Commercial Pilot Licence, you may enrol into the prestigious College of Aeronautical Science & Technology & Flight Academy in the United States, who have a complete two-storey academy building, a large flight maintenance facility, student accommodation with fitness centre, and even a swimming pool. http://aviator.edu/FlightCollege/

However, any youth dreaming to fly will probably not have the financial means to aim too high. That’s why some schools offer modular courses, allowing for some working time between the various stages of flight training. Also, enthusiastic youth may try to do some voluntary work in a flight club, like the cleaning and washing of aircraft, and help out in the clubhouse for instance. This will allow them to already experience the “flying environment”, and for sure learn some important information about flying. And maybe – from time to time – an instructor will allow him to sit in the back of the airplane when he instructs his student.

In general, the entire Private Pilot course until obtention of the Licence will require at least 35 hours of double flight with an instructor, plus 10 hours solo flight and preparation flights for the final exam. It may cost among a minimum of £4’000 to £6’500. The advantage is that you can rent a single-engine airplane anywhere in Great Britain or even Europe, and share wonderful flights and adventures with your family and friends. You may also do some light work flying.

If you think that to be an astronomical figure which is impossible to reach, you still shouldn’t despair. There is an alternative way of flying: flying a micro light plane. There are many types of them, from the mini-version of larger single motor airplanes to motorized flexible wing planes and gyrocopters. To learn flying a miclro-light plane you will need only 25 flight hours – and cheaper equipment – and thus you may get an NPPL (M) licence instead of a Private Pilot Licence. The difference is that it will be limited to the U.K. , and allow you to fly planes up to a maximum weight of 450 Kg. Also, the airspace you are allowed to use is more limited. However, this doesn’t of course need to lessen your pleasure of flying; on the opposite, in a smaller plane you feel the air movements more and can better “play” with turbulences… Flying lower also gives you a closer feeling of being a human “bird”. And you can still progress to Microlight Instructor – allowing you to fly all the time… or continue  to the obtention of your Private Pilote Licence later-on, having already a lot of practical flying experience.

Exodus Airsports is one of the Microlight schools in the North of London http://www.exodusairsports.co.uk/

Cloudbase Aviation in Surrey is another reliable microlight flying school. At Cloundbase you will have to train on one of the most advanced microlight aircraft.

http://www.exodusairsports.co.uk/

All the mentioned flight schools – and there are many more all-over Great Britain – offer “trial flights”, letting you get a first impression flying beside the instructor, who even during the trial flight will allow you to do some flight movements by yourself. If you dream of flying, the first thing you may do is ask for a “gift” trial flight – or save some money to finance it yourself. You may even do “trials” in several schools, and on various types of flying machines – to get an overview of the fantastic feelings and joy flying is offering you…. So grow your own wings!

Things to consider before you leave

Even if you booked a discounted last-minute trip or decided at short notice to take some days off abroad instead spending your week-end in the cold and fog, there are some basic preparations you have to do before travelling.

First, check the validity of your passport – some countries may ask for a validity exceeding 6 months after your planned trip. It would be too bad to be sent back at the airport. It is also wise to take with you a photocopy of your passport, and send a scanned copy to your E-mail. That could be of help in any event your passport gets lost. Do the same with your ticket, or its confirmation. If you are a rather anxious person, it may be reassuring for you to register the phone number of your Country’s embassy at your destination.

Check if your credit card is accepted in the country of destination. With very few exceptions, you will be able to use an ATM during your journey. If you travel to a very far location, you might have to inform your bank so that they don’t block your credit card when you use it. Also change some money before you leave, and make sure you always have local currency with you. In many countries most shops or restaurants are not equipped for credit card handling, people pay in cash. You may also want to buy local products, handicrafts and souvenirs – weight is no issue any more when you come back.

Than you may spend half an hour on the Internet getting some basic information about the country you want to visit. Check if there are entry or exit fees at their airport – these fees are usually not covered by the airway ticket. Check the currency conversion. And finally, there are many sites giving basic knowledge about the country’s traditions. That will avoid you to unintentionally offend somebody, be it by the use of hand movements or certain words. Always be courteous in your conversations, and leave the “action film slang” at home. You will be treated with more respect and consideration, and avoids teaching local people a bad usage of the language.

Choose some light but convenient clothes, letting you feel at ease without attracting the population’s looks that are suitable everywhere in the World. Avoid clothes with explicit pictures, icons or words; or even better; buy some clothes when you arrive at destination. You will better merge into the population, and it will remain a souvenir. Remember that not in every country looking “sexy” is the best way to dress; it could generate negative reactions or misunderstandings.

As a general consideration, don’t leave your country with suspicions in mind that your bags might be stolen. Such events are rare in touristic places, and often the robbery is performed by other tourists. Avoid taking objects of high value; you will like to be able to enjoy swimming, touring, discovering, without having to stay grabbing your valuable objects. Unless you travel to take photographs for professional purposes, it is better to take a medium-quality small camera that you can easily wear in your pocket. You will be able to take amazing views – even if they are not in high resolution. Some cameras even let you take underwater pictures while snorkelling….

Take just the most necessary items and clothes with you – if possible in a single portable bag. You will be able to take it with you in the plane, and avoid any loss. Furthermore you will feel comfortable wherever you go. Remember that in any country you can buy some underwear, T-shirts, pants or skirts locally – and very cheap – so you can just use them during your vacation and than throw them away.

Even if you plan to do some camping, you can buy a tent at destination, or rent a tent at many locations. It’s much better than to walk wearing huge backpacks loaded with kilos and kilos of stuff, under a sun of 40 degrees Celsius and more… That would probably destroy the whole pleasure and relaxing benefit of your vacation!

To secure your most important items – your passport, ticket, visa card, some cash, and – if needed – medicine you have to take regularly, you may buy a small flat belt pocket that you will wear directly on your body – under the clothes. But avoid the large black stuffed leather belt pockets some tourists wear over their clothes, that may give the impression they took their whole bank account onto their journey.

So what is the most important issue? Leave to your journey with a positive and enthusiastic mindset, to enable you to enjoy and benefit fully from this opportunity to discover new places, new worlds, and new people. Any small mishaps that may occur on the way are not significant compared to the delight of travelling. After the first days you may feel some stomach unease, the so-called “tourista” befalling people who change their climate and environment. But these are not of significance and usually resolve very quickly. And keep in mind that everywhere in the World people are living and getting cured. You will find a pharmacy, a doctor or a clinic that can resolve it with a single sting. In some countries you may even be surprised that such services are free of charge…

With these few tips, we hope you will enjoy your next vacation or business travel leaving open-minded, lightweight and wholehearted – keen to enjoy a new adventure!

EXTEND the summer

Days are becoming shorter, and the summer is slowly crawling to its end. But you can extend it, by booking one or two summer-end city flights, before the grey for and mist is invading the country again.

There are some excellent offers from London Airports, flight only or flight and hotel – that let you benefit from the last summer sun and shorten the period until next summer is here again.

Consider, for instance, flying to Spain, for amazing prices: Flight to Costa del Sol starting at £40, and hotel rooms are available from £5 per night. To Ibiza you will fly from only £29, and pay from £6 for a night at a hotel. Linarite will cost you £50, and hotel from £7.  Malta is also an excellent option: flight from £48, and hotel nights from £7. And how about Greece? The flight costs you from £53, and the hotel from £11. And to fly to Cyprus you will pay from £47, and will pay £18 a night for the hotel.  You could also fly to Venice, for only £23, but will pay £24 for a hotel night. And there are numberless more options….

So just choose your city break, book your flight & hotel package (or your flight, you might stay at a camping), book your parking and… Leave to the adventure!

That’s certainly better than to drive to holiday like this….

And Park with Humour!

Most importantly, avoid parking like this…

But rather like this – artful simultaneous parallel parking!

Or even with an artistic touch….

And if you have a problem finding a free park, you could consider buying a small car…

Or even a folding car!

Why not a car you can carry with you???

Or a solution Japanese style…

But not everybody likes it small! Some want BIG cars… very big cars!

The future starts today….

The number of cars used in the U.K. is steadily increasing, and many families now own more than one car. In 2009 for instance, the ownership of cars rose by 30%, while the population increased only by 4%. And this trend will probably continue; on one hand, many new cars are purchased and licensed in Britain every year, and older cars are also more frequent on the roads – as cars become more resistant.

What does this mean for car park planners? They have to develop new technologies, as parking space will become scarcer and scarcer. Especially inside large towns, which were built without the planners having imagined that one day millions of vehicles would cross their roads – and look for a free space to park.

Even where large car parks are still available, and sufficient for today’s requirements, techniques to increase parking space will soon have to be considered.

At busy airports for instance, where many travellers like to park their car as close to the terminal as possible, an extension of the available parking will soon become necessary. Also, the wider spaces around airports – that are taken by car parks today – may be coveted by large hotel chains, companies, malls, banks and convention centres that will need additional car parks for their own purpose as well. So how will the need for more parking spaces be satisfied?

fully automated car parks

In fact, the technology to increase parking space – simultaneously saving surface space – is already in the making, and has been implemented in several towns.

Several companies, like A.P.T., already installed fully automated parking. The principle is simple: you drive up to the garage – whether constructed over the ground or underground – and leave your car on a special surface, as instructed by laser sensors that guide you exactly to the centre of the platform. You close the engine, and leave your car. The car plate is automatically scanned, and a picture of your car is taken. The system also makes sure nobody is left inside the car. After you left the platform, you confirm pressing a button. The platform – also called “pallet” – than starts shifting sideward, upwards or downwards – depending on the closest free space the computer system has attributed to it. A “shuttle” – a flat vehicle loading the pallet with your car – drives it than to the assigned space, which can be on any of the many floors of the parking garage – as the storeys are only half the height of a usual building floor.

During all this procedure, your car is moved smoothly and gently by the robot system – and no human hand ever touches it. Astounding, isn’t it?  Of course, the garage is not completely emptied of human life – at least one technician is always present to fix any problem that may occur to the automated system, and specialists familiar with the system oversee its excellent functioning from their control room. But you will hardly ever see any of them.

When you come back to collect your car, a device scans your ticket, and the computer system calls up the “shuttle” with your car on its pallet, ready to be brought to you – also fully automatically. The pallet with your car is shifted on place, so you can just enter it and drive away – and the whole process doesn’t exceed two to three minutes. Such systems are operational mainly in Germany, built under a famous ancient hotel in Austria, decongesting Copenhagen in Denmark, and a garage able to hold 1100 cars is planned in Dubai.

Similar systems – but built as round towers or underground pits – are also planned and operational in Japan. The system consists of a palleted elevator hold and moved around a huge central iron pole – that shifts the cars into free slots around it on several floors. Such fully automated systems have also been built to store bicycles – which are deposited on the elevator with its gripping mechanism at the entrance and than “parked” into the pit.

Not only do these automated garages liberate precious space in places where many people convene – they also offer the possibility to cover them with ecology-friendly parks, walkways, shopping centres etc. doubling their utility.

Probably within some years from now such automated parking systems may be
found around London, and also next to the terminals of the busiest London airports.

THE PLEASURE OF MEETING A SMILING PERSON

But for the time being, we still have the privilege of being able to choose among a large variety of parking options at any of London’s airports, at prices varying according to the comfort of the offered service. If we opt for the “Meet and Greet” option, we also have the pleasure of meeting a smiling professional driver at the airport entrance who will park our car in a secured parking during our journey. This is certainly a friendlier way of delivering our car to a specialized car park than being just met by a robot saying “stop” and “go”.

Who knows, maybe in future the automated robot parking will also offer a cup of coffee?

Parking services: means Work for 66’000 people

Did you think driving your car to a car park and depositing it on o free space is just a simple act of convenience? No, there is much more behind it – an entire service sector, employing more than 66’000 people in the U.K. alone and providing parking services for 26’000 car parks. People love cars. But cars need space. And paved space is limited. Parking is often not allowed on streets, as it hinders traffic – and thus other drivers. That is what gave rise to an entire service industry, which provides a living to many people. There is an Association, the British Parking Association, promoting professionalism among parking specialists and employees, and excellence in parking for all. It started its activities in 1960 with 70 members, and counts today more than 700 members, half of which are local authorities. The Association also runs the “Safer Parking Scheme”, with the purpose of raising the standard of safety, security, design and operation of U.K. car parks. The parks complying with the requirements obtain the Park Mark Safer Parking award, which has to be re-evaluated every two years. Most car parks at London Airports are holders of this Park Mark.

And there is more: the Parking Today and Parking Review Magazine offer news about the latest developments in the field.

Parkex, Europe’s largest parking exhibition

Every year, an exhibition is held in a U.K. town, displaying parking products of  
over 120 global suppliers. From road marking equipment, to automatic paying machines, to soft-ware providers, to detection techno-logies and street lighting… the two-day event enjoys much popularity, and is visited by more than 2000 specialists of the parking sector from all-over Europe.

And most importantly, Oscar-like parking awards!

Did you know that there are yearly Parking Awards, celebrated during a gala lunch in a 4-stars London hotel and presented by well-known presenters, actors or comedians?

The event – to which you can assist for £195 – distributes awards in 14 categories.

This year, the trophy of the Best New Car Park was awarded to the London Heathrow Terminal 2 Short Stay parking.

In a similar manner, the European Parking Association also offers biennial awards, to improve the quality of parking structures and services and to promote good services throughout Europe. In 2015 three British firms won EPA awards.

How do you benefit?

While the awards themselves benefit primarily the winning companies and services, boosting their advertisement, you as well benefit from these events, whether you knew that they existed or not. You benefit indirectly from the competition they generate among the service providers, who try to outperform each other offering better services. It
may as well have an influence on the parking fees, which are also affected by the competition between parking providers.

Furthermore, there are many websites with user surveys, describing their experience – whether good or not – with most car parks, especially the airport car parks. They are also closely followed by the car park providers, who try to learn from them where and how they could improve their service.

The airport car parks are probably the most exposed to exhaustive scrutiny, as
they are part of the town’s and the nation’s image – inside and outside the country.  So next time you plan to leave your car at any London Airport car park, you can do it in good faith that your car will be in the hands of professionals, supervised, controlled and encouraged by a powerful association and exposed to the wish to serve you better than their competitors.

More than 8 million parking spaces

In the United Kingdom, people definitely love cars. 35 million cars were registered in 2011. Of course, all these cars need parking space in the towns, population centres and also at the airports. The British Parking Association estimates that there are between 8 million and 11.3 million parking spaces in total. One of the places where car parks are best organised are the airports. Travellers, business people and families going on vacation alike, appreciate the comfort of driving to the airport in their own car before taking their flight, and also driving back home or to the office after their journey.  It reduces the stress of using one or several types of public transportation, and lets them easily access the terminal with their luggage.

That’s why airport authorities and companies providing car parks are eager to offer the best services to their customers – and thus constantly improve their facilities and upgrade them to the latest available technologies.

Easy booking and registration

Thanks to modern technology, management of car parks is done through powerful computers. If you know your flight date and time, you can easily book your parking through the Internet – from your computer, tablet or Smartphone – and obtain an immediate reply concerning availability and price. Furthermore, advance booking lets you benefit from substantial price reductions. Unless you booked an unchangeable special offer, you even can modify your flight time or days later-on, if you choose another flight. When you check your car into the parking, the system will recognize your advance booking and assign your parking. Even if you choose to arrive at the airport parking without previous booking, the system will register your car at the entrance if there is any free space. There are many different registration and park management systems; some automatic columns give you a ticket with the entry time, and calculate your stay before you leave. Latest systems even scan your car plate number as you approach the entrance, and after checking if you have booked in advance, they also calculate the parking fee before you leave the parking. Of course, park attendants are always present in case you need any information – or if there is a conflict regarding your stay.

Easy retrieval of free parking space

One of the most frustrating and time-consuming features of large busy car parks has ever been the search for a free slot among the hundreds of parked cars. Often it required the driver to circle the parking several times, and when he or she thought they finally found a free space, they might discover that another car took it before they arrived.

If you pre-booked your parking, of course a space is reserved for you. But nevertheless, it might be tiring to find it. Various companies developed systems to rid you of the annoyance to search for a parking bay. Some use sensors built into the parking surface itself, detecting if a car drives or stations over them. Others use electronic detection devices built into columns erected behind park spaces, or attached to the illumination poles. Even others use camera observation of the whole parking, which is evaluated by a central server and gives the parking management and users a plan showing thefree spaces. All these systems can either display the free spaces on boards inside the parking itself, or can even be accessed through various applications you can download to your mobile device. Such applications may show you the way to take to the free parking bay with arrows directing you to the free space.  A South Korean company recently invented a much simpler, but equally efficient way to detect a free parking space: balloons with an arrow marking “here” and attached to a rope that is fastened on the parking surface itself rise in the air when a park space is free, and when a car parks over the rope it pulls the balloon down, so that it is not visible from afar. An ingenious creation, isn’t it?

While you probably don’t reflect a lot about all these fine tunings car park managers implement to improve your airport car parking experience, it will certainly reflect in your degree of satisfaction – and probability in you willingness use the service again.

Photovoltaic parking cover

An ideal way to retrieve renewable energy while protecting the cars from sunrays as well as rain, snow or hail,  is to cover the parking with photovoltaic panels or sheets. Although this technological development is not yet applied on many car parks, we will certainly witness the dissemination of this idea. Depending on the climate prevailing in the location of the car park, this is an ideal means of double use of the large surface car parks!

London southend AIRPORT PARKING –

a low-fee airport parking at a cosy airport

London Southend Airport may be less known internationally, but this airport is treasured locally. While it was the third-busiest airport around London in the 1650’s, Southend has lost some of its previous importance; however, this newly renovated and cosy airport is highly appreciated by the almost 1 million passengers who flew from it in 2014. Instead of the huge halls of larger airports, Southend has cosy cafés, a friendly service and fast check-in and security procedures. Travellers are mainly couples and families, as Southend offers low-price to very cheap vacation or city-visit destinations to Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Croatia and Slovenia – and many new destinations are added every year.

An opportunity for low-cost flights…

From Southend you may take a 3-day round trip to  Dublin for around £40 only! To most European destinations you can find round trip flights from £125 to £200, and even one week or two week vacation flights to certain destinations for under £250!. And if you are available for a trip anytime and have the leisure to search on the Internet, you may find tickets with up to 75% reduction!  So why not fly from London Southend? Even informed business travellers may reduce their costs by flying directly to their European destination from Southend.

If you enjoy short trips, to change your environment within hours, or like discovering charming European cities, you definitely should have a look at the flights leaving from London Southend. And if you would like to visit London from other countries, a good choice may be as well to land in Southend.

…And cheap parking fees!

That being said, Southend Airport also offers a further advantage: the airport car parks are very close to the terminal, secure and well organized, and the best part is that they are the cheapest of any other major London airport. London Southend is located just 40 miles South-East from the centre of London, and is easily accessible by car.

London southend short-stay parking

The short-stay parking at London Southend Airport is located just opposite to the terminal, so you can conveniently walk to the entrance – even with family, small children, or many heavy suitcases. Specially marked and easily accessible slots are also available for people with disabilities.

The first 5 minutes of parking are free of charge, so that you can easily drop off leaving passengers or collect them at their arrival.

The prices for this parking are competitive. Below are the regular prices, valid if you just drive up to the parking. If you book on-line in advance, you may obtain interesting price reductions.

The parking is limited to one visit per day per vehicle.

London southend Airport Long Stay parking

The large safe and secured long-stay parking is also located close to the terminal entrance, and doesn’t need shuttle buses. You can just walk to the terminal and check in.

And best of all, there is just one attractive flat-rate per day or every part thereof: every day will cost you only £10.00. And here again, you can obtain a discount by booking in advance.

With those attractive prices, the London Southend Airport parks are also ideally suited for people coming to London by car, but want to leave it at a secure place while they are visiting the town. You can be assured that your car is in good hands while you tour the amazing attractions of London; just leave your car at the parking, and take the train at Southend Airport to the centre of London. Enjoy your visit!