Gotta Love Stansted Airport

Lump

This is probably not the right place, but bear with me.

Due to leave Dublin at 21.45, got a little worried with the snow in the UK. Arrived at the airport to find that the flight was delayed (Shock!) Anyway, eventually arrived in Stansted airport at 23.45, still with 45 minutes to catch the last train to central London.

Arrived in the baggage reclaim hall, waiting, waiting, waiting, then the announcement that our bags would be delayed, clearly everyone was gone home for the night. Anyway, bags eventually arrive at 00.50, 20 minutes after the last train had left.

Most people are standing in the mile long queue waiting to buy a ticket for the 24 hour bus. I on the other hand decided to doss on the internet and buy some snacks. The master plan is to get the first train at 6.00 and then get the tube home. Makes more sense then waiting till 3am, getting the bus and then dragging my bag around the streets looking for the combination of buses to get me to Acton. Anyway, I will report back when I get bored. Hopefully my 2 years working security will keep me sane, also WHS is open all night and I warned the Fit burd I'd be back.

Gotta love Ryanair, although it's not really their fault.


John

kensutz

Well Lump that is the joy with Stansted, they take bloody ages to get your bags out and thats why I only carry hand luggage now. I normally fly in late on a Friday and catch the bus/train to Norwich. Longest I waited was 90 mins to get my bags out. Did you go down to the bus station and ask the lads there about the buses they would've got you one to get near to Acton.

The Gnome

Not as good as the maze that is Schipol. Had to navigate from gate 20D to 87D with 15 mins. The travellators help but the whole fiasco is very annoying.

Binomate

Lump wrote:

This is probably not the right place, but bear with me.

Due to leave Dublin at 21.45, got a little worried with the snow in the UK. Arrived at the airport to find that the flight was delayed (Shock!) Anyway, eventually arrived in Stansted airport at 23.45, still with 45 minutes to catch the last train to central London.

Arrived in the baggage reclaim hall, waiting, waiting, waiting, then the announcement that our bags would be delayed, clearly everyone was gone home for the night. Anyway, bags eventually arrive at 00.50, 20 minutes after the last train had left.

Most people are standing in the mile long queue waiting to buy a ticket for the 24 hour bus. I on the other hand decided to doss on the internet and buy some snacks. The master plan is to get the first train at 6.00 and then get the tube home. Makes more sense then waiting till 3am, getting the bus and then dragging my bag around the streets looking for the combination of buses to get me to Acton. Anyway, I will report back when I get bored. Hopefully my 2 years working security will keep me sane, also WHS is open all night and I warned the Fit burd I'd be back.

Gotta love Ryanair, although it's not really their fault.


John

Unlucky. Why don't you try sneak in behind the sceens and take a ride on that bagage conveyer belt thing?

YeatsCounty

I feel your pain, I've travelled three times on an airplane and something has gone wrong each and every time. I hope you can get through the next three and a half hours without losing your mind!

As a forum to allow me to bitch and moan about my own personal flying experiences, here it goes:

First Time: Flew on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Heathrow. After waiting at an hour for my bags to come through the carousel, I asked a lady at the Air Lingus desk what was happening. She replied that she couldn't tell me this information, and that I would have to wait until my bags showed up, if ever. She was quite rude, and if it wasn't for mycousin who was waiting for me, I would never have gotten anything out of her.

Long story short, I got my bags three hours later after they had been placed on the flight after my one.

Second Time: Flying from London to Dublin, again with Aer Lingus. The flight was scheduled to depart at 2:30, which left me plenty of time to get the last train to Sligo at 6 (or 6:30, I forget). The plane was delayed for two hours and I only got into Dublin City Center at 6:25, therefore missing my train. After I had paid for a cheap hostel bed and the train ticket for the next day, I had €2.16 left in my pocket and nothing left in my bank account. I had been running on empty for the last week of my backpacking trip around the UK and Ireland already.... :-/

Third Time: Belfast Airport. Zoom Airlines. Going to Canada. Had talked to Canadian Immigration before I booked my ticket and I was assured my the Immigration representative that booking a one way ticket would be perfectly fine as long as I truthfully declared my intentions to claim residency and work in Canada at the Immigration desk in Toronto.

Anyway, I brought my one-way ticket to Belfast and was promptly told by a Zoom Airlines representative that I couldn't get on the plane without a return ticket. She called up an Immigration "expert" to back her up. I wasn't angry at her, but I was incredibly pissed at the World.

A frantic two and a half hours followed, comprised of of my phoning up Zoom Airlines to get a single ticket from Toronto to Belfast, them sending me the wrong ticket twice and sending it to the wrong e-mail address two more times, and me harassing two girls at the Information desk to please print it out for me. They were lovely and they did.

I was let on the plane and arrived in Toronto. During my interview at Immigration, I relayed my experience to the Immigration officer. He gave me a very weird look and told me that a one-way ticket was perfectly fine for my purposes, and that the airline was wrong to stop me from boarding the flight.

Lump

Well I'm still surviving. I found a power point, so could charge my Phone and Mp3 player. Pity I gave my sister my Portable DVD player as she is taking the boat/train to London in a couple of days, if only I had that, I could be watching Scrubs series 2. Anyway, I'm happy enough. Only 2.5 hours or something to go. Gonna wander to WHS Smith, buy a Magazine, then read that for a while, listen to some music, wander around a bit, and then around 4.30 have a feed before heading on the journey home. The plan is to get to Out of town before it gets mobbed with people going to work. I should be safe enough.

kensutz - There's still about 100 people in the queue for the bus tickets.

Right, I think that's all I can moan about now. I hope Ryanair do the Decent thing and give me some kind of refund. In other news, the ****ing cocks that run the Express train will be refunding me 11 quid for the trip out to the Airport last week. The pissin' train left 30 minutes late, and then terminated one stop before the airport. Eh ! Hello, I paid for a ticket to the airport.... express apparently.

Anyway, the baggage going missing in "Swissports" Fault. Ryanair use Service air in most airports I've been to.

John

YeatsCounty

You seem to be holding out OK, at least you've got Internet access anyway.

Lump wrote:

Anyway, the baggage going missing in "Swissports" Fault. Ryanair use Service air in most airports I've been to.

Yep, they're the ones. Aer Lingus didn't even tell me who their baggage handlers were though, the woman at the desk just kept repeating "We do not cover lost baggage" over and over again. They could have given me a clue anyway.

Lump

Yea, pity the internet access is 10p a minute! Robbery, In the home straight now. This page was blocked on the computer I'm using for some reason, but I haxx0red the box. Now I only have a few minutes left. Oh well hopefully gonna get the train in an hour or so.... there are a few hundred people here to get on the train though. So who knows. 30 Seconds left!!!!

John

boardy

Reported by Reuters.........

"There was a security alert at Stansted Airport early this morning when a drunken, crazed Irishman would not get off a rotating baggage carousel. Sources at the scene said that the terror suspect (he was Irish) would not get off the carousel as he was convinced it would take him to his home in Acton. It seems that the drunken man (he was Irish) named locally as 'Mr. AJ Lump' had earlier found an unlocked bar in the airport and deemed it his right to consume alcohol at enormous speed due to the high Internet costs at the airport".

spiderlegs

Hope ya got/ get home soon!!! Waiting for stuff is always so boring...:(

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Lump wrote:

I hope Ryanair do the Decent thing and give me some kind of refund.
John

don't think they have to give you a refund. that new EU legislation says that you are due refunds for any significant delays except to do with the weather or factors out of the airlines control. Maybe, they might do the decent thing, but highly unlikely...

BigEejit

Roundtower2 wrote:

don't think they have to give you a refund. that new EU legislation says that you are due refunds for any significant delays except to do with the weather or factors out of the airlines control. Maybe, they might do the decent thing, but highly unlikely...

Hehe ... Ryanair and "do the decent thing" in the same sentence ... that has to be some sort of poor grammer or something

robinph

I think that its a problem with Stanstead airport and not with Ryanair though. Was going through there a few weeks ago and the baggage for every flight was delayed, not just the Ryanair ones.

It could have been that all the baggage handlers were watching the smoke from the fire in Luton that day though, but it wasn't that interesting to look at from a distance.

BigEejit

BigEejit wrote:

Hehe ... Ryanair and "do the decent thing" in the same sentence ... that has to be some sort of poor grammer or something

"grammar"

BizMaker

bluewolf wrote:

"grammar"

But he did say "or something".:p

Lump

Hello Hello, I got home eventually at 8am. Didn't have a second of sleep. But sure life's a bitch. Anyway, went to bed at 8, just got up around 5 and there's nothing in the house, so I'm debating getting dressed and going to the shop!

Oh, after my last post last night I was hiding behind a shop sitting on a Radiator and using the Electric outlet to charge my phone. Next thing a Security guard sticks his head around wall and shouts "Is that you phone?" To which I replied "Yes", then he said "You're not authorised to use that electricity"

I had to hold back telling him that there was "No ****ing sign saying I couldn't use it" and that "Your ****ing work buddies in baggage hadnling mean I'm stuck here" and that he should "Shove it up his ass"

I thought if I did that I'd be sitting outside.

Anyway all is good, time to write the letter to Stansted Express, BAA and Swissport and probably Ryanair too!

John

godtabh

On the 26th arrive in Dublin Airport at 12. Due to fly out at 3. Flight gets dealyed. Then canceled.

Was due to fly from Stansted to Iceland at 19:40. Ryan Air offers either a free flight at 20:10 or come back on the 27th and pay for a flight in the hope we get on the next Icelandic Express flight.

Get to stansted. Cant get a hotel. So we have to in the airport till 5 the next evening to see if we can get on the next flight.

At about 2 in the morning I lose my psp.

At 4 in the morning people arrive for lights and one person stood on my head while I was sleeping on the floor.

Spend the hole day bored out of my tree on my birthday.

Eventually get on the next flight to Iceland with 8L of spirits so it ended ok.

Lump

There were literally hundreds of people in the airport all night. Don't know were they waiting for connections, or waiting to go to London. But there were **** loads, couldn't get a seat anywhere, I think Stansted airport is a dump TBH, I will Never fly from there again, no matter how cheap the flight is. I think I'll be flying BMI Baby from heathrow from now on.... it's cheap if you book in advance and only 30 minutes away on the tube, don't need to change of anything.

John

Sarsfield

If you were going to Acton, then what the hell were you doing flying to STN?

If you factor in Stansted Express and other costs, surely Heathrow & the Picadilly Line would be better and faster?

senordingdong

Sounds like you had a laugh all the same...bit of an adventure like, far more interesting then getting to your destination.

I'll never forget the time I spent a night in the airport to save a few quid.

Lump

Sarsfield wrote:

If you were going to Acton, then what the hell were you doing flying to STN?

If you factor in Stansted Express and other costs, surely Heathrow & the Picadilly Line would be better and faster?

Because I booked the flight before I moved to Acton. And considering flights from heathrow were £200 and the flight I got was £38. I could have stayed in a hotel last night and it still would have been cheaper even with the stansted express and tube.

John

bombidol

Airport adventures are savage!

I was travelling from Detroit to Chicago then on to Dublin. Due to Severe traffic i missed my flight to chicago by 10 mins so i had to wait for the next one that was in a few hours. Got to Chicago after missing my flight to Dublin by 15 minutes. Went to the Aerlingus desk and there was NO ONE there. I mean No One. I was the only person around. At this stage it was past midnight.
Tried calling the emergency numbers for Aerlingus and no luck, no one answered. The information desk was unmanned, i was fooked. Walking around Ohaire with 2 huge bags and no where to go.
I seen the Hotel board and rang a number, They got me a room in the HILTON! for a hundred dollars, so i got in there and rang home and went online to figure out a way of getting home.
Was ringing Ireland all night as they were 5 hours ahead and could contact Aerlingus before they were open in the states. Finally got it figured out that i could leave the next day on the 1.40PM flight for an extra 100 Dollars.
Made it home 2 days later than expected or something.
Was a great laugh though, an expensive one though.

boardy

senordingdong wrote:

I'll never forget the time I spent a night in the airport to save a few quid.

Was it in Christchurch?
That was a ball of fun.

senordingdong

No, it was Cardiff 'internationl' airport.
It was about the size of a shoebox.

We went to a gig which was gonna end late, and our flight was early, then there was the two hour checking in thingy so ew decided it'd be a ridiculous waste of money to spring for a hotel or b&b or whatever...so we caught the last bus to the airport and kipped there.

Lump

Yea on the Stansted Express desk there was absoultly no one there this morning. One sign said the Trains weren't running another said they were. I didn't want to sit in the Train station to see if it arrived, and there was no waiting room down there, wandered to the coach station to see if anyone knew if the train were running, eventually found out they were, even though 3 had been cancelled because there was no driver. The phrase "What a joke" comes to find.

John

jrey1981

from the stories I hear, taking a flight with Ryanair is essentially gambling...

Would always avoid them where possible

senordingdong

Hmmm...not sure about that.
When I gamble I'm at risk of losing money.

When I fly with Ryainair...I'm usually at risk of saving money.

boardy

Never had a problem flying with Ryanair.
And thank God, they exist. Now, I get to fly to cities all over Europe cheaper than taking a train from Cork to Dublin.

Willymuncher

The only adventure I ever had was when I missed my flight from Atlanta to Shannon because my previous flight from Dallas to Atlanta had been delayed due to a Hurricane (Dennis I think it was), was a pain in the arse....but didn't have to spend the night in the Airport, managed after a long while to grab a flight from Atlanta to Manchester, Manchester to Heathrow...and then onto Shannon, which then all my bags were missing....but I got them back the very next day, so it wasn't so bad.

Flying out from Oklahoma to Chicago to Dublin on Saturday....hoping theres no drama like that this time.

stormkeeper

My plane from Dublin to Stansted was delayed for about half an hour... I was flying with Ryanair as well. At one point, they said that a plane was going to arrive at A2, then A3 (where I was), about 15 minutes after our plane was due to arrive!

It's crazy, but I have to say, I've never had any problems with Ryanair, apart from the fact it cost me 150 for a ticket ages ago because I had to change the date I flew out about 3-4 times!

Lump

TBH, Swissport were at fault here.... they were the baggage handlers.

BTW, here's the letter I'm sending them

THE LUMP wrote:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to request a refund and Apology having travelled with you on the 28th Dec 2005. Below are details of my journey and the reason I am requesting compensation.

I was on the 21.45 Flight (FR298) leaving Dublin. I arrived and checked in using my confirmation number PJ3KLR. When I checked in, I asked if there were delays, and I was told no, that the flights were leaving on time. Then when I got through security, about 5 minutes later, I found that the flight was already delayed 25 minutes, with an estimated time of departure of 22.10. I asked at the Ryanair desk near the A gate when the last Stansted Express train left, and was informed 00.30. This still gave me time to arrive, collect my bags and get to the train.

The flight eventually left around 22.30, and with a flight time of 55 minutes, as suggested by the captain, I assumed I would arrive in plenty of time. However, that’s when it all went wrong.

I arrived in the baggage reclaim hall after the mile long walk from the plane at 23.45, with only 45 minutes to get my bag and catch the last train, I was getting worried. I stood with about 500 other passengers from various Ryanair flights waiting for bags to arrive, 5 minutes – No sign of the bags, 10 minutes – No sign, after 15 minutes, the monitor suggested that we “wait” for our bags. It sounds pretty stupid as what else would we do. Then came the announcements that “There will be a delay with transferring your bags from the plane to the baggage reclaim hall, Swissport baggage handling apologies for this delay”. At this point I had given up hope of making the train.

Then came another announcement that there was to be a further delay. Eventually the bags from my flight arrived at 00.50 an hour and 5 minutes after we landed. I went to complain to Swissport, but they claim that the responsibility lies with you.

As the last train had left the airport, I toyed with the idea of getting a bus until I saw the 200+ long queues of people; the man selling tickets suggested that I would be lucky to get a place on the bus before 04.30. That’s when I decided to stay in the airport for the night, and to get the first Stansted Express train in the morning as I had already purchased a return ticket through your website.

I would like to be refunded for the flight, and it would be nice to be refunded the £10 I spent on getting a coffee and meal while sitting on the floor in the airport. I understand that the problems with the baggage are not your fault, but since you choose to use Swissport instead of Servisair then the responsibility lies with you! I regularly fly with Ryanair and believe you to be a great company. However, after having no sleep for 23 hours and sitting in the airport for 5 hours that support waned a little.

My address is as above, my e-mail is XXXXXXX and my phone number is XXXXXXX. I look forward to your reply.

John